CB desert sled

A few more photos from last night...

OK, I gotta buy me a welder. That's just too cool for school.

That subframe looks amazing Luke...guess I know who I'll be bugging for welding now!

If you're in the North Bay head up to the Santa Rosa JC. I took their first two basic welding classes, they were really good for making a foundation. Having someone watch you and help fix your mistakes makes things much easier.

Another resource we have here in the Bay is Tech Shop, and they are spreading across the country!

Cool, I might have to:)

I'm in Oakland, so Santa Rosa is a good hour away- not easy, what with full-time work and all that. But I might look into something local. I used to run oxy/acetylene back in high school, so I was thinking I'd just pick up a cheapo MIG and start melting metal until I get a feel for it. Then see what sort of edumacation I need to safely start chopping bikes together.

Luke looks awesome trying to figure out how to make it down this year . I have been working on a bike for 2014 the bike I planned to take last year a 1987 Cagiva Elefant . but seeing your work there makes me want to modify a old Honda Interceptor I have .

Once upon a time, I had Miller 220 Mig, a real workhorse and it made beautiful welds. The little 110 Snap-On (seen in some background pics) is the only wire-feed currently at the shop (but a 220 Mig is on our wish list), is much more difficult to work with, it's lack of power makes everything you do so much more critical; size of metal, cleanliness, v-ing weld joints, etc etc, not that these aren't important with any welder, but having ample power makes a huge difference. If you can manage a 220, I would definitely go that route.

The only welder on the farm for years was an old Forney stick welder my dad picked up at an auction. It works O.K. but,it's an antique compared with what's out there now. And it has some grounding problems , as in Shock the piss out of you if you touch what's being welded, sometimes.
I bought a little Miller 110 flux-core unit that I never really got to like though I had it for years. Then I picked up a Millermatic 250 for $700 at a farm auction.
Wow ! What a difference a decent machine makes !
With the 250 all my frustration falls away and I find that I can weld and have things hold up the first time rather than going back and doing it over until it clicks. And with the gas mig ,almost no wasted time cleaning up. Nice.

Man, I'd love a 220, but I only have 110 in my garage.

We'll see. I need to get a lot of other, more basic tools, first. Y'know, angle grinder, air compressor, things like that

i have a LE 135 plus wich is 110 and with a good 12/3 cord it does amazing welds up to 3/8 thick steel .with a good preheat i can weld 1/2 in thick .

You want to come and just chase, I think I can find a spot for you and can pick you up in San Diego. PM if you'd like more info!

I hope you can make it, and I think an Elefant would be great down there. Any details on it?

Hey Luke,

I thought you might have a special appreciation for this pic, from the Flat tracker and street tracker photos thread.

I want to see you make another attempt with the SC500!!!

Sadist.



All I want is to hear the story of how he made it back to Mexicali.

I worked on the battery box today, got the body done, it still needs a lid and mounting tabs.

I made it out of 16ga steel. Instead of trying to use the bender, I scored it with the cutoff wheel then bent it at the scores by hand. Much better results. The bent corners do need to be welded to get their strength back but it's a really easy weld to make.




I was able to weld the edges up really quickly which got the torch pretty warm, so I stripped it to see what was getting hot. Nothing seemed to be overheating, just a healthy hot.





The box goes above the swingarm, under the air filter. It's a tight fit, but should work. The picture is with the swingarm at the top of its travel. There's a little piece of wood taped on the bottom which will allow the ignition module to fit.




Here's the box with its contents. Battery, starter relay, ignition.


The voltage regulator mounts on the bottom so it can cool.

Nice tip. I don't have a brake, and occasionaly need to bend metal like that. I'll have to remember that one. How big is your tig welder. Mines got a pretty low duty cycle and warms up a bit when continual welding. I just let it sit for a minute now and then. Guess that's why fab shops step up to water cooled torches.

Keep up the good work and sharing your progress.

-= Scott

With all the projects being worked on, some of the shop tools are showing the strain. One of the key assets in the LC Garage is our PPD or "Precision Polishing Device". This unit has taken a beating over the years and in the last few days has started to come apart at the seams. The fancy label says "sometimes bearing needs lube" ;


Picked up a new polishing wheel today at Lucilles (small tool store near where I work);


Ready for another year of precision polishing!

Awesome! I just put a polishing wheel, new cable, toggle switch and rubber feet on mine! Altho, I need a new stone, wire and maybe a couple more polishing wheels!