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Then came the c-channel that will be used for the pivoting mechanism:
https://i.imgur.com/KiszwU6.jpg
The supplier was even able to fabricate some custom pins for me, after my request for them to do so and sending them a drawing of what I would need. Those went into primer naturally:
https://i.imgur.com/th40Hqr.jpg
Unfortunately I had only one spray can's worth of the rusty metal primer business, so for the flat plate that I'll weld onto the c-channel to give it more thickness I was forced to grind a little more closely and apply self-etch primer:
https://i.imgur.com/QGqI4Lj.jpg
Finally, I had to leave these for the night because they need to be cut to length. The supplier had them listed at 8" long but I only needed 5". I didn't notice the oversight until after they had begun preparing the order. Therefore I decided to just leave it as it was, cut them myself and then have some small scrap pieces leftover. Dunno what you could use them for, but I'll find something. Eventually. Anyway these are the radius-ed components that will be welded to the top and bottom of the gantry's legs:
https://i.imgur.com/6fGakiB.jpg
And that would be as far as I could manage tonight. 'Had to get inside and help the wife with the process of getting our son into bed dontchaknow. I do that every night, without fail, so my projects require more time than they otherwise would. In my previous-to-marriage-and-children life I would have worked on this until the wee-hours of the morning and had it all but finished. No more. However no complaints. That tradeoff is a good thing actually. :D
Anyway thank you for reading.
What do you lift with this gantry crane? I ask because it's built so heavy.
Eh, it's overkill zoama. And how. Mostly, my projects are automotive related, though I do run bigger trucks. I have an F350 and an F450. On occasion I have need to lift an awkward and/or heavy item off of the ground and into the bed or vice versa. So it comes in handy in those scenarios. And of course pulling engines and transmissions, a purpose or which I've already used the gantry in fact:Quote:
Originally Posted by zoama
https://i.imgur.com/ZwZXdHY.jpg
And of course it yanked that drivetrain right out like it was nothing, I mean absolutely nothing. That said, a gantry of this size is still overkill for such usage. However, that was always the plan. I am a big believer in overkill, generally speaking. And this gantry is indeed that. I chose the height based on the notion that a pending project I have will involve removing the cab off of my F350. So I measured the height of the truck (which is a 4x4 so it's taller than a 4x2), factored in the height of the trolley and hoist and came up with a number. I decided to build telescoping verticals in order to have an adjustable height. I did that because the aforementioned height that I will need for the cab removal put it rather high into the sky and if I had built the verticals as one solid, non-adjustable component, then you'd need to move it around at that towering height too. Somehow that seemed a little more unstable, if running around on un-level asphalt, than I was willing to accept. So with the adjustable variant I can place the main I-beam in its lowest position for relocation, and by an appreciable amount IIRC. Thus the extra effort required (and $$$) for adjustable, telescoping verticals was worth it. For me it was anyway.
Finally, the primary reason that I chose the (overkill) materials that I did was because they were specified on a formal gantry design plan that I loosely followed. During my research into gantry cranes the recurring theme that I encountered was to follow an established plan from well-known, reputable supplier. Folk/companies who have built these things for a while and who have a history with them. There are el-cheapo gantry cranes that can be had for less (Harbor Freight for example), but boy, I wouldn't trust those things much further than I could throw them. They just seemed so flimsy to me. So I found a company that manufactures gantry cranes professionally, got a plan and worked with it. I went with a little beefier material than the plan specified, but the 1/16" thicker material was actually an option on the plan, so I felt comfortable with that. In hindsight, the extra thickness probably was unnecessary given my use case scenarios. However I did so because the steel supplier gave me a price on the 1/4" material (tubing) that was equivalent to his quote for the 3/16" variant. So I thought to myself "why not go with the heavier duty stuff if it's the same cost?" And thus price drove that decision really. It is noteworthy that the final product I built was actually small in comparison to the cranes that the company from whom I got the plans typically builds. Hah! And yet to common, non-shipyard, non-railyard, non-etc. folk such as myself, my gantry appears gargantuan in stature. :D
Anyway I then ran the numbers and would feel comfortable rating it at a ton with a safety factor of 5. Or rating it at 2 tons with a safety factor of 2.5. The main beam deflection at 10,000 lbs was within the tolerance for that weight, and with room to spare. So it could likely be rated even higher, but I stopped doing the math at that point since I'll never use it for anything that even approaches those numbers.
I ordered the spindles and hubs yesterday. Those should be here mid-to-late next week. I am eager to get the wheels and tires on it, for it should move much easier around the asphalt than it does currently.
Overkill? Yes. Overkill = good? Yes. In my book at least. :D
Thanks,
Jerry
ps- I forgot to mention that I chose the width of the gantry solely based on the width of my F450, which is the largest truck I will likely ever own. The width of the gantry yields a good cushion on either side and that was what I was pursuing when I drafted the original design. The plans I followed specified varying length options and the one I chose was within the stated range, so I pressed ahead with that choice. It has worked out well. Easy to back the truck into, no clearance issues to contend with.
Did you dill a hole in the bottom of the uprights to let rainwater out ?
Excellent thought. And yes I did in fact do that:Quote:
Originally Posted by zoama
https://i.imgur.com/9BhrR4v.jpg
Of course, the other aspect of having big toys to play with is that you are the best friend of all of the neighbors. :D
When they need to change the configuration of their outboard boat engine, for example, they call you. Lol
https://i.imgur.com/iAYPxPL.jpg
Alright, so there has been a development in the lil' side project to put wheels on the gantry.
I had some concern regarding using tubing as the carrier. Tubing with one side cutoff mind you. The initial thought was that if I welded 1/4" plate to the outside of that c-channel that was made from tubing that it would have the strength and rigidity necessary to support the loads that the gantry might encounter. "Eh....dunno" I thought but decided to try it to see if it could work. Well some testing over the weekend showed that it wouldn't be the best course of action. Ergo my instinct was correct. 'Gotta trust that more often. :D
So I went back to the drawing board (or desk as the case was) and drafted a new design:
https://i.imgur.com/nadVzJc.jpg
Better to do that than to proceed with the implementation of a previous design due to being too prideful to change, that type of thing. So on with this one I went. I have much more confidence in the strength of this design, for the channel (which is actually channel this time and not tubing) is mounted vertically and 1/2" plate is welded to both the top and bottom. I'll retain some of the components I've already sourced, to include the outer flat plate. I'll need that because the "standard channel" doesn't have web thicknesses anywhere near what I'd prefer, at least not in the "commonly used" variants it doesn't. And I don't want to have to buy a 20' stick merely for the sake of obtaining that web thickness when I can just weld plate onto the outside of the 3/16" webbing of that channel. The 1/4" plate + 3/16" channel webbing thickness = 7/16", which is quite close to the 1/2" that I wanted. So I'll call that good.
Anyway I've requested the new material from the supplier. No word on when it will be ready.
Thanks!
Jerry
The update is that the supplier finished preparing the raw material on Friday. I picked them up just prior to their closing. Friggin COVID screws everything up doesn't it? lol
Anyway, the spindles and hubs also came in, so I collected all of it this evening and took it to the outbuilding to begin work:
https://i.imgur.com/3arHXTk.jpg
The flat plate is 1/2" as per the new design drawing. The new channel is a standard size, C6x8.2. It's web thickness is only 3/16" IIRC:
https://i.imgur.com/DuggwvN.jpg
That would arguably be enough, but as always I believe in overkill and since I have these outer plates remaining from the previous design, plates that are almost the correct size (will need a tad of shortening), I plan on welding them to the outside of the channel to give it just that much extra strength and rigidity:
https://i.imgur.com/tiDKz8B.jpg
And of course the primary element of strength with the new design lies with the increased thickness of the C6x8.2 in its corners. As can be seen in that picture, the difference in thickness and thus strength is formidable. Still, I'll augment that with the 1/4" plate leftovers.
After unloading and a quick inspection, I put the angle grinder to work, cleaning off the rust and mill scale. I then beveled all of the edges that will be welded. Doing this alone can be a time sink, but if you have a sufficient available window of opportunity, then such work can be almost therapeutic. Unfortunately I began to exhaust my available time tonight. Thus I managed only to finish the grinding work, to clean the components with acetone (quick wipedown) and then get them into rusty metal primer:
https://i.imgur.com/eSxXUkS.jpg
As per my normal MO. The wife has a full day of stuff to do tomorrow, so I'm not certain how far I'll get with it, or if I'll manage to find any time to even address the project. TBD. But no complaints. After many years of wanting to be a dad, I enjoy Father's Day thoroughly! So happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there!
Thanks,
Jerry
Thanks for the updates and happy father's day.
Thank you zoama, I appreciate that. I trust that all of the fathers out there had a good day also!
Work is crazy-busy. However I was bound and determined to make at least some progress with the gantry-on-wheels project. However meager. As it would turn out, that progress would be more modest than planned, but that happens.
And this is the very reason that I'd like to bring the project to a conclusion:
https://i.imgur.com/FSNKkjM.jpg
I think I mentioned this, but if the gantry sits in one position for a while, and especially if it has rained, then the casters create divots in the asphalt. I'd prefer that to not continue to occur.
And so I cut the support plates down to 5 3/4" and applied my usual rusty metal primer. These plates will be welded directly to the top and bottom of the gantry's legs, outboard of the casters (on the bottom) and the leg gusset plates (on the top):
https://i.imgur.com/YTshTXd.jpg
Those dry as I load everything into the cart:
https://i.imgur.com/J9Mz8QJ.jpg
And make my way to the gantry:
https://i.imgur.com/xwhQiPD.jpg
As a pilot, conforming to procedure is ingrained in my nature. Thus I began to test everything prior to using it. Unfortunately my Lincoln Electric Viking helmet's auto-darkening mechanism failed its self-test. But that was a good thing in that I caught it prior to attempting to actually weld with it. My guess is that the battery is low, since it has sat in its welding helmet bag for a few months now. However I don't know that to be the cause. So I'll have to look into it; but I didn't want that to ruin the effort, so I went back into the outbuilding and grabbed my "manual helmet" that I bought way-back-when as a backup:
https://i.imgur.com/gKU5KUx.jpg
It would indeed need to fulfill that role today, so that was good foresight. However, I am out of practice with this old school means of laying beads. My auto-darkener has spoiled me. I definitely need practice with this thing, as I would find out. :D
So with the decision to proceed using the manual transmission helmet, I decided to verify that my 275p is in working order. It's been about a month since I laid power to it. While on that subject of power to the welder, I must admit to not being a fan of this:
https://i.imgur.com/JeB0elP.jpg
Not certain if that was/is intentional or a "build error" of sorts, but I've never liked that since the day the welder arrived. I'd prefer to see the wiring tubing extend into the terminator's housing without any wires being visible near that point. It would be relatively easy to repair on my own, but I simply haven't done it out of concern that doing so might invalidate the warranty somehow. For that reason alone, I've left it as it was when I took delivery. Anyone know if this is a common thing or ... ? I can't see a reason why you would build it that way, but perhaps my electrical wiring biases have me blinded...
Anyway it powered up, no issues:
https://i.imgur.com/lz2xjXU.jpg
And my pre-programmed settings/modes remained as they were saved several months ago. That is to the good. I have my 6010 mode set at 90A (leftover from the initial gantry build) with my preferred hot start and arc force values also ready to use:
https://i.imgur.com/po6vHhZ.jpg
Although you can't really see that in the picture due to the sun. Oh well. :)
The first item on the agenda today is to weld the H-beam end pieces on, as per Mark's recommendation. These are merely 1/4" plate, but I think that they'll suffice for that task.
After grinding off the burnt orange paint (I am in Austin, TEXAS - home to the Longhorns dontchaknow) and the rusty metal primer that existed beneath it, I had a smooth surface on which to mount the end plate. I covered that in weld through primer, naturally:
https://i.imgur.com/CVgNL0a.jpg
And then fitted the first one in place and secured it with magnets. Anyone else have a love-hate relationship with magnets? :D lol
Time to get to business. Decided to follow the same MO as when I built the thing: 6010 for the root and 7018 for a couple of cap passes. So I'm in 6010 mode, 90A, hot start and arc force (dig) on the go. Rod in the stinger, ground on the leg. And bunk. I struggle with the manual helmet a bit. Every time I nod my head in a yes gesture so that it'll drop into position, the end of my rod moves out of position, no matter how rigid I attempt to maintain the starting position. lol I ended up welding a small drop onto the face of the plate for that reason! Bwahahahaha! I definitely need more practice with this critter. After a couple of minutes though I caught back on to a technique that can work, so that was to the good. I lay down a few tacks and then the first bead. Raised the helmet to get the second rod. Something doesn't seem right. It's darker out than when I dropped the helmet a couple of minutes ago.
Yeah. This happened:
https://i.imgur.com/C8O2iCp.jpg
You gotta be kidding me! Uhhhhhh...someone didn't tell the forecast, which I checked prior to launching this afternoon, that it was a-gonna rain. Well bunk.
None of the wet stuff has made its way down to terra firma just yet, but I am not taking any chances. I grind off the slag, brush it down, wipe it off and coat everything near the end of the leg in rusty metal primer. I then unplug the grinder and welder, load everything back into the cart and head for home. Just as I get everything inside the outbuilding and the doors shut, the heavens open up, once again reminding us mere mortals of who is actually in charge. :D
So today ended up with the one bead down and that's it:
https://i.imgur.com/8R7oaYm.jpg
As mentioned, quite meager progress, but this one was not my doing, so I suppose one could find comfort in that if they were so inclined. It is what it is, I'll revisit it when I can work permitting. For now, she'll remain as she is:
https://i.imgur.com/EzxdEcc.jpg
So the update. The short version is that work has been dominating my time as of late. However I can't complain about that too much, as it is what funds our existence; and no one would listen anyway, so why waste the oxygen? :D
I had planned on making some real headway this holiday weekend. However I ended up working a fair amount of it and we received short bits of the wet stuff, on-again-off-again type of scenario. Thus the opportunity windows would be limited in number and duration. That said, I did manage to at least weld on the end plates that Mark suggested, grind their welds (well, the ones I cared to grind anyway; the interiors I just left as-is) down, clean off the surfaces and lay on the rusty metal primer:
https://i.imgur.com/fJ5Axi6.jpg
And wouldn't ya know it, just as I was starting in on the support plates, I heard rumblings off in the distance. So I loaded all of the gear back into the cart and called it a day. Sure enough, about 20 minutes later we received yet another sprinkling. It didn't amount to much and was done in about 3 minutes or so. However there's no way of knowing the wx's intensity nor duration, so I err on the side of caution and merely avoid it altogether.
Meager progress in comparison to what I had hoped for, but I'll take progress whenever it comes my way:
https://i.imgur.com/oKAyfL4.jpg
Hopefully work will return to normal soon and I can finish off the project. TBD.
I did decide to order some bushings for the king pins; found those online. Who knows when they'll arrive, we'll see. Finally, I found the outer welds on the lower side of each end cap to be challenging; especially since it's been a few months since I've laid down any beads. The reason was they were out-of-position and involved a weird rod angle. It was difficult at first for me to put down anything with decent consistency. There would be some relief found by elevating the gantry with a floor jack. However I didn't attempt that initially and found the going a bit rough with the gantry resting on its casters. Admittedly, I elevated only the one side; I found that by the time I had ran a few beads on that side, I was able to lay down some respectable stuff on the other without the need to raise that side of the crane. So in short, I was able to shake off the rust (no pun intended) and once that was done I was laying beads as per normal. Settings were a bit lower though, as the plates were only 1/4" and I used some 3/32" 7018 that I had laying around. I stuck with 1/8" for the 6010 though and the identical settings from back in the day.
I digress. Hope everyone had a good 4th!
Although I worked until 7:30 I decided to at least make a start on the new end suspension components. At the root, these will consist of a 1/2" plate on the top and bottom, with a C6 channel mounted vertically on one end. I'll weld on an outer and inner piece to that channel in order to increase the hub thickness and thus strength. But first thing's first: the root for one end. This was my fitup:
https://i.imgur.com/HLuNy0N.jpg
I ran my usual 6010 root with 7018 fill and/or cap passes. Unfortunately due to the late start I could only manage to get the first root package completed. I should have gotten it into primer, but was in a rush to get inside and help the wife with the lil' un. Didn't even have enough time to snap a decent picture of it, but did manage to get one in passing as I was closing up shop for the night:
https://i.imgur.com/PiCVhvB.jpg
There is no plan to grind any of these welds beyond slag removal. I know I got good penetration and since these welds will live behind a wheel and a tire (and because it's a gantry crane and not a show car) I'll just leave them as-is, then primer and paint right over them. Slag removal will be done, yes, but that'll be the extent of it. Kinda nice to not worry about grinding welds. :D
Anyway that's all I have for tonight. Hope everyone is well.
With my work continuing each night until at least 7 pm, there hasn't been much time to work on the gantry-on-wheels project. However I did manage to get the first two root-package end supports completed and into primer:
https://i.imgur.com/YJoeyTw.jpg
I did my usual 6010 root and 7018 cap passes. I got good penetration on both and again, I won't grind these welds. I'll just let 'em be as-is.
Hopefully I can keep this pace of at least making some meager progress each night. We'll see. TBD.
Anyway thanks!
'Tell you fellas what: work is downright nuts these days. Had to tend to that for most of the day (weekends are usually off, but when necessary, well...gotta do what you gotta do). Again, no complaints, as it's what puts the goods on the table. So I found a place to put it on pause about 6:30 and got my tail up to get outside for a break. Decided to make what progress I could on the gantry. I still had to put together two more of the root packages, so I was hoping to polish that much off at a minimum. I would get close, but not quite. Anyway, I snapped a few pictures along the way. The idea behind those is merely to convey the general idea of how I'm fitting these up, running the 6010 root and 7018 fills/caps. Wherever possible I establish a bevel and land. Not much of a gap, if any. Here is an example from (I think) the third of four of these critters:
https://i.imgur.com/ZzGng5O.jpg
I just laid 4 tacks on the sides then stood them up for the weld-out (which I did after a wire wheel to get to bare metal):
https://i.imgur.com/wfHUbtS.jpg
It was well over 100F today, so in full gear I found myself putting out a fair amount of the wet stuff myself. :D Had to stop a few times just to cool off a bit. However I pushed through.
One of my 6010 root passes:
https://i.imgur.com/fvcE9Bl.jpg
As I recall I ran out of rod and had to restart mid-way through that one. :D I'll run 7018 passes with 50% overlap over these root beads; but I wouldn't get to that today. Available time was exhausted and I had to get inside to help the wife with the lil' un. So I laid down some weld-through primer and called it a night:
https://i.imgur.com/Aa1B6iV.jpg
Hopefully I can polish these off tomorrow. It's likely that I'll need to work most of the day again though, so we'll see.
The 275p did its job today:
https://i.imgur.com/LD8Lba3.jpg
So far it's worked well for me. Granted I don't use it everyday but still it has been reliable on the occasions that I have used it. Funny but I've only used it to do any MIG welding once. :D I suspect that the Everlast folk might get a kick out of that, because I recall that one video in which Mark stated that the 275p is a MIG welder that happens to do to stick welding too. The message I took away from that video was that the SMAW function was more of a happenstance than a purpose WRT this particular welder. Interestingly enough though, at the time I was searching and found the 275p I was specifically and explicitly on the hunt for a welder that could do these two particular processes. Of primary importance when deciding to opt for an inverter based box was that box's ability to do 6010 well. The 275p was reported to meet those specific needs and so with the warranty in mind I had found my box. In short, I wouldn't have bought the 275p if it had been a MIG-only critter.
I digress. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.
Not much time this Sunday either. I did manage to lay down the 7018 stringers:
https://i.imgur.com/tFkQ9eI.jpg
And get the final two root packages into primer:
https://i.imgur.com/Bl0EqBw.jpg
So that's something. Now I gotta work again tonight. 'Prolly until 1 or 2. lol
Y'all take care.
Same MO as previous nights: work until 7 or 7:30 then rush to the outbuilding to see what progress I can make in the time available.
Tonight I wanted to weld the outer plates onto the root suspension components. So I trimmed those pieces to length via the chop saw and a cut off wheel, then welded them with a single 3/32 7018 pass:
https://i.imgur.com/xMmLOur.jpg
A couple of examples:
https://i.imgur.com/vPWlioD.jpg
The 3/32 wasn't enough to bring the weld bead to the same height as the top of the 1/4" plate, but there also wasn't any undercut so I'm fine with it. I'll run passes along the sides (hopefully tomorrow) and that will be plenty for the task that these outer pieces are intended to serve. And that purpose is merely to increase the support area for the spindle as it passes through the mounting hole on the C-channel. But knowing me I'll likely revisit this and lay down another bead or two. :D I do enjoy welding, so...
Anyway before I knew it they were finished:
https://i.imgur.com/Q24OI20.jpg
It was, unfortunately, getting rather late and as always I needed to get inside to help the wife get the lil' un into bed (that can be a task sometimes :D). Therefore I had to apply the primer and set these aside for the night:
https://i.imgur.com/1Pvg0v0.jpg
Maybe I will be able to continue with such meager progress tomorrow. TBD.
Thanks!
Busy work week. Only had brief windows of opportunity to do anything on the gantry-on-wheels project. So over the past two or three nights I managed to get some inner support plates cut out of the raw material that I was originally intending to use as the primary supports. I passed on that idea, thinking that they might not have the necessary strength. However with enough slicing and dicing (which was rather time consuming and limited because of the physical dimensions of the chop saw) I had 4 inner plates. Here's the general idea, with the hub and spindle in place:
https://i.imgur.com/LIe1RBk.jpg
The purpose that these will serve is two-fold:
1) Provide an additional amount of overall thickness of plate material upon which the spindle will rest (and be welded into place)
2) By setting these plates back just a bit from the inner side of the c-channel, they will provide additional support for the spindle (akin to having a second hand on the back of your chainsaw)
At present, I plan on there being about a 1/4" gap between the inner support plate and the c-channel. I plan on welding the spindle to the c-channel, welding in strips of the plate that I had cut out (which are 1/4" thick) between the inner support plate and the c-channel to function as spacers and plate support. I'll then weld the inner support plate to the c-channel and the spindle to the inner support plate. Thus it'll be double-welded into position. That should provide adequate support as an overall package. I left about 1/16" gap around the spindle, so the penetration should be good to boot:
https://i.imgur.com/TH6Tm86.jpg
This picture illustrates the gap between the inner support plate and the c-channel:
https://i.imgur.com/Hdyu2WN.jpg
Finally, I plan on installing a shim on the outer plate between that plate and the spindle's mounting flange. I'll do this on the top side so that there will be a slight inward angle to the wheels. This will make the gantry roll and turn easier. Kinda analogous to the front wheels on those "old timey tractors" (to borrow a phrase from my 5 year old son!):
https://i.imgur.com/kI93ixR.jpg
Though in the final product my wheels won't come near that much angle mind you. There will at least be some though and that will help.
So that was the fitup. Tonight's goal was to weld the vertical edges of the outer plates to the c-channel:
https://i.imgur.com/eVmFsbJ.jpg
I tacked them in place in the middle on the sides a few nights ago, but they needed welding-out:
https://i.imgur.com/GSPBZTV.jpg
Just a single 7018 pass, 3/32" (trying to finish off that can dontchaknow).
I knew I wouldn't have time to get around to welding the spindles nor the inner support plates tonight, so I thought I'd at least get the prep done:
https://i.imgur.com/lMx6Zb3.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/kXb0MsN.jpg
I only hope that I'll be able to circle the wagons back around to this project over the weekend, so with that in mind I put the vertical welds into rusty metal primer (which I would have done anyway since they will remain as-is until paint) and then weld-thru primer on the inner support plates:
https://i.imgur.com/xgpBhj0.jpg
And at that point it was time to get inside and do my duties as dad. :D
Hope all is well, y'all take care!
Had family stuff going on most all day today. Only a little time in the evening for the project. Oh well, family first dontchaknow.
It was time to mount the axles into the end supports. The first task was to decide how much angle I wanted to establish for the spindles. Depending on what that number was, I would then need to decide on what and how to shim the axle flange. After conducting the briefest of research, I decided that 5 degrees would suit this application. As it would turn out, that was about the limit of what the difference in diameter between the spindles and end support plates would allow. So it seemed kinda meant-to-be. I found some thin flat bar and mocked it up:
https://i.imgur.com/fdbESaY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/umSaNlh.jpg
This flat bar yielded just the angle I was after, or at least right-close to it:
https://i.imgur.com/hsbeksw.jpg
So I cut them to length and put them into weld-thru primer:
https://i.imgur.com/pPlmQAM.jpg
A quick second mockup painted a good picture, so I decided to go with it:
https://i.imgur.com/gaNVk09.jpg
So it all came back apart so that I could run the flap disc on it. Since time was limited as always, I managed to get only the 6010 root pass on two of the four, then put those into weld-thru primer for the night:
https://i.imgur.com/O3hkUW1.jpg
Out of view to the right in the above picture was a fan. I do that partly to assist in fume "extraction", and that coupled with my respirator allows me to feel better about SMAW. :D Today though I brought that fan in quite close in order to keep the axles as cool as I could during the weld. I took my time, didn't rush through it and allowed the fan to do its thing. That seemed to help, which was to-the-good. I would rather not remove the hub from the spindles then reinstall them if I can avoid it. I have enough work with relatively limited time as it is. :)
Anyway thanks, hope all is well.
Today's work involved the 6010 root passes on the outer side of the 2 remaining axle spindle flanges. Once that was done, I put all 4 on the table and ran the 7018 pass one at a time on each of them in an effort, combined with the fan, to maintain relatively low heat on the units as a whole:
https://i.imgur.com/KSpaZdE.jpg
The 7018 passes done, I laid down the primer and let them dry:
https://i.imgur.com/Vc4D0z0.jpg
It was hot today so I took advantage of the dry time to remove myself from the heat a bit. :D
It was then time to turn them upside down and weld the first set of beads around the spindle, joining it to the c-channel:
https://i.imgur.com/s31s8PP.jpg
This would be a bit challenging, as I planned on laying down both a 6010 and a 7018 pass around the spindle. I could not merely rotate the assembly because the legs would impact the stinger; the angle to avoid that would be excessive and would likely result in undercut. So I had to approach it in piece meal fashion. Other than that access would be generally good:
https://i.imgur.com/YWxkeSn.jpg
So I laid down the 6010 on each, again one at a time to avoid putting too much heat into them. I then cleaned the slag off of those welds and laid in the 7018 passes on each, one at a time. I also took short breaks in-between each component to allow the fan to do its thing. Anyway, once all of that was done, I put them into primer:
https://i.imgur.com/SiiWwgm.jpg
And left it there for the night. I did a quick test-fitment of the inner supports on each unit. Those slid into place nicely, no issues. So I'm good there. Fabricating the supports for those and welding all of that into place, in addition to welding the spindle to the inner support will be the next steps in the process. At that point, paint will be the next time on the agenda for these critters prior to calling them 'done'.
Admittedly, I had wanted to get further along this weekend, as work will pick up considerably this week and likely remain that way for at least a couple of weeks. It's unlikely that I'll be able to work on the project during that time. So if you don't hear anything from me for a while, well that'll be why. :D
Funny how work gets in the way of your projects isn't it? :D
Thanks
I would think there would be a bit too much heat for the grease seals. You might have to change them after all the welding.