sam,

I actually was just imaging that.. does that seafood come with ketchup?? :roll:

I will definitely need some kind of a cool looking shield. Since there is no fork in the way, I can get real creative.

this is getting interesting

Quote:

Originally posted by van I actually was just imaging that.. does that seafood come with ketchup??

Depending on what you run over, there is certainly the chance of something red and sticky.... possibly some other colors too.

Whether it was ketchup would depend on whether the pedestrians you just ran over were returning from a burger run. :o

I think someone mentioned running over some jellyfish last year that had died on the beach and were well into the decomposition stages...... ewwwwww :megan:

Shield would definitely be cool, but would need to be factored in with what contortions would be required of your knees/ankles.

ATB,
Sam

I get that with driftwood sometimes, I'm thinking, oh I got clearance, then OUCH!

That was one of the first things I thought of when they showed the picture of the new Peter Lynn buggy with the downtube inverted. Ground clearance at that one point seemed to be reduced to almost nothing. Maybe fine on pancake beaches, but....

ATB,
Sam

The only thing I see wrong with this is in the sketch. And I know it's just a sketch. But with the stearing system in the wheel you will have very little turnig radius before the inside of the rim hits the mono rail that the knuckle is mounted to.

Yeah.. I saw that too. I keep drawing the knuckle at different angles to try clearing but it seem the only way is to face it toward front or rear in order to extend the foot pegs out. To better clear the wheels, the knuckles need to come straight out. I have a couple ideas to do that and still have the foot pegs come straight out but still working on the design. I was gonna go back to original idea of 2 parallel tube as the monorail and have the foot peg sit between the 2 tubes. Might have to draw that out to see how it would work.

Squeeze in a little cutting, bending , and welding today. I only had a 1 1/2" die for my bender so the 1 1/4" tube didn't bend too well. The bend got a little flatten but still usable. I figure I can always weld extra support near the bend to strenghten it later. Going out of town for a week so was trying to get as much done today as possible. I should be done with the frame next weekend and can start on the seat. I will most likely just finish up the standard fork for now and work on the mono fork after the holidays.

Nice work so far. This isn't looking like someones first buggy! Keep us posted.

Looking great van. Good to see that you've already put in some time and have a great start. What size will the axles be (the part that contacts the bearings)? 5/8", 3/4" or 20mm? I am always curious at how folks put together their wheel and bearing assemblies and why. I am running a 3/4" axle with hub adapters going to a 4 bolt golf cart rim. The hub adapters I am using are terrible - all wobbly - need to find replacements - anyone know of one - u2u me or email - don't want to mess up this thread. I wish I had gotten a good set of rims and hub adapter from the get go - would have made life a lot easier.

Keep up the good work.

flexi,

I originally was gonna go for 3/4" but then I noticed that there wasn't that many options in bearings and hub choices for that size. I went with 5/8" because it look like it would be plenty strong and there are alot of bearings wtih 5/8" ID. I got some cheap gokart hubs for like $15 each so I hope it would be ok. I figure I can always upgrade. My hubs have 4 on 4" bolt circle. I might later get the 4x110 since there seems like alot more rims in that size.

Bob,

This is my first buggy build and my second buggy that I own. My first buggy I got from Dylanj423. I've outgrown it so sold it to a local fellow here so he can get into the sport. He is having a blast with that buggy. Although my background is computer engineering, I've always love to tinker. So far, my projects includes things like CNC router , Lamborghini Diablo replica, outdoor kitchen with concrete countertop, koi ponds, custom arcade (MAME) machines, tandem bicycles ( weld 2 mountain bikes together :embarrased: ) and built in entertainment center ( wife wants this done soon :evil: )

I like to post my builds so others can contribute ideas and also I can contribute back to other builders. If anyone is interested in a CNc router project , I have my build diary here http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_wood_router_project_log/99...

One clever chap for sure....great work

I like your garage. I'll have to show that pic to Sandy. And she'll see I'm not the only one who thinks there for projects and not parking!!

haaha .. my garage looks alot better than what it used to be. I had to climb over stuff to get through there when I had the Lamborghini diablo replica build in there.

Here's some pic of it in my garage ... right before my WIFE made me sell it... :dunno:

http://www.kitcentral.com/index.php?set_albumName=Van-ADL-Ro...

Just got back into town this afternoon and found 3 boxes from UPS!! My rims, tires, and miscellaneous parts arrived today.
I started welding the boss onto the axle and got the tires mounted to the rims.

These are the threaded weld nuts I got from McMaster Carr.



I had to add a short piece of tube to increase the size on the weld nut so it would fit in the axle.





Got the tires mounted and bolted to the axle. Looking good..






I started to look for scrap pipes to use for my regular fork and mono fork.
I found a couple of bike racks thats got the right pieces .. recycle!!



The vertical piece could be used as the horizontal piece of the swan neck since it has holes drilled in already.



This would work for the swan neck.



These could be welded together to make a fork.

I notice you have gone to a lot of trouble getting the thread inside the axle, I used to go down that route a few years ago, now I have a much simpler way to get any size thread I want inside any size axle.

Basically....I used 1 1/2"sched 10 for my axles, 1600mm long

I have some stainless dics laser cut about 8mm-10mm thick, that will either be the same size as the tube or so it can fit inside the axle.

When they are laser cut, I have a 18mm hole cut in the middle, I then TIG weld a 20mm stainless nut over the hole, once cooled down, I then run a 20m tap through the nut, until it cuts a new thread on the 18mm hole...I now have a thread approx 25mm long....I chamfer the edge of the discs (to allow for a good weld) then screw a longish piece of stud bar into the thread and align it all up and weld to the axle tube.

Much much cheaper and a very easy way to get around an problem that some people have problems with..

PTW,

That's a great and simple way to do it. Wish I knew that before. I was following ideas from your 'race buggy build'. I really do appreciate all the ideas that you have given me with your website.

I got a little work done on it after lunch today ...

Got the rake figured out .. I think...


Got fork and such welded on ... all recycle from my bike rack.





Notice the custom wood seat... latest fashion.


Ok.. couldn't resist.. had to sit in it again...

Coming along very nicely indeed, and what I love about your project more than anything is the way you are using materials that you have laid around, really like your swan neck, why the added section on the front though...(just curious)

I also like the way you have got around making yokes.....piece of box section...ingenious

...and I know where you are coming from wanting to get sat in it before it is complete, I still do that even now, I cant resist it 30 odd buggies down the line.

You are doing a great job, and its a joy to see you stepping out of the box and trying something different.

Once your frame is sat at the ride height, ie fix the rear wheels on, prop up your side rail/ swan neck plate, set your fork legs to around 65 degrees, you wont be far out then, it only starts becoming difficult when you have offset yokes, that pushes the fork legs forward of the axis or headstock bolt....everything then start taking some working out, especially trying to keep the trail right, or within the parameters that we know work well.

About the axle bosses, yeah sorry, I have moved on since making that race buggy page, I have had to, I used to have to get the bosses machined up ect, and from solid round bar....expensive, so I am always trying to think of cheaper and more cost effective ways to make thing without losing any of the structural integrity. I have found a much simpler way with the footpegs also.

I will (if I can) try to make some instructional buggy building videos, showing how I make things now, just using normal tools that are cheap and probably have lying in your garage. Each video will relate to one part...ie how to make a swan neck, rear axle, side rails etc etc....it gives me something to do while I am trying to find a new job.


Oh and another thing....how did you manage to get your photos so big on PKF, no matter what size I upload, they always end up small photos on here...

I like the extention on the swan neck. I would mount some silly-scarry looking skull on it!!

Quote:

Originally posted by popeyethewelder Oh and another thing....how did you manage to get your photos so big on PKF, no matter what size I upload, they always end up small photos on here...

Attached images get shrunk... linked images fly first class.

ATB,
Sam

Nice build Van More to come I'm sure

I'm considered the mad scientist among my friends ... hahaa... I had the swan neck extended because it just look COOL!! I was thinking about a head light to make it look like an old Schwinn cruiser bicycle. I have my images saved to my personal server so when you link to it you need to use the size parameter to get it as big as you want , like this

Code:

[img=800x500] your link here [/img]

. I'm always keeping scraps or unused pieces of metal around just in case I will use it for something else. I have a universal gym that I plan to cut up for future builds It's worth more in metal than if I was to sell it at a garage sale.


Here's the look I was hoping to go for with the Schwinn headlight. I'm gonna have to search ebay.


Something like this mounted on the front would be cool...

Thanks for the image sizing....simples ehh

I got the plates cut and welded to the fork. The current problem I got right now is where do I find an axle bolt in 5/8" diameter that is 12" long? I manage to get a 5/8" bolt for the rear rims but am not sure how you keep the bolt from backing out. Do you have to put a locking nut on the (inside end of rim) axle end of the bolt?

Just use the stud bar you already have then Van, you can do the same with the rears too, wind the stud bar into the rear axle, wind a nut on do it up real tight, wheel then another nylock nut

ptw,

I wasn't sure if the stud bar was a problem. I thought that the grade of steel they use for it might not be strong enough or that the threads might cause problem with the bearings on the wheel. I'll try the stud bar as you suggest. I am gonna find a small tube to use as spacer.

btw ... how much clearance should I have between the ground and the square tube in the center of the buggy? I had originally measured everything for 22x12x8 slicks. They are back ordered so I had to get 18x9.5x8 for the time being. It makes the buggy sit a little lower. I only have about 2.5" clearance. I thought about shortening the swan neck to raise it up and also add an adapter plate on the axle to mount the rails a little higher.

Who said men can't sew??:moon: After 3 hours of measuring, cutting, pinning, cussing, sewing, more cussing...


The seat, back and side pieces with foam :


The 3 pieces sewing together:



This is the top/inside of the bottom layer with the webbing sewn into it:


This is the bottom side of the bottom layer:


Both top and bottom layer sewn together (top side):


Both top and bottom layer sewn together (bottom side):

Quote:

Originally posted by van ptw, I wasn't sure if the stud bar was a problem. I thought that the grade of steel they use for it might not be strong enough or that the threads might cause problem with the bearings on the wheel. I'll try the stud bar as you suggest. I am gonna find a small tube to use as spacer. btw ... how much clearance should I have between the ground and the square tube in the center of the buggy? I had originally measured everything for 22x12x8 slicks. They are back ordered so I had to get 18x9.5x8 for the time being. It makes the buggy sit a little lower. I only have about 2.5" clearance. I thought about shortening the swan neck to raise it up and also add an adapter plate on the axle to mount the rails a little higher.

What is the size of the stud bar? thats all I have been using for years but it is 20mm


Clearance wise, depends on a few factors, what ground you will run on and the angle of the bottom of your goose neck.

The plate that hold my swan neck are usually around 4 3/4" from the ground to the bottom of the plate, remember, your ass will be lower than this, I normally aim for around 1 1/2-2" clearance between my backside and the ground....the lower you can get your body without causing yourself any damage the better.

Great work on the seat BTW

Van, when i had my custom fork built i ordered a rolled steel rod 12mm from Mcmaster-Carr then cut to length and threaded the ends to use as a front axle rod. Tiresunlimited.com should have the Nanco BF's @ $33 a piece. Good luck !!! looks great !!!

I am using 5/8" all around which is about 16mm. I'll stick with the stud bar for now and see how it goes. If it gives me any problem, I can go the Cheezy route with the threaded bar. I had already ordered my tires from selecttire.com for $28 / piece. I guess if I really need them, I can cancel my current order and get them from tiresunlimited.com .

ptw, base on your numbers, I should have about the same clearance with BF tires since they are 22" high. I am running 18" tires right now. The larger BF tires should give me an extra 2" clearance right?? I guess I'll know this weekend when I take it for a test run at the beach. I can always cut and re-weld .. starting to actually learn how to weld!!