Dirtbox Venom Texas build!

[smack911]

Mysteryboy -you never had to re-enforce frame sections with gussets or cut 1/8 inch sheet metal in places for strength in the frame or A -Arms?

 

[mysteryboy28]

haven't had a need to yet. my welds are solid, and there's a good amount of triangulation and reinforcing adjoining tubing that things seem to hold up pretty darn good.

got the a-arm mounts tacked in place. next will be shock mounts and steering.

 

[smack911]

good pics yes i see your welding up close, I guess the gas welder has been a blessing sure gets a better heated bead. I was drawn to your buggy design when i saw it on ebaay. I saw some cool wones that BUG 500 , I've seen the china stuff too of course. You said a American Made MI builds carts or mini buggies so I took a chance, I diddnt do my research to ask or see if you had a people and manufacturing laid out. Heck never even saw this website. Understand I would rather have someone who takes some pride in their work then a line of people throwing nuts and bolts to a color diagram. I cant say you let me down yet. keep on truckin'

 

[mysteryboy28]

My thing is I tend to over-weld, so you see a lot of my welds piled up kind of high. I do this to make SURE that I filled it in good enough, and to give it some extra strength. I grind my welds down enough to make them pretty once the buggy is ready for paint.

i was thinking about keeping the seats down low to the ground like that, for low center of gravity. maybe suspend them with springs and put some casters on them, to help roll over bumps. whatcha think? lol.

 

[smack911]

I dont know what the lol is? Are you messing or jokeing, I can see a plate with some V8 valve springs to cushion and bounce a tad over bumps. Castors well the seat slide should do the trick it seems to work in my other cars with non-electric seats. I'm seated at chair height with a 2 inch air cushion about 22 to 24 inches depending on what Wheelchair I'm using. so the hopping over the bar gives me concerns, any bars at the bottom of the frame keeping me further away from the seat ( like you see to step up into a truck is a bad idea) or something. Any thing you need to know you sit in a chair and try to do from getting in the seat to filling the gas. I would grab the frame with my left hand and pull the seat lever with my right and pull the seat forward as far as air ride or something your mind your creativity... Hell air seats work in big rigs, why couldnt bee-hive valve springs dampen the ride... How did this conversation start? I asked about strength on the cage, do they break or crack have you had a need to brace up in places. ie: The bar that is welded in half at the very front of the buggy, Are you going to put a plate there so I could add a winch. So fourth. i'm confused because you cant read feelings in text so I don't know if you Fin with me or what. If you have any questions or concerns you have my numbers...honestly... Anytime.... Hey I'm shooting straight with you, I applaud creativity and engineering along with blood sweat tears and blisters from molten metal. The castor thing I really am lost....lol? ???? you know what I mean.... I didn't know what you meant either....

 

[mysteryboy28]

i was joking that i should suspend the seats with springs like a kid's bouncy chair, with no floor underneath them. lol. make it a fun ride inside the buggy.

 

[smack911]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl7sb2twlD4&feature=endscreen more cute little buggies cbr 900 power

and a homade:
Fun is fun.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGi-Dv0N9zY&feature=endscreen

and street fun too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uxUB9h4A_k

 

[smack911]

oops sais 1000 cc

 

[mysteryboy28]

i'd hate to go over a speed bump with that hot rod! lol.

meanwhile, tonight i think i poisoned myself pretty good. got about half-way through making the shock mount brackets and started getting really bad body aches and the jitters. zinc/galvanized poisoning from the metal i was welding! there must have been an extra high concentration of it, because the garage door was wide open, i was near the opening, and there was a good powered fan on the other side of the garage moving air around (oscilating). i didn't want to quit, so i trucked on, taking a few extra breaks for fresh air. the aches and pains kept getting worse, but i at least got the brackets done. i had felt a little bit of this yesterday when i made the a-arm mounts (same 3/16" x 1 1/2" steel plate stuff). some ibuprofen took care of it. so i just popped some more ibuprofen (3), and am hoping for the best...

so for all you noobs out there: galavanized/zinc plated metal is no joke! i feel like total crap. if you gotta weld coated metal, do it outdoors, with lots of fresh air blowing at you!

billy, there will totally be a plate up front for a winch. the buggy wont have any side roll bars, so you'll be able to park your chair right up to the buggy, grab some bars and pull yourself in. i assume you can hang onto a bar with your right hand and pull your legs up, over, and into the buggy. i tried pulling my legs in, but it seems impossible to do because my legs just move anyway. so i can't tell if i'm really lifting them, or if they're kinda half lifting themselves. lol. i'll have to practice.

sorry, no suspension for the seats.

 

[machinist@large]

meanwhile, tonight i think i poisoned myself pretty good. got about half-way through making the shock mount brackets and started getting really bad body aches and the jitters. zinc/galvanized poisoning from the metal i was welding! there must have been an extra high concentration of it, because the garage door was wide open, i was near the opening, and there was a good powered fan on the other side of the garage moving air around (oscilating). i didn't want to quit, so i trucked on, taking a few extra breaks for fresh air. the aches and pains kept getting worse, but i at least got the brackets done. i had felt a little bit of this yesterday when i made the a-arm mounts (same 3/16" x 1 1/2" steel plate stuff). some ibuprofen took care of it. so i just popped some more ibuprofen (3), and am hoping for the best...

so for all you noobs out there: galavanized/zinc plated metal is no joke! i feel like total crap. if you gotta weld coated metal, do it outdoors, with lots of fresh air blowing at you!

Dear GOD! We've covered this topic at least a double handful of times since I joined!!!!

RANT ON!!!!

For the record, all metal welding processes generate metallic gas fumes. ALL are toxic; how toxic depends on what the material X the process makes it.

Basic MIG welding of clean, uncontaminated base metal is (probably) one of the least toxic when it comes to the fumes produced; short term exposure/ small doses usually don't add up to trouble.

The trouble starts when you start messing with other alloy's, plated materials, other metals entirely, ETC. For an all inclusive list of all hazards, try reading the safety section of your welder's operator manual; that should provide you with the latest web links, describing for you just what you are potentially exposing yourself to. To keep this short & sweet, if the metal you are looking at using has been plated with any other types of metal, you're placing your health, if not your life, in danger by risking exposure to the fumes generated when you try to weld it.

Your actual welds will also be suspect due to being contaminated by whatever the base metal was plated with.

READ THIS!!! For the record; ANY plating process changes/alter's/ contaminates the surface of the parent piece of metal. Figure on needing to grind off at least 1/64" ~1/32" (Approx. 1/4~3/4 of a mm) to start to get you down to clean metal.

To give you some idea how thick that is, 1/64 of an inch is ~equivalent to 5 sheets of paper, held together between your fingers; 1/32 of an inch is double that. If you have a crappy piece of steel, you'll probably have to go even deeper.

The human body has a lot of trouble getting rid of excess metal in it's system; small high strength doses tend to accumulate very quickly, and may very well be with you until the day you die. And ignoring the safety lessons that industry has learned the hard way will bring that day to you very soon.

When your skin starts to turn blue, that doesn't mean you get to go to a mythical planet somewhere (and ride wild beastie's), it means you've passed the point of no return, and are going to die a slow, agonisingly painful death called metal poisoning.

And the only thing modern medicine can do is try to dull the pain, while the disease takes it's course.....

Some of you'all are just way to cavalier about your own personal safety. I apologize for the rant, it's just that I know that the odds are against me being able to explain it to in person.....

RANT OFF

 

[mysteryboy28]

i have no words. lol. i haven't had any issues like this before, and always try to have good ventilation. but the metal i was working with last night was just evil stuff. pure evil.

i'm going to talk to the metal store about this stuff, and ask why they're coating it with so much poison. a dead customer can't buy more metal. lol. since they sell to the public, they really should warn people about it!

 

[smack911]

GOOD FOR YOU TALK TO THE STORE ASAP, THE SUPPLIER < ETC! : The impurities your describing somethings up? Could be a cleaning solvent.. He's right on ventilation and has done this before welded. Take heed of this advise people know what the material and interactions your using and Mystery has welded and tinkered awhile. .....Sounds like you took a hard hit Dave. Get well soon! Lead poison is common in my line of work, lead poison is common in old school auto body guys who chopped tops and filled in the french FM antenna in the bodies.

Metal Fever is what struck you
http://humanservices.alberta.ca/documents/WHS-PUB_ch032.pdf

I think is a serious "EVIL METAL" wow, and I know you had done this many times....Hell Fire...Fire...,,ugh....lol! Like you never yelled that...

 

[fowler]

i'm going to talk to the metal store about this stuff, and ask why they're coating it with so much poison. a dead customer can't buy more metal. lol. since they sell to the public, they really should warn people about it!

its a rust prevention
of course

there biggest customers know what the dangers are

u should be able to get metal thats simply painted or bare steel

hot dipped galv steel is buying it in the most expensive form
around here anyway

the cheaest stuff is usually painted in a blue short term protection coat

mods shopuld we have a safety sticky?
in the age of liability and other legal bull****
not to mention to inform people who simply dont know
id make one but im crap at that sort of thing

 

[mysteryboy28]

front suspension done. now for steering!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb26Br65a8g

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh-eMktIIYk

 

[landuse]

mods shopuld we have a safety sticky?
in the age of liability and other legal bull****
not to mention to inform people who simply dont know
id make one but im crap at that sort of thing

If someone is willing to write one up, we won't have a problem making it a sticky

 

[smack911]

by all means have a Safety Thread. from gases to paints. There are some chemicals out there that will knock you out like a ton of heavy stuff.... a lot of us found out about caustic and volatile interactions purely by accident just doing something for the first time. knowledge and experience is a wonderful thing to share...

 

[mysteryboy28]

Seats and pedals tacked in place. I realized that i couldn't do steering till i had the seats positioned properly! Lol.

Out of welding wire and gas. So setting my alarm to get up before the gas place closes. Yesterday I woke up around 4pm. Lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUSaR3C4_AE

 

[mysteryboy28]

welding gas place is closed on the 4th of july? doh!

used my fancy 25% off 4th of july harbor freight coupon and bought another 10 lb spool of welding wire. also found coupon for a free 6-piece screwdriver set. score! lol. last month i got 6 free mini LED flashlights. lol.

tonight will get the steering components cut and tacked in place.

 

[mysteryboy28]

steering wheel support bar/passenger grab bar in place. steering shaft bracket fabricated.

also a demonstration of how there's plenty of room to pull a plastic lawn chair into the buggy.

scored a nice lil 1978 kawasaki drifter 440cc snowmobile for $40. some starter spray and fresh gas later: running like a champ!

my brother brought over some fireworks, fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzTq_l3HDoQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94fHR463_x8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVApdlSg_58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Fg5HWhM9U

 

[mysteryboy28]

worked on steering. tacked the u-joints to the steering shaft, after making a shaft adapter with a splined end and narrow enough other end to fit inside the 3/4" steering wheel shaft.

figured out my Ackerman geometry. the steering arms are a bit long, but the angle is perfect. will get the length sorted out tomorrow. you can see the original steering arm below the new one. i know a lot of quads don't have much in the way of Ackerman - but that's pretty much non-existant! the green line follows a tube back to the center of the soon to be rear axle, and the red line follows the old steering geometry (or lack of).