quadrcr87's garage projects

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

I really should have used 1/8 plate to make this easier but 3/16 is all I had on hand. The hole saws and big straight cuts were not an issue. It’s the small slots I’m struggling with. I drilled a series of holes with the plan to just cut them out with a disk. The problem is my smallest disk is 3”. I may have to spend hours with a dremel...anyone have a better idea? I don’t have a cutting torch or a plasma.

This is going to take a lot of cutting, grinding & sanding to get the finish I want

Here is where I ended the night. Starting to take shape but still a long way to go

The mess of tools I’m hoping to take care of when this is done. Hard to work with this pile on a small table

Here is what (3) 4-1/2 cutting disks look like in powder form haha



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Spent most of the weekend in Michigan helping my father in law tear down his 2004 HD Roadglide to prep for paint. It was a lot of fun.
Getting started:

After a few hours:

Where we left it today:


I’ll be back in a month or two to help him reassemble.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Tonight I got back into the garage to make some progress on the tool holder.

I found that the Dremel with a cut off worked really well for the small slots!

First corner progress

Got the big hammer slot done before I finalized the last tools

My 18V Mikita was getting a workout with the hole saw

So much so that it let the smoke out. I now dedicate this project to the memory of my old drill that was with me the past 4 years....it will be missed, it was a good drill.

Cutting these 1/2 circles is what finally killed my old friend

Still have to add a few tool slots but I’m 90% there

A little detail on the hardest area. Not perfect but it is functional

I’m loving the organization




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[FallibleFlyer]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Whats holding that angle grinder in? Might also consider flipping the wire brush over and hanging it from a lanyard instead... those things can be a big pokey, especially when reaching for those blue handles.

Nice work though, cool to make something that fits your needs/layout

 

[Stooge]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

I like it, and nice work on the organizer piece! that hammer and dolly set should work well for you, and its a great baseline to see what is useful to you and what you might want to invest in next as far as metal shaping hand tools. They also look to be a little more polished and refined than the set I have from them, although mine are looking pretty rough and I've cut up or reshaped a few of the hammers

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

In the last pictures the grinders are just resting on the guard in the slot. When I am finished it will have the front piece welded on seen in the pic with the whole thing mocked up. It will be more secure and close off the front of the slot. The circle cut outs will allow the grinders to drop down to the spindle.

Good feedback on the brush placement. I may hang it and use that hole for something else. Ill see after I start using it. I almost always have gloves on so will probably be ok.

Andrew

 

[aka Larry]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Cutting 3/16" steel with a Dremel...damn. I know you said it's all you had on hand, but it was about 3X too thick for your application.

Cool layout with all the tools though.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

It wasn’t too bad. I cut it most of the way with a 1/4 air grinder and finished with the Dremel.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Finally got onto some welding. The pieces went together really well and I was able to minimize warping.

Fit up the front plate. Offset slightly for a smoother weld


I was happy with the penetration and final result. Welding 3/16 with .025 wire= machine is turned all the way up.



Welded on the back plate and the mounting tabs

Clamped it onto my welding cart to see how well the mount holds. Turns out it’s pretty week just attached to the stamped steel plate.


Now I just need to get a new drill so I can get this thing bolted on.


Left to do:
Add support to welding cart bracket
Drill holes in tabs
Drill cart bracket and edge of table and weld nuts to bottom side
Clean up weld splatter and paint it all


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[racer-john]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

What method do you use to get those "nice-stack-of-dimes"?

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

What method do you use to get those "nice-stack-of-dimes"?

Probably the wrong one haha. I was on and off the trigger a lot starting the next bead before the last one cooled. It would have been a lot stronger to make a continuous pass but it would have created a lot of heat, potentially warped and not look as nice (at my skill level). I would recommend a continuous pass for anything critical but this thing will never fall apart holding my tools.

 

[racer-john]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Thanks for the quick response. I think I need to speed up some to reduce the build-up.
John

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Big step tonight. I pulled out my old drill and drilled the holes to mount to the bench and the welding cart. I’m amazed at all the tools that this thing fit!




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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

After seeing how much the bracket I made for the welding cart flexed I knew it needed more support.

Cut a piece of angle iron to mount to the existing support on the cart

Continuous pass welded nice with minimal warping. The clamps helped


Mounted to the cart and drilled from the backside using two of the existing holes.


Mounted the tool holder back onto the cart and was pleased to find that it now feels solid.


I definitely need to weld nuts to the bracket because they are very hard to get to behind the tool holder. Especially since I plan to move this back and forth onto my table.

While I had the drill setup I reinstalled the cord hanger I had to remove from the other side. This will keep all the cords together.
Before:

After:



Going to take a short break from welding to get the Harley, quads & dirtbike ready for the summer. I can share some of those projects too if you guys have any interest. Or should I keep this thread welding only?



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[FallibleFlyer]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

You've convinced me... Need to make something similar for my welding table...

 

[jhn9840]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

You are doing good. Show all your projects if you’d like.

jhn9849
John

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

It’s been a little while since I posted so here is an update on what I have been up to.

A couple weeks ago we had a 45* sunny day so I cleared out the garage and mopped the floors and mats. Amazing how much metal dust was on everything. I plan to do as much cutting and grinding outside that I can this summer to avoid the mess.

Even the toys got a bath.

Started prepping the Harley for spring riding. Changed the engine, trans and primary oil. A quick polish and took it for a ride. I ordered a rear tire as well as it will be due very soon.


The engineers didn’t give you much room to fill the primary.


Next up was my YFZ450. Need to change it from the ice racing to the dunes setup

Axle is adjustable width and I like it at +4” for the sand

Moving 1” spacers from outside to inside


Chain needed a little light oil as well. It’s not good to use a typical thick chain lube in the dunes because the sand sticks and wears everything quick.

Last step of the night was taking the rings off my rear beadlocks. I still need to take them to a tire shop to get the bead broke. They normally do it for free!

I just love this Williams USA flex head I picked up recently


Getting closer to my first dune trip of the year on April 6th!


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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects




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[quadrcr87]

Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Now some more non welding related fun.

Recent tool order arrived from Amazon. Now I have the full Wiss snip set for sheet metal. I also picked up some special tools for pulling flywheels on my quad and dirt bike so I can replace the timing chains.



My commuter car is a 2013 Subaru Impreza and it has been getting louder and louder lately. The main culprit was the chopped up rear tires. I also found heavy rust and pitting on the rear rotors. New tires all around and rear brakes and it rides great.





Thanks for following along.


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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Finally got out to the garage to do some welding. It’s a gift for my MIL that’s visiting my wife next week.

Changed the spark plugs in my truck today so I had some inspiration and material.

Sheet metal, a coat hanger, spark plug, ball bearings and a 3/16 rod


Sketched a few ideas and decided on a dragon fly


It was a little tricky getting the wings welded on. Next time I will probably tack them on the bottom instead of the top. It should look cleaner that way.


The ball bearings and legs welded on easy. I grabbed a set of legs together with some duck bill vice grips and tacked them on together


I welded a 3/16 rod on the bottom to stick it into the garden but I didn’t take a pic.
My next bug is going to be a scorpion with chainsaw chain.....


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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Got started on the scorpion. Not sure I got the proportions right. We will see how it looks with the legs and pinchers added:


Front arms are 2 layers of chains to add bulk

Legs not attached yet


Thinking about making pinchers out of cut up washers..... Anyone have any ideas or tips that will help this one?


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[quadrcr87]

Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Finished up the scorpion last night!

I ended up cutting up and grinding some small washers for the front claws. The rear stinger is actually a piece of the chain saw chain. I just reshaped it with a grinder.




Here is the real thing for comparison


So what should I make next?


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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Just ordered one of these so its time to get some tubing to make a bumper and tow bar! Wife and I have been wanting a RZR for a while and the deal I got from a dealer down in TN was too good to pass up.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

It has been quite a while since I posted an update. With winter hitting the Midwest it’s time to get back to welding. Here are a couple of my recent projects through the summer.

I bought a Polaris RZR in April and I had a few projects in mind right away


First up was a way to flat tow from our camp site to the riding area (3 miles @ 20 mph). I also needed a flag mount on the front for the Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Michigan

Bought a tow bar from HF and made a frame mount


Ready to head to the dunes for the first trip



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Shortly after making the tow bar and flag mounts I decided to build a front bumper. Nothing on the market worked for me because of the need to tow and mount a front flag for the Michigan dunes.

Started out with 3/16” plate and 1-1/4 & 1-1/2 .095” tubing




Getting tight notches with my cheap HF notcher


Following the body line to maintain the best approach angle I could



Goal was to tuck it in and keep the Polaris styling in place

I added top mounts to the existing holes in the frame and added a tab for the 10’ dune flag

I capped the tube ends off with 1/8” plate and a hole saw. I also added tabs for the tow bar at the bottom

I used my usual CAD design process to start the skid plate

Painted the template black to help decide final color plans

Cut out the 1/8 aluminum plate with a jig saw and finished with a flapper wheel. To mount I welded 1/4” nuts to a tab in each corner

Detail on the tow bar mounting

Out on the dunes with the new setup

I had my buddy PC the bumper and skid flat black. I traded him my old tow bar mount for the work. We both bought the same machines this year. His is the orange one.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Still working on the new RZR I decided I need some storage and cold drinks on the trail

Turns out a Rigid tool box fits perfect

I wanted it mounted so I didn’t have to remove straps to access it and not permanently modify the RZR. I used 1/8” aluminum to create supports. They bolt to the box and use quick mounts in the RZR bed


Next up was a cooler. I went with a soft 24 can AO cooler. The problem with hard coolers is the cans bouncing around while riding. I have had them get punctured.

Using the same quick mounts in the RZR bed I made a couple aluminum brackets for a nylon strap to run though. This make the cooler quick to remove and access



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

The stock RZR exhaust trapped a lot of heat as you can see on the muffler discoloration


I saw a trick online to remove the “restriction”. The O2 sensors are before the muffler so the ECU stays happy with no codes.

Cut the inlet pipe off

Drilled and hammered out the core


Everything cleaned out. I left the stock baffles in as I didn’t want to change the tone and piss the wife off


To the untrained eye this little mod never happened. My welds ended up as good as Polaris



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Since I had some 1/8” aluminum left over I decided to make some additional guards.

Behind this guard I made is the ECU and wiring harness. Sorry I missed the before picture but it was completely exposed and could end a trail ride with a stick or rock hitting it



After I make a couple more things I’ll pull all the bare aluminum off and powder coat it black.

I borrowed my brothers tubing bender so roll cage mods are next. Going to chop the height and add some much needed strength. This thing goes 80mph off-road so the potential for dance is high!




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[Bigblue&Goldie]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Do you guys have to mount your whips to the front of the vehicle? In the West we always mount them in the back.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Yes unfortunately the Silver Lake Sand Dunes require us to have a 10’ flag on the front. This includes trucks, buggies & UTVs. They do let the quads and bikes to have them on the rear.

 

[Ohmthis]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Quad, your skills are improving, I like the RZR bumper a lot! I have one of those HF notchers and it has done really well with good hole saws. Keep up the good work!

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Quad, your skills are improving, I like the RZR bumper a lot! I have one of those HF notchers and it has done really well with good hole saws. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the encouragement! The notcher works ok on small tubing but it tends to wander off center. It also struggles with large angles due a short distance to the hole saw. I will keep using it for now but I want to upgrade in the future.


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[quadrcr87]

Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Reviving the thread now that the holidays have passed and I have some time to get in the garage.

Some of you may have seen this in the show us your welding projects thread. My wife saw some silverware frogs in a store downtown Traverse City, MI and she loved them. So I headed to the goodwill and stocked up on spoons and forks.


Balancing these things was a little tricky. I guessed on the “lily pad” weight and then had to bend and adjust the 3/16 rod several times to find the balance.


A made a 2nd one applying the tricks I learned the first time around. I even got some help from the forum from some fellow silverware artists. Haha



Now on to some practical things...



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[quadrcr87]

Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

A few months back as I pulled into my driveway I saw this beauty in the neighbors driveway with a free sign! Needless to say I now had a snowblower.


Step one was a tune up, new tires and some adjustments. Got it done in time for our first snow.


It ran well and really threw some snow. I even cleared the neighbor’s driveway since they had given it to me. I did notice that it didn’t scrape the concrete very well even after some adjusting. It just skimmed over any packed snow and left a lot of patches.

I knew the scraper was worn down but it was worse then I thought.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Tonight I started tearing into the rusted out shroud and worn out scraper.

As you can see it is just a little worn

Of course all the bolts were seized up. I ended up cutting most of them off including the height adjusters.

I did get to use my new IR die grinder.

Next up was lots of wire wheeling with my 4-1/2 grinder and die grinders. I used my HF hammer and dollies to straighten everything out and see what I’m working with.




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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

What started out as a project to replace the scraper edge turned into repairing rust holes.


I already had some 14 gauge on hand so I cut a couple patch pieces. I just bent them to fit with a hammer and vice . Set them in place and marked out my cut.

Taking a little more material then I needed to but I wanted to get to some solid metal.

After I cut and fit the panel I tacked it in place. I had to play with the welder setting due to burn through.


I also started on the new scraper edge. I went with some 3/16” I had in stock. Not sure on the original width of this but I assumed it was 1-1/2 tall before the last 30 years of scraping[emoji846]



That’s pretty much where I left it for the night. Quite the mess I made in 2 hrs.




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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Day 2 started with finish welding the first side. I must say welding to this rusty thin sheet metal was painful. I had several blow through holes I had to fill. Overall it worked out after finish grinding.




I made the 2nd patch panel and laid out the cut.

I used my Bosch 4-1/2 grinder with a thin cut off disk & a IR die grinder


2nd patch tacked in place

Welded and ground flush

When test fitting the new scraper I found that the screw heads were hitting the rotating blades

Not having a counter sink I used a step drill and a larger drill bit to make it work.



Next was a final test fit




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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

I cleaned up the skids with a wire wheel getting ready for paint.

Did a **** job priming the bare metal because my spray can was clogging up and it was 40* F in the garage.




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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Day 3 started with some black paint. This stuff took 24hrs to dry in the cold garage. My little Mr.Buddy heater helps but not much.




After some drying I reassembled everything with new hardware.




Once I set it on the ground I realized one side was sitting a little off the concrete. Turns out a warn brass axle bushing has caused one side of the blower to drop down. Once that’s replaced we will be ready to go.

We have 4” of now on the ground so I’m heading out to try out the new scraper!



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

It cleared the snow much better with the new scraper. Once I fix the axle bushings I am hoping that it won’t bounce so much with the tire chains. If not I may remove the chains since my driveway is flat and smooth.



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