First Go-Kart Build

[lowalk]

Figured I would post some pics of my go kart as this site has helped me so much.
This was my first time welding and working with metal so it was a huge learning experience.
I made it all at school and has been galvanized. All I need to do now is paint it.

Let me know what you think
Thanks, Luke

 

[landuse]

Nice. You did well for a first kart. When painting galvinised metal, just make sure that you do the correct preparation before painting. You cannot just slap paint on it. Here are one or two links I found regarding preperation and painting

http://www.ehow.com/how_5169486_paint-galvanized-steel.html
http://diynovice.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/spray-painting-galvanized-metal/
http://www.ehow.com/way_5868216_can-paint-galvanized-metal_.html

 

[Nodroz]

Looking great mate!

How fast does it go?

 

[OzFab]

Nice job for a first attempt But, if I may...

1. Put some kind of floor on it...
2. Your steering will greatly improve with a couple of slight mods: the main one being bring your steering arms in to achieve an ackermann setup. For a better understanding, have a read of this

 

[souperman000]

that looks like it goes really quick...

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Good build for a first-timer! I suggest you shorten both the steering arms and the pitman arm. I can see your steering radius is hampered by the arm length. In addition, follow Fab's recommendations towards the Ackermann principle.

this may sound stupid, but why would you go to the trouble to galvanise the whole thing, and then paint? Honestly, that;s just making life more difficult for yourself. I have painted several galvanised things over the years, and even with the proper materials and prep, you still do not get ideal adhesion. Honestly? Just leave it as it sits. Not worth the effort, IMHO.

 

[shakey0818]

You can clean it with vinager before painting it.

 

[machinist@large]

Why Paint It?

A good hot dip job looks great all by itself; I would leave well enough alone. Dare to be different!!!!

 

[lowalk]

Cheers for the feedback guys, The floor pan is one thing I've keep forgetting to do but I will get around to it. As for speed the engine has stock internals with the governor installed so it only does about 50km if that, I'm happy with the steering for now, its sensitive enough and handles well so for now I wont bother adjusting it, it has a slight camber on it and I tried messing around with the Ackerman and all that but didn't bother in the end.
I'm looking to paint it because I don't like how the galvanized finish is chromed, I want a black and red colour scheme.
Not to mention it's a pretty horrible dipping job in some areas.

 

[landuse]

Just be VERY careful if you want to do more welding on your kart. Grind all the galvanising off the area you want to weld before you do the work. The fumes from galvanising are very poisonous.

 

[exenos]

NOTE: I was misinformed when I wrote this post, read on to see the real information,



Don't quote me on this, but the fumes are not poisonous as we normally think about it. Look up metal fume fever, its basically zinc poisoning, you basically get flu and fever type symptoms like vomiting, headaches dizziness and more and it clears up after roughly 24 hours. Once the overdose of zinc has been cleared out of your body, its done and over with leaving no permanent effects that are known of currently. Its poisonous but not in a truly dangerous way. Not that I'm saying don't go clean off the zinc, I'm just getting the info out so you don't go "omg, I'm going to die!!!" if you weld galvanized steel I've had many minor cases of metal fume fever (headaches, minor nausea) and have had no problem with it after it went away.
Again don't take my work for it, go look it up yourself and make your own descisions.

EDIT: Not bashing on your caution landuse just getting info out.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Don't quote me on this, but the fumes are not poisonous as we normally think about it. Look up metal fume fever, its basically zinc poisoning, you basically get flu and fever type symptoms like vomiting, headaches dizziness and more and it clears up after roughly 24 hours. Once the overdose of zinc has been cleared out of your body, its done and over with leaving no permanent effects that are known of currently. Its poisonous but not in a truly dangerous way. Not that I'm saying don't go clean off the zinc, I'm just getting the info out so you don't go "omg, I'm going to die!!!" if you weld galvanized steel I've had many minor cases of metal fume fever (headaches, minor nausea) and have had no problem with it after it went away.
Again don't take my work for it, go look it up yourself and make your own descisions.

EDIT: Not bashing on your caution landuse just getting info out.

Sorry, you're wrong, It is toxic as hell, and COULD POSSIBLY kill you with enough exposure. Just because you have lived thru previous mild doses, does NOT mean you've done no permanent damage to yourself. Studies have not yet determined long-term exposure effects, so you cannot conclusively say that it will not hurt you. Furthermore, it is a metal fume, and metal poisoning is very real and very tangible.

To everyone else reading this:

Burning Zinc is highly toxic. It is to be avoided if at all possible. If you MUST weld galvanized metal, do it with FORCED ventilation, a P-100-OV cartridge-type respirator, and preferably outside.

 

[mysteryboy28]

i've heard both versions, after surfing the web a good deal. it basically boils down to: it's bad for you, so take precautions! lots of ventilation, don't breathe the fumes, and if at all possible - remove the zinc before welding. low amounts of exposure WILL make you feel yucky (been there, headache that ibuprofin won't do much for, as well as some dizziness/spaced out feeling), lord only knows what would happen with a higher level of exposure. i know i don't want to find out!

 

[machinist@large]

Metal poisoning

An overall treatise on metal poisoning is beyond my real expertise and would take up way more space than we have here. That being said, here is a good, basic rule.

ALL forms of metal welding are toxic; some are just more toxic than others. To keep it down to the topic at hand, I stick to zinc.

Zinc is very toxic; you can get poisoned from many sources, including, but by no means limited to, breathing the fumes, direct contact with the skin, and ingestion.

Skin contact is usually the least harmful; your skin is there to protect you from a lot of the things that would otherwise kill you. Ingestion (i.e. eating it), takes more than a little time because your digestive system is geared to what your body needs on a daily basis. Zinc is needed by your body in very small amounts, so it usually absorbs it quite slowly. Breathing it is another story.

While grinding zinc is not advised, the most dangerous way to breath it is from welding it. When vaporized by the welding arc, zinc is transformed into a form that crosses the barrier into the bloodstream very easily; which means that what would otherwise be a very small dose has been turned into a really big one. And the contamination doesn't go away with the symptoms; once it's in your system, it's not coming out. And no one knows just what the long term effect will be.

Sorry if I scared anyone........:Angel_anim:

 

[Doc Sprocket]

An overall treatise on metal poisoning is beyond my real expertise and would take up way more space than we have here. That being said, here is a good, basic rule.

ALL forms of metal welding are toxic; some are just more toxic than others. To keep it down to the topic at hand, I stick to zinc.

Zinc is very toxic; you can get poisoned from many sources, including, but by no means limited to, breathing the fumes, direct contact with the skin, and ingestion.

Skin contact is usually the least harmful; your skin is there to protect you from a lot of the things that would otherwise kill you. Ingestion (i.e. eating it), takes more than a little time because your digestive system is geared to what your body needs on a daily basis. Zinc is needed by your body in very small amounts, so it usually absorbs it quite slowly. Breathing it is another story.

While grinding zinc is not advised, the most dangerous way to breath it is from welding it. When vaporized by the welding arc, zinc is transformed into a form that crosses the barrier into the bloodstream very easily; which means that what would otherwise be a very small dose has been turned into a really big one. And the contamination doesn't go away with the symptoms; once it's in your system, it's not coming out. And no one knows just what the long term effect will be.

Sorry if I scared anyone........:Angel_anim:

You're not on your company's JHSC, are you?

 

[exenos]

An overall treatise on metal poisoning is beyond my real expertise and would take up way more space than we have here. That being said, here is a good, basic rule.

ALL forms of metal welding are toxic; some are just more toxic than others. To keep it down to the topic at hand, I stick to zinc.

Zinc is very toxic; you can get poisoned from many sources, including, but by no means limited to, breathing the fumes, direct contact with the skin, and ingestion.

Skin contact is usually the least harmful; your skin is there to protect you from a lot of the things that would otherwise kill you. Ingestion (i.e. eating it), takes more than a little time because your digestive system is geared to what your body needs on a daily basis. Zinc is needed by your body in very small amounts, so it usually absorbs it quite slowly. Breathing it is another story.

While grinding zinc is not advised, the most dangerous way to breath it is from welding it. When vaporized by the welding arc, zinc is transformed into a form that crosses the barrier into the bloodstream very easily; which means that what would otherwise be a very small dose has been turned into a really big one. And the contamination doesn't go away with the symptoms; once it's in your system, it's not coming out. And no one knows just what the long term effect will be.

Sorry if I scared anyone........:Angel_anim:

If you want a real doom and gloom story read this http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/threads/43105-Welding-Galvanized-Steel?

Scared the begeezers out of me, my previous post was based on research I had done a few months ago when I had some old galvanized dock posts that I wanted to weld. The info I found at that time was that in large doses it could kill you but that in small quantity's (like what are found when it is welded) could cause no lasting damage. After toystory's post I have done more searching and found many conflicting articles/story's about the effects of zinc. A couple studies say its fine, a couple studies say its gonna kill you and a couple just beat around the bush. I'm now inclined to play it safe and NOT WELD ZINC.

My bad, sorry bout that everyone. :angelsad2:
I'll leave my post there but edit it.

 

[machinist@large]

You're not on your company's JHSC, are you?

I don't know what the abbreviation you used means; I'm just coming from my reading up on the subject after a guy I used to know died from metal poisoning. He was retired, hadn't welded professionally in years; one day his skin started turning blue, and his nervous system started shutting down.

No one knows what the trigger was. All I do know was that he thought safety was a sign of weakness, and it took him ~6 months to die in extreme pain.

From what I was told, he used to predominantly weld galvanized ventilation systems.


Edit: exenos, I thank you for the link; it's been many years since I visited that site.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I don't know what the abbreviation you used means

Edit: exenos, I thank you for the link; it's been many years since I visited that site.

Joint Health and Safety Committee. The way you phrased it all sounded like it. I am on my company's JHSC, and am working towards WSIB certification.

 

[machinist@large]

Joint Health and Safety Committee. The way you phrased it all sounded like it. I am on my company's JHSC, and am working towards WSIB certification.

Now that you've explained it a little, it sound like the ISO implementation team I got stuck on years ago.... I think this is where I have to offer my condolences......