Sanddan's Shop Projects

[sanddan]

Some background first, I am a retired mechanical engineer that loves to work in metal. Early in my career I started learning to weld so I could have a better feel for the steps required to build up my designs (underground mining equipment at the time). Metal fabrication was a spin off from my main hobby of hot-rodding and cars in general. Three years ago I purchased my mill and lathe with the goal of learning how to machine parts for my projects. I am still a rank beginner but working at improving my skills. I am starting this thread to document my shop projects in one location. The projects may not be posted in chronological order as I plan on posting some that were completed but never posted.

Yesterday I got a care package from Enco, a set of 5C collet blocks, (both hex and square) and the collets to go with it. The collet set came in small individual boxes so really needed some sort of storage rack.

I have some clear plastic sheets that were from picture frames that were being thrown out at my old job which looked like they would be big enough. I needed to bend the sheet into a "U" shape so first off I needed to figure out a way to bend the material. I set up a clamp out of scrap steel and used a heat gun to soften the plastic enough to bend. I made some sample bends to get the process figured out and then made the bends.

Next I laid out the holes, 20 in all. I just found the center for both directions and made a pattern that would fit. I used a hole saw and the drill press to do the holes. I had to "peck" at it to keep the melted plastic to a minimum.

After cleaning up and deburing I think it turned out pretty good. I made room in the tool box, a bit of luck having it fit first try.

 

[jrb2]

Sanddan,

Great idea! I was just contemplating a similiar problem myself to store 15 R8 collets. I have some pretty heavy aluminum, but I never thought of plexiglass. I will have to think on this some more

 

[longlivepunk]

That looks great!! I'm interested to see what else turns up in this thread, subscribed.

I never think to use plastic for anything, because I'm more familiar with metal and wood, but after seeing this I'll have to keep it in mind!

 

[sanddan]

Sanddan,

Great idea! I was just contemplating a similiar problem myself to store 15 R8 collets. I have some pretty heavy aluminum, but I never thought of plexiglass. I will have to think on this some more

Thanks, I was the same. I was looking for the right size piece of scrap aluminum and saw the box of plastic setting there and wondered if I could bend it. Cheap solution since it was on hand.

That looks great!! I'm interested to see what else turns up in this thread, subscribed.

I never think to use plastic for anything, because I'm more familiar with metal and wood, but after seeing this I'll have to keep it in mind!

Thanks, more projects to come.

 

[Train]

Early in my career I started learning to weld so I could have a better feel for the steps required to build up my designs (underground mining equipment at the time).

I have no comment on your project, but this just impressed me. I've worked with draftsmen who would just pull ideas out of their **** that required a magic wand to build. Later on I worked with one that would come up with a design, and insist that he be called to help build the first one so he was sure he hadn't done the same thing. Different industry, but same idea.

 

[rburke65]

Nicely done. I won't use this general idea tomorrow, buti will file it away for somewhere down the road. Thanks.

 

[ilovevocs]

Nice work, thanks for sharing.

 

[sanddan]

I have no comment on your project, but this just impressed me. I've worked with draftsmen who would just pull ideas out of their **** that required a magic wand to build. Later on I worked with one that would come up with a design, and insist that he be called to help build the first one so he was sure he hadn't done the same thing. Different industry, but same idea.

Train,

The first guy are the types that give all of the engineers a bad name. Most engineers want their stuff to work so tend to work with the shop guys and listen to them. That doesn't mean they always change the design as sometimes other reasons make them stick to the tough to build version. It's no fun to come up with a great idea that can't be built or installed on the machine.

Dan

 

[NASTYZEN]

Pretty cool Sanddan. You just inspired me with a project I was originaly going to make with Alu. It'll look much better with the lexan I have.
Thanks for posting.

 

[sanddan]

Thanks nasty, your projects have inspired me also. Had a lot to do with me starting this thread after learning from others like yourself.

 

[raf0419]

Me likes. Thanks for posting!

 

[sanddan]

My current project that I am working on is a harness bar for my Camaro. The harness bar system allows you to add a 6 point harness to your car without needing to add a roll cage. I take the Camaro to the road race track for open track days and could really use some support. The setup uses a "tank plate" which mounts to the seat base and is the attachment point for the lap belts and submarine belts. The shoulder belts mount to the harness bar which in my case mounts to the rear seat belt mount points and the tank plates. Here is a cad shot of the setup.

[/URL][/IMG]

I made the tank plates first. After some measurements I designed the plate on cad to get the flat plate dimensions.

[/URL][/IMG]

I did the prototypes using 18ga steel so I could check the fit and clearance to the seat base.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

After getting the dimensions correct I farmed out the actual plates to a local steel supplier. They laser cut and bent the plates for me out of high strength steel. Here is the finished (except for paint) tank plate with the eye bolts that the harness attaches to.

[/URL][/IMG]

Next I'll start on the 2 brackets that the main harness bar mounts to.

 

[sanddan]

For the 2 mount brackets I started with cad, this time it was the "cardboard aided design" version. There is a similar harness bar design on the market that I used as a starting point. The cardboard got me the basic shape and the bolt pattern and allowed me to check the fit to the seat base before putting it to steel.

[/URL][/IMG]

I don't have a press brake yet so I scored the bend line to make it easier to bend. It will get welded later.

[/URL][/IMG]

I used the weld table and a piece of flat bar for clamping and a dead blow hammer to make the bend.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

Here is the bend line that will be welded up later.

[/URL][/IMG]

I didn't get any pics of the final welded bracket but I do have a cad shot. I added some gussets for stiffness and split a piece of 1" tubing to add a stiffening rib.

[/URL][/IMG]

After some paint, both brackets were installed and final measurements taken so the main bar weldment could be designed.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

Time to order up the chromoly tubing, more fun to come.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looking good. Subscribed.

Mike.

 

[sanddan]

Time for an update on the harness bar. I started the main bar weldment by cutting the tubing to length and getting ready to cope the tube ends as needed. I am using a HF tubing notcher I bought on a whim for $25 at least 8 or 9 years ago. Not a great tool but with enough fiddling you can get a decent cope. Nothing is easy sometimes, I had to do some lathe work before any notching could be done. The HF notcher comes with a shaft the hole saw screws onto. The threads are 1/2-UNC which it seems only fits hole saws 1 1/8in and below. The tubing is 1 1/4" and the hole saw for that size uses 5/8-UNC threads so I added the 5/8 threads to the shaft. I didn't get any pictures of that step (good thing as my single point threading skills aren't that great) but worked great. Here's the basic setup I used for the notching.

[/URL][/IMG]

Setting the 45 deg angle.

[/URL][/IMG]

Finished notch, I am using a 1/2 drill with side handle in case the hole saw hangs up.

[/URL][/IMG]

The fit up turned out really good.

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice tight fitment of the tubes. I always shoot so that a welding rod will not fit anywhere in the joint when TIG welding.

Mike.

 

[sanddan]

Mike,

You might like this, I sold my sand stuff 2 years ago and while checking the local craigslist I saw my sand rail and trailer for sale. It doesn't look as good as when I had it but I am picky about my stuff and try to keep it nice and tidy.

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/snw/4963917005.html

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,

You might like this, I sold my sand stuff 2 years ago and while checking the local craigslist I saw my sand rail and trailer for sale. It doesn't look as good as when I had it but I am picky about my stuff and try to keep it nice and tidy.

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/snw/4963917005.html

Nice looking outfit. Can I ask why you sold it? Selling our sand rail and quads was a tough decision after being heavy into duning for the past 27+ years.

I received and interesting telephone call on Saturday. Evidently the guy that purchased my sand rail about a year or so ago has sold it because he needed out from under the debt. The gentleman who purchased it asked around and found out that I built the car and called me to ask about it.

He seemed very happy and exstatic about the car in his garage and just wanted to chat with me about it. Come to find out he just lives about a mile or east of me.

I sure hope he takes care of it, it is hard to let these things go. I feel like a part of me goes into everything and they are hard to sell.

Just in case you hadn't seen my mid-engine sandrail build, here is a link to it.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81149

Mike.

 

[sanddan]

Mike,

It was a combination of things. The dunes in Oregon are small and have been getting crowded with the advent of the SXS crowd. It was getting dangerous with safety only in a group. I lost the group that I had been going with over the years and it just wasn't fun with only the wife and myself. (she hated to ride in my car) I was lucky that she went with me over the years as it was, one of the only wife's that rode a quad, so it was time to do other things. She's much happier with the variety of trips we do now. My Camaro and going to open track events is now my adrenalin fix.

Dan

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,

It was a combination of things. The dunes in Oregon are small and have been getting crowded with the advent of the SXS crowd. It was getting dangerous with safety only in a group. I lost the group that I had been going with over the years and it just wasn't fun with only the wife and myself. (she hated to ride in my car) I was lucky that she went with me over the years as it was, one of the only wife's that rode a quad, so it was time to do other things. She's much happier with the variety of trips we do now. My Camaro and going to open track events is now my adrenalin fix.

Dan

I understand that Dan. We went to Coos Bay a few times and duned and it was getting over run with the side by side crowd like everything else and don't take this the wrong way but they are a different breed when it comes to trail manners and safety. We are seeing the same thing in Moab, Utah and Southwestern Colorado now where we wheel frequently.

My wife too is a special woman as we have been duning heavily since 1987 when we first met and I graduated high school. Week after we were married in 1989 we had an extended trip to St. Anthony, ID sand dunes and she would tear it up right along side me on a tricked out Quadracer. We took a short break when our son was born in 1991 due to he being pre-mature and having some medical issues but in 1995 we purchased our first motorhome and really started hitting the dunes heavy, moreso than before even. We duned a lot over the years but with friends getting out of it and our family interests changing a bit we too sold our sand toys and jumped deeper into off-roading in our Jeeps, our RVing and riding our Harleys.

Sometimes I miss duning but it was a very costly hobby and sucked when we could only get to the dunes 4-6 times a year.

Mike.

 

[sanddan]

Yah, cost was insane. I got about $.50 on the dollar when I sold out. Not a cheap hobby but a lot of fun non the less. My main regret was selling my 69 Camaro to finance the rail. One of my bigger car mistakes but water under the bridge at this point.

I would love to try 4 wheeling in Moab. We did get to St Anthony's a couple of times but never when I had the sandrail. It was during my Banshee days. I hope to make the trip to Moab if I can talk the wife into it. We'll see.

Dan

 

[zmotorsports]

Yah, cost was insane. I got about $.50 on the dollar when I sold out. Not a cheap hobby but a lot of fun non the less. My main regret was selling my 69 Camaro to finance the rail. One of my bigger car mistakes but water under the bridge at this point.

I would love to try 4 wheeling in Moab. We did get to St Anthony's a couple of times but never when I had the sandrail. It was during my Banshee days. I hope to make the trip to Moab if I can talk the wife into it. We'll see.

Dan

Yah, I hear ya. I took a bit of a loss on our rail and both quads but I come out about what I was into the new project quad that we were building for my son by breaking it apart and selling it off piece by piece on ebay. My thinking was we were not using the rail as much as we should and my wife and I really like Jeeping so I though do I sell te rail and the quads and loose little now or sit on them for a few more years and then have issues with tire rot and seals leaking and then loose big down the road. I opted to loose small now.

I too sold a car to finance my rail. I had a 1940 Chev coupe that I showed and drag raced, didn't get a chance to race it for a while so I sold it and built the rail. Then four or five years later, sold the sand toys and ended up investing some for retirement and used some to purchase my new lathe and mill for the shop with the thinking those would make me more money down the road and something that would serve our shop well into our retirement.

If you guys decide to hit Moab give me a shout and maybe my wife and I can meet you there. We don't need much of an excuse to go to Moab.

Mike.

 

[sanddan]

The design calls for a 1/2-13INC threaded hole in the end of the main horizontal tube. There isn't a readily available insert for 1.25" OD tubing so I machined up my own version. They are a slip fit to the ID of the tube and are tapered at the end to allow the rod end to pivot without interference.

I first machined the end that slips into the tube.

[/URL][/IMG]

I added a weld prep chamfer and cut to rough length on the bandsaw.

[/URL][/IMG]

Next I reversed the part in the lathe and drilled a pilot hole for the 12-13UNC threads. I also tapered the end to provide clearance for the rod end to pivot.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

To do the taper I turned the compound to 35 deg and reversed the rotation machining on the back side of the part. This pic shows a before and after.

[/URL][/IMG]

The spuds were then welded to each end of the main tube.

[/URL][/IMG]

What's not shown was having to machine out the weld and cut 1" off each end as the main tube was too long when I did the initial trial fit with the weldment tacked together. Blowing it apart was a pain but it had to be done. It only cost me 3 hrs extra work. LOL

 

[ilovevocs]

Sanddan, we seem allot alike. I took up machining to economically Aquire the parts I wanted to design and build. I'm an Architect So we should be natural enemies, but my OCD makes me a different kind of designer. I'm a sand guy too. I have a buckshot x-5 that I bought as a chassis and finished the rest myself. It's not worth a dime but I'm not going to let it go. It's a well built car. Moved the trans for better angle on the cvs's and did a ton of misc mods to the car. Spent every cent on building a reliable car, not a flashy one that breaks all the time. I used to live 3 blocks from Andrews shop. Andrew built a car for my dad and I decided it would be best to buy the car as a chassis and finish it myself. I put the best of everything into my car; it was built like a race car not a play car. I'm not a shiny paint, show off guy. I like to abuse my equipment with confidence. Dunning is an addiction. Living in Cali I was fortunate enough to hang at glamis all the time. Back here the dunes **** but as soon as my divorce is final I'll be storing my car and coach close to the dunes and coming out a few weeks a year.

 

[sanddan]

Luckily my welding table was big enough to layout the parts and clamp them to the table before tacking.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

I did a trial fit check at this point and decided I needed to tweak the upper tube length to make it easier to bolt on the support tubes. After that was done I re-setup the parts and tacked them on both sides. I clamped the tubes to the table to ensure flatness and used a length of all thread to set the width of the lower mount tubes so they would match the brackets that are bolted to the Camaro. I did all of the welding on the bench keeping it clamped to the table and letting the welds cool before repositioning.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

There are 4 small U shaped pieces made out of 1/8" round bar that locate the shoulder harnesses. I bent them up in the press brake and welded them to the top bar. I held the weldment at the same angle it will be in the car so the pieces would be correctly aligned. I also used a long piece of angle to ensure all 4 would be inline.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

Next up was prepping the weldment for paint. I like to use a prep disk for this as it cleans the steel and puts some fine scratches on the metal for the paint to stick to.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

The prep took a while but then the parts went into the paint booth. I wiped them down with wax and grease remover and shot 2 layers of SEM etch primer followed by SEM black trim paint. For a small job like this I use rattle can paint with SEM brand giving good results.

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[sanddan]

Sanddan, we seem allot alike. I took up machining to economically Aquire the parts I wanted to design and build. I'm an Architect So we should be natural enemies, but my OCD makes me a different kind of designer. I'm a sand guy too. I have a buckshot x-5 that I bought as a chassis and finished the rest myself. It's not worth a dime but I'm not going to let it go. It's a well built car. Moved the trans for better angle on the cvs's and did a ton of misc mods to the car. Spent every cent on building a reliable car, not a flashy one that breaks all the time. I used to live 3 blocks from Andrews shop. Andrew built a car for my dad and I decided it would be best to buy the car as a chassis and finish it myself. I put the best of everything into my car; it was built like a race car not a play car. I'm not a shiny paint, show off guy. I like to abuse my equipment with confidence. Dunning is an addiction. Living in Cali I was fortunate enough to hang at glamis all the time. Back here the dunes **** but as soon as my divorce is final I'll be storing my car and coach close to the dunes and coming out a few weeks a year.

I didn't know they have dunes in Ohio Being able to machine parts has really opened up the possibilities for me. A simple spacer used to be a big deal but now just a few minutes of work. I had my car tore down to the bare frame several times for rebuilding and/or upgrades. I ended up repainting about 80% of the frame all together. It's not a cheap sport but a ton of fun.

 

[ilovevocs]

Your right, we don't have dunes in ohio. I own a place at silver Lake Michigan. We have 3.5 sq miles of orv area. It's laughably small. Long travel cars are a waste here.

Honestly get more enjoyment these days out of trail riding my dirt bike than I do being at our dunes. If I can't find the time and finances to frequent glamis a few times a year once my divorce is final in going to pull my ls2 and put it in an impala and sell off the transaxle and chassis. I won't let the motor go with the car. Wish I had the balls to put the transaxle in the truck and build it as mid engine. Too much money invested in the transaxle and not enough gearing options available for the benefit. More cost effective options. May even try to sell the trans separate. It's hard to recoup anything when most builders put import 934's in their cars and you paid over 500 a side for gkn races and 300m stars and cages. The list is endless but the average chassis builder cuts corners at every turn. That's just one example. The average so cal guy that buys a sand car to impress his buddies would see no value in my car. The chassis is bare steel because when I break it, I don't have to deal with weld contamination, prep, or repair associated with PC. All my wiring is ran outboard of the frame, non of this show car BS. I can swap my entire control center out in 10 minutes to a new one with all new relays, fuses, ect. All my relays are potted, switches are all aircraft grade circuit breaker switches. I built the car like it was a class 1 race care with out any of the flash. I paint and wouldn't spend money or time to paint the body panels. It's about beating it to death every weekend and not having constant issues. I don't care what others think about it, it was about fueling my need to drive it to its limits and fix it quickly when It broke. I carry extra control arms with me when we go to glamis. I set out expecting to break something.

 

[sanddan]

Here is an installed picture. Haven't got the harnesses yet but there're on the way.

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[zmotorsports]

Fantastic job Dan. Very well thought out and executed. Looks like it doesn't take too awfully long to remove so the back seat is usable.

Mike.

 

[sanddan]

Thanks Mike. It only takes 6 bolts to remove, could be done in 5 to 10 min depending on how fast I work. No ones ever sat in the rear seat so far so I doubt I'll ever take it out any time soon.