Dirtbox Venom mini-buggy upgrade/rebuild!

[greaser]

Lol those dam grinders well at least they are free.

 

[machinist@large]

.....and my freakin' grinder died! again! bah , off to harbor freight i go...

I know you are addicted to HF tools because of the price, but you also have to put a price tag to your time; both when you are working, as well as when you can't. In this case, working late at night, with for the sake of discussion, 15 minutes to go when your grinder woof's the cookie.

Now, instead of finishing up, everything is on hold until you can make a special trip to exchange it for a new one. Unless your house is in the parking lot, it's costing you time to get there and back; and since you're building these things as a business, TIME is MONEY.

I actually have 2 HF power tools myself; a 1/2 cap. electric drill and a 4 1/2 inch grinder, both the older orange Chicago Electric brand. Long story; bought as throw-a-ways for work for my road kit because my old boss was to cheap to buy them for the shop. Using them side-by-side with My Milwaukee drill, and Milwaukee and Metabo Grinders, there's no comparison. And I've intentionally babied the HF's; they've got at most 1/10 the run time on them both compared to the good stuff, but you can tell they're on the way out.

Have they earned their keep? Yes. Would I buy them again? Not necessarily. It all comes down to the old saying; "You don't get what you DID NOT pay for.".

It's your call; all I can do is try to bring it into perspective for you.

 

[DaiSan76]

woof's the cookie.

 

[mysteryboy28]

next year i'm going to venture into building UTV's, which i'm hoping might be a more viable market than mini-buggies (bigger profit margin anyways). if that takes off, then i will be getting some GOOD tools!

 

[landuse]

I know you are addicted to HF tools because of the price, but you also have to put a price tag to your time; both when you are working, as well as when you can't. In this case, working late at night, with for the sake of discussion, 15 minutes to go when your grinder woof's the cookie.

Now, instead of finishing up, everything is on hold until you can make a special trip to exchange it for a new one. Unless your house is in the parking lot, it's costing you time to get there and back; and since you're building these things as a business, TIME is MONEY.

I actually have 2 HF power tools myself; a 1/2 cap. electric drill and a 4 1/2 inch grinder, both the older orange Chicago Electric brand. Long story; bought as throw-a-ways for work for my road kit because my old boss was to cheap to buy them for the shop. Using them side-by-side with My Milwaukee drill, and Milwaukee and Metabo Grinders, there's no comparison. And I've intentionally babied the HF's; they've got at most 1/10 the run time on them both compared to the good stuff, but you can tell they're on the way out.

Have they earned their keep? Yes. Would I buy them again? Not necessarily. It all comes down to the old saying; "You don't get what you DID NOT pay for.".

It's your call; all I can do is try to bring it into perspective for you.

I have to agree with this. Have you not learned your lesson yet. It boggles my mind. How many times have you sat without a grinder and couldn't work. Just buy a quality grinder and get it over with

 

[mysteryboy28]

so far the grinders have only cut my nights half short a few times. forking out $80+ for a good grinder just isn't in the budget till i sell some more buggies!

place your orders here. lol.

speaking of broken harbor freight tools - i broke the tip off my welder last night when dropping it to the floor. tried to cobble it back together with a cut up aluminum can and a couple of clamps. now it just keeps clogging up inside the chamber (not grounding properly inside the tip). so heading up to HF to see what they can do without a receipt. blah.

oh and i stabbed myself in the hand while tightening one of the clamps. yay. duct tape came in handy for a temporary band-aid. lol.

 

[machinist@large]

so far the grinders have only cut my nights half short a few times. forking out $80+ for a good grinder just isn't in the budget till i sell some more buggies!

place your orders here. lol.

speaking of broken harbor freight tools - i broke the tip off my welder last night when dropping it to the floor. tried to cobble it back together with a cut up aluminum can and a couple of clamps. now it just keeps clogging up inside the chamber (not grounding properly inside the tip). so heading up to HF to see what they can do without a receipt. blah.

oh and i stabbed myself in the hand while tightening one of the clamps. yay. duct tape came in handy for a temporary band-aid. lol.

Oh Gw#d!!! Next thing, you'll be bragging about the first aid kit you picked up while you were there, because "You Know, the corner pharmacy just wants to danged much for a box of band-aids!!!!

 

[mysteryboy28]

scored at Harbor Freight. took my welder with the broken tip in, no receipt, they were like "yeah, ummmmm..." and offered to replace the whole welder with a new one if i bought a 2 year replacement plan for $20. works for me!

fabricated a rack n pinion mount, bolted everything up, works good! couple of adjustments to make, my steering shaft isn't perfectly straight, and it's grazing the frame a hair. i was worried i was going to have to modify the frame to accomodate the new setup (rack n pinion sits further towards the front than it did before). but it all just barely fits!

in the rear view pic of the rack mount i made you can see that i sliced a piece of tube in half (a little less than half actually) and welded it to the bottom of the mount, to make positioning it easier, as well as making it line up properly on the bar that it is mounted to.

plopped a board on the seat mounting bars to see how the leg room is with the extension. nice and comfy! i'll have to cut out the seat mounting bars and move them back about 4 inches, but it's a nice upgrade! greaser will be happy with the improved leg room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31xwNImtSQg&feature=youtu.be

 

[fowler]

ha u should buy the replacemnet peice and flog off the new welder and buy a proper grinder

 

[greaser]

Awesome glad to see an on topic post, guys he isn't going to go buy a Bosch grinder anytime soon so how about you lay off and let me see the progress he is able to make.
Thanks

 

[landuse]

Awesome glad to see an on topic post, guys he isn't going to go buy a Bosch grinder anytime soon so how about you lay off and let me see the progress he is able to make.
Thanks

We just saying that if he does buy one, he is going to be saving time and money in the future

 

[mysteryboy28]

moving along...

got the steering situated, turns great now, and doesn't hit the frame anymore.

hacked off the seat mounting bars and repositioned them about 3 inches back. nice and comfy.

got the rims in the mail today. well not in the mailbox, cuz they wouldn't fit. lol. the guy shipped them ceran-wrappped together. no box, no packaging. just ceran-wrapped. was pretty interesting to see. lol.

if i gotta take a goofy pic of me sitting in the buggy, then i gotta redeem myself with a goofy pic of playing in my old band.

 

[fowler]

thats the way i have shipped then
but with bubble wrap

there shape makes them very expensive to put in a box

 

[exenos]

Did the drummer make those cymbal stands himself?

 

[cumminsbayou4x4]

i want to see one of these utv builds

 

[mysteryboy28]

Did the drummer make those cymbal stands himself?

i think he did, yeah.

 

[mysteryboy28]

made the sprocket/rotor spool and welded it to the frame. it will get some ramp bars to protect it from tree stumps, rocks, curbs, etc., and the CV axles will connect to it.

cut off the old headlight mounting tabs, as i will be mounting the new ones below the frame, rather than above, for a more recessed result (look better, and offer a little more protection for the headlights from branches and stuff).

cleaned up the rear rims with a wire brush drill attachment. first tire filled up with air just fine, second tire is proving a bit challenging to get a good seal for inflation.

 

[greaser]

Nice I might be ripping up the trails before the snow gets to deep.

 

[greaser]

We just saying that if he does buy one, he is going to be saving time and money in the future

I know but it was getting old and I was tired lol its all good man.

 

[mysteryboy28]

picked up the new sprockets and drive hubs today: 2 #50 50 tooth and 2 10 tooth sprockets (going to be running dual chains). got the other rear tire to take air - just had to show it who was boss!

it's a little warmer tonight, will get some more work done!