Jig welding???

[firemanjim]

Not too long ago,someone asked what a jig was. Today,while thinking about a future build that will have double Aarm front suspension, I decided to build a jig to facilitate fabbing duplicate arms quickly with little effort.
So to start,I used some 1/2" plywood and drew out what I wanted,in full scale. After that, I used templates to cut out the outer blocks. I started with the center block and screwed it into place. Then I added a couple pieces of tubing and set up the outer blocks and screwed them down. The last thing I needed was a way to clamp it all down , so I came up with a simple solution. I drilled a hole through the board and added a long bolt to the back side. I cut a triangle plate out of 1/8" material using previous template for center block. Drill a hole and add a big wingnut and you're all set..... The end of the bolt also gives you a place to put the ground lead. I think it came out pretty good for a quick throw together jig.
Now all I have to do is cut the tubing to length and correct angle, and slide them into jig, weld the exposed part, cool n flip, repeat weld of exposed area, then remove to finish up the welds. These arms will be threaded for 9/16"x18 heim ends to accept custom made spindles.
Hope this helps someone in a future build. If nothing else , it gives you a good idea of what you can do with a little time and thinking.....

EDIT: the note on the board is to keep from having to explain to EVERY BODY in my shop,ONE at a time, what Im doing.....

 

[rocketkart]

nice.

 

[fowler]

Yeah nice job
Seems to serve its purpose

Usually an a arm jig just consists of the 3 mount points

It doesn't matter what the bit in the middle looks like
As long as the three points are the same then it will slot together perfect

 

[machinist@large]

That is the bare bones basic job of a jig. Several of us on the forum have tried to explain just how basic they can be to design and build, as well as how inexpensive they can be and still give good service.

I even offered to drive an hour and a half one way to show another member how it could save him a lot of work in trying to build buggies for sale; he thought it would cost to much to build them......

So, Jim; when are we going to get to see the proposed unit? Or is this part of the ground work for a build off run????

Pat

 

[firemanjim]

Ahhh, Pat, you're on the right track..... I think I will be saving this build for next years build off... I believe its ok to have jigs pre-built ,just not kart parts. The A-arm jig will be used on a couple other projects for trial n error. For the build off, my wife wants a Campagna T-Rex mini. To try to ensure "that" build goes well, I will be making a couple other karts to test my ideas . I came up with 2 versions for the chassi, with one being "modular" where as the rear can go from a single drive tire (trike) to a live axle set-up (kart rear swing arm... This is one of the things to be "tested".
Fowler is correct in that the three points should be established, typically. In this case,the jig will be used on other karts so i left the 2 down legs open so that a longer arm could be made. To correct it, you simply add another block at the bottom to ensure the down legs are consistent in length. It can still be added..... The next jig I make will be for chassis building. Will be a while before I show any new stuff as I have experienced some tragic events here in the last week. My time on here will be limited for a while till life gets back to normal.
One of the reasons I love this forum is that it gives me ideas and it inspires me to build . And to not just stay in my comfort zone. Try new techniques.... This forum is AWESOME!

 

[machinist@large]

Uh, oh.....

Tragic events? That usually means more than a skinned knee, or someone dropped and broke their favorite coffee cup.....

 

[landuse]

I love the jig, and I hope whatever happens last week gets resolved or processed OK. Sorry man!