Total Newbie

[Iggy]

I am a 40 year old father of 3 with a beautiful wife, 2 dogs and 5 chickens.
I bought a frame and put a go kart together for the kids and they are having a great time. So am I so I decided to build one from scratch for me. I have no experience (at all with anything to do with building a go kart) but until I totally fail at something I will continue to believe I am capable of anything. I will post things once my project is under way.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Welcome to the forum and please fill out a profile location so we know where you are from....

Building a second kart is easier than building one from scratch to start with....

Good luck and post plenty of pics....

 

[chancer]

"I am a 40 year old father of 3 with a beautiful wife, 2 dogs and 5 chickens."
Me too. and a Parrot. Welcome to the forum

 

[OzFab]

Building a second kart is easier than building one from scratch to start with...

What he means is use the kart you have to guide you through the build process...

Wait, can you elaborate on

I have no experience (at all with anything to do with building a go kart)

Surely you have welding &/or fabrication experience or you wouldn't even be contemplating this...

 

[Iggy]

I have no weld or fab experience. Not knowing things is how I usually start off any new hobby. I am never afraid to take a shot at anything and I have never really failed at anything. I am a voracious reader and born researcher so knowledge is never very far away.

 

[chancer]

That attitude is right on. Check out the Faq and announcements forum on the home page there is some good welding how to info there as well as using tools and welding pages. This forum is made for guys like you (and me) I knew nothing about Karts 2 yrs ago.

 

[Iggy]

That is one of my favorite.things about starting a new hobby. Learning new things and being able to put them into practical use is fulfilling.

 

[chancer]

Fill in your profile. That way it shows up in the rt corner what state you are in. It makes it easier to help you find parts local to you, and you never know you may have a neighbor in the forum.

 

[Iggy]

I have added my state. When I added myself to the map it seemed as though there were very few in Washington. Lots of right coasters.

 

[landuse]

Welcome to the forum. I also didn't know how to weld when i started out. All you have to do is get yourself a welder and then practice practice practice. Weld pieces of metal together and then take a hammer to it to see how well you did. If the come apart then practice some more

It is sometimes a lot easier to just buy a rolling chassis and build the thing up from there. I am not saying don't build one, but if you are also concerned about the expense, then building one from scratch is not the way to go

 

[Poboy kartman]

I didn't know how to weld ...(heck...I didn't even have a welder) ...when I joined this forum....

You definitely remind me of me ....we have the same attitude and perseverance to succeed at many different endeavors...I'm a little older, but not that much...and we both approached our new endeavors the same way....

It's so much easier now to find the information necessary....(and cheap) ....in the olden days we had to buy books or spend hours at the library....

I'm confident you will succeed....

 

[OzFab]

Welding is a good skill to have, especially if you can do it well; owning a welder, & knowing how to use it, can make you money... apart from other things...

I would get yourself a welder (the cheap ones from Harbor Freight are quite good... so I've heard), watch a few vids on youtube then practice, practice, practice...

 

[Iggy]

I got a bit excited. I bought the welder on sale for $88 and bought all the parts to turn it dc and since I imported all the pieces from china I actually have all the parts to convert 5 of them. I can't wait to see if it really works. I really appreciate all the advice. Keep it coming. I need it.