Oh man do I wish I had a neighbor like Van! Van, looks like great work. Can't wait to see the "stress test" with the whole family on it again!

This one is much stronger!! I think I over did it with the 1.25" x 1/8" thick fork. I'm gonna build atleast 3 or 4 more forks just test the strength and looks. Might have to go back to the 1" forks for the smaller tires. The last buggy was built from left over tubes so was mostly 1/16" thick walls. I can handle a family of 5 now.

Hey Van(here comes the critique from the weldnsnob!) are those forks Stainless steel? If they are, you need to turn your amperage down! And dont stay in one place too long. You are crystalizing the metal . Those dark discolored areas ,well that is the heat affected zone. Right next to the weld is the weakest spot on every weld (no matter who does it).The trick is to keep the heat input to a minimum. You want stainless to be shiny Blue,red, and if you can lay it down with the gold hue to it ,that's dialed in sweet.
And if they are Mild steel then you are doin alright(heat appears different on steel) ,welds still look a little dull gray even for steel. Back off the heat or speed up the travel speed. Just some tips from someone who welds everyday ,all day.Any position ,any process , any alloy,any place, any time,with a mirror or without and with either hand. I have even stick welded with the stinger duct taped to my foot cause I couldn't find a broom handle. The things we do for money!

Other than that, they look great !

Your critique is always welcome WG!!! It's all carbon steel. I am still prototyping so can't afford to use stainless steel just yet. I am still learning to TIG so am probably still having trouble controlling the speed and heat. I can adjust the heat but unfortunately, the speed is me.. hahaha .. still moving a little slow but improving. I was in a hurry with the fork so did crank the amperage up to 160A. What's a typical amperage for 1/8" carbon steel?

that is a loaded question van. It depends on gap,material thickness,filler size,travel speed etc. . I can take a Lg filler wire and weld w/higher heat and faster travel .If it takes alot of the arcs thermal energy to breakdown the filler wire then there is less to impart on the parent material. Excess energy will start to have bad results with weldability,quality,warpage. So you gotta learn to use high heat at first and as the material gets hot back off the heat a little. The hotter the metal the less energy it takes to get it to liquidus. Let it cool down,take your time.
If you are talking about 1/8" material thickness, I would set the high end for 150 amps but would only weld w/ about 115-140 when welding.I use a hand remote so heat is variable

This is the best welding class there is!

WG,

I guess I need to start using the remote. My tig handle only has ON and OFF so it's either ZERO or full throttle. I have a foot control that will allow me to control the amperage but it's cumbersome when I'm standing up. When I welded the axle, I was sitting down so I did use the foot control. The weld was alot more controllable in terms of heat.

You want to be my neighbor? I'll cut the parts with my machines and you weld !!! :bigok:

Questions to everyone : I want a poll on the seat .

1) Do you think there's a need to put foam in on the side panel of the seat? I've been putting its a pain to sew. Seems like 1/2" foam on your buttocks and back is good.
2) Plastic quick release buckles or HEAVY duty D rings for strapping ?
3) Do you really need to have PVC fabric on the bottom for easy cleaning?? I've never gotten the bottom of mine that dirty, especially if you use a pan.

What is everyone using for the foam on the side rails. I've been using Home depot air conditioning pipe insulation ( the dark gray stuff , not the light gray)

Swimming noodles to cover the side rails works. I have no fancey liners on my seat. I just rinse it off if need be. As for fasteners, If you are freestyling I'd use D-rings and straps. If just smooth runs then Nylon clip buckles. They are strong and durable plus easier to remove the seat for cleaning.

Weldngod impressive advice on welding. Myself I started on a pipe line crew. Now I love my tig. Welding table with a padded stool for comfort. No slag on me. Stack of dimes for sale most of the time.

when you come to Texas , bring that stack of dime .. I could use a teacher :singing:

I have had a few plastic clips bust on me. I think d-rings might be better.

D-rings w/ a half hitch in the webbing to lock it so it can't slip is the way to go

Pool noodles are the best rail padding IMHO. They are durable and offer the best compression/rebound compared to pipe insulation. The best ones are the large ones with a large hole that fits the tubing diameter. Otherwise you can do a spiral cut that lets it wrap around the tubing. Then tape it enough to hold it in place and cover.

I noticed that the pool noodle I see at the stores have a very small hole. My rails are 1.25". They do sell pipe insulation that are identical in material to pool noodles. I guess I will look into those also.

I have some 2" D rings that I am using with 2" webbing. They look huge compare to the last seat I made with 1" plastic buckles and 1" webbing. Isnt' the 2" an over kill? I was thinking maybe 1.5" webbing and D rings might look better.

2" webbing is better much better than 1", spreads the load more, as far as fasteners as concerned, buggybags uses stainless rings, they lock the seat fast, with zero slips or breakages


seen here Fitting a Buggybags Seat

I used the pool noodles on my buggy! Worked great! I also am going to take a picture of the bottom of my seat van, and put it in here. I added a little flap to the front of my seat that goes all the way to the back of the seat and attached one end of my buckles to that. It helped with weight distribution and takes some pressure off the buckles!

If you go to a store that sells pool supplies they should have pool noodles that you can use.

Susan (npw goddess)

Spring is coming. Your local $.99 store should have the pool noodles...

Thanks for the video popeye. I sew my seat last night with the 2" D rings. I counted a total of 20 rings!! The seat feels like it weighs 10 pounds. :o I just got a call from the powder coater so looks like my frames are painted. Not sure it's worth it for powder coating or not. The cost was $120 to get it sand blasted, acid washed and then coated with a textured black coating. It's looks like Rhino coating except thinner.

I should have pics later tonight with the seat mounted.

I've always liked the look of a flat black frame. Adding the texture is the same understated elegance. Hardware and stuff contrast well with the black. $120 isn't bad if you got a good durable coating.

Quote:

Originally posted by van Thanks for the video popeye. I sew my seat last night with the 2" D rings. I counted a total of 20 rings!! The seat feels like it weighs 10 pounds. :o I just got a call from the powder coater so looks like my frames are painted. Not sure it's worth it for powder coating or not. The cost was $120 to get it sand blasted, acid washed and then coated with a textured black coating. It's looks like Rhino coating except thinner. I should have pics later tonight with the seat mounted.

I would say that is a good price for the powder coating, just dont chip it...the seat weighing 10lbs is roughly the same as a buggybags seat

Sewing seats is alot harder than it looks when you have to deal with foam and multiple D-rings. Here's some pics of the work I did last night.

The bottom piece, made of PVC and heavy duty straps. Can also be used as an apron for the new Saw movie.



The side piece before foam inserts

The side piece with foam sewn in

Ok .. here's the buggy all powder coated. Why powder coating?? I figure I try it to see how it looks and whether its as bad about chipping as people say. I also wanted to know what the price was compared to just using stainless and polishing it.








OK ... Do you like the look of BLACK rail covers or the flourescent ORANGE??

MORE .. buggy PORN :shocked2:

Just in case anyone is curious .. yes, it will have footpegs ... I got so excited .. I forgot to finish that part before I sent it to the powdercoater. I'm gonna make the pegs later tomorrow out of stainless since it will get alot of contact / abrasion. I do love the black frame!!!!

Do you have enough thread engagement on the bolts holding your side rails on the downtube? Very nice work Van.

I do like the orange side rails, but the look is diminished by the black straps going over it, so I think the black looks cleaner.

Very nice work there Van, I look forward to riding side by side with you at Ivanpah...


NOW tidy those straps up like this

Van keep an eye on these locations and any buggies that are not coated need to be repaired asap. In the photo you posted I noticed that you did not wrap your ends. If this weld is gonna fail it will start at the unwrapped end. It also allows water in, which will start corrosion. I can understand your design thought to help keep the axle straight. But you almost always wrap the ends of a fillet weld unless otherwise directed. (some things need to move in certain ways and wrapping the ends hinders this) This is a very frowned upon lazy welder technique.
Tighten up Bro'! ;-) Not tryin to bust your balls or anything, just looking out for your safety!