spindle steel tubing, is it needed?

[jk95ht]

im trying to figure out everything i need and so far i have pretty much everything except for the hollow round bar.
but wuld i b able to weld onto the bolt instead of that?
please comment as im nearly upto doing the steering of the kart
thanks josh

 

[jk95ht]

oh and secondly how thick should the metal be that im using for the spindle which is welded onto the frame?

 

[MrJoePodge]

I am going without the hollow tube on my go kart but I havnt finished the build yet. I think it should be fine if you have a lock nut. However it might not be as smooth without the tubing

 

[JHen]

I think most use a 1 inch tube with .5" wall thickness, to which the spindle is then welded on at the appropriate angle with which to obtain zero scrub radius. This is then held onto the spindle bracket with a .5" bolt with a shank long enough to go through the entire 1 inch tube so that the threads are not riding on the tube. This is then secured with a nyloc bolt, or a regular bolt and locktite.

 

[Odonnellp24]

I used these for spindles and they worked great. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_20861_20861

For the frame I used 1" 14 gauge square tube. Light and very strong but a b#### to weld with my stick machine. It's taken a beating without even a flinch and the completed frame weighs maybe 40lbs.