5 Oct 09

I have just got back from Bracknell after picking up my band saw off Ebay £155.00. I employed Nicky’s (wife) help, she was willing if no able, to get it out of the back of the Range Rover, which by the way, is 11 years old, I wouldn’t want any one to get any ideas that I am something I am not!

I have done some practice cuts using some 15mm box section I have lying around and first results are good. I scribed the angles, a 45º and a 10º, then set the vice accordingly and then measured the finished cut and they where spot on. I am going to get a new blade as I have no idea on the age of the one in the machine; I am working on the cam belt theory, piece of mind really.

I was getting weekend clearance from Nicky for the Exeter Kit Car show and she drops the bomb shell that she is away on a hen weekend in Manchester, a quick phone call to my mother and arrangements have been made for her to look after the kids for the Saturday. So I am saving my pennies now and selling anything I can so as to take advantage of the 3ge 15% of offer for orders taken at the show.

6 Oct 09

I have modified my band saw. The nut and bolt used to adjust the angle of the cut was a slow and cumbersome way of doing the job and I had read on the forum someone complaining how slow it was when there are lots of changes of angle to be done, so, I have welded the bolt head to the guide and welded a nut into a round piece of tube that has a T handle welded to it. Much quicker to change angles now.

7 Oct 09

I have made two of the three hangers that will hold the steel from the roof of the garage when the steel arrives. They are wonderfully over engineered and are turning into a work of art IMO. All good practice for the build.

11 Oct 09

I am on a course in the sunny Medway towns, my steel turns up tomorrow (Mon 12th) and I am stuck here.

I finished the hangers for the roof to take the steel.

Marked out the base board and checked my diagonals, everything seems spot on.

When I next get home the first thing I will have to do is paint all the steel before it starts to rust in my damp garage, then finally I can start construction.




12 Oct 09

Hooray.

Firstly I am back home and don’t have to do the first week of the course, secondly me steel turned up at 9 am this morning, I got back around the M25 and in the garage by lunch time.

I have cut all the BR’s and tacked BR 5,6,11 and 12 together, BR 8 and 9 where interesting doing the 74° cut but some judicious filing and it is spot on.

I am going to attempt the FF’s after dropping the kids at school which gives Nicky a lie in and gets me right in the good books!

I will up-date the photo-bucket pictures later.

A fantastic first day.:D :D :D :D

Ginge,I have been happily married for nearly 40 years,my wife has allways "got stuck in" so if Nicky sees herself "bumbling along the lanes with a headscarf on" see you do it
or you will get more grief than its worth!!With my old clubman my wife burned her leg on the side exhaust,so make sure you take care of that.
We see your country lanes on programs such as Midsomer murders,looks wonderful,wouldnt mind bumbling along them with a 7 myself.
Put Nicky on a pedestal,worship her and good luck with the build.Your son will just love the car.David:D

Cheers ACE.

I brought my son some coveralls off Ebay but now he is asking for a welding mask as I make him go out of the garage, turn around and shut his eyes at the moment!

13 Oct 09

Prepared all the mating faces of the base rails then ‘jigged’ them in place with plastic kitchen cupboard fixers then tacked them all together.:)

I moved on to the front frame this afternoon. I am pleased with the progress so far, I only made one mistake:( which was to cut FF2 and 3 too long to start with (miss read the length in the extra tutorial and cut them both the same length as FF1!):eek: Had it not been for this little over sight I would have got the front frame finished today. At least, eventually, I worked out where I had gone wrong, and know what needs to be done to correct it.

Of to Salisbury with my good lady tomorrow so there will be no progress.

My old man is interested in the build, to the point he is coming over on Thursday and has asked for the forum address so he can keep up with what I am doing.:D

the front frame can be a tricky little bu@@er :D

glad you got it sorted. :)

andy

Wait till you get onto the SB sections at the back, they can be really awkward to get lined up just right but is certainly worth it. You need 3 pairs of hands to hold them in the correct angles and then another to tack them.

Patience is a virtue...If it was easy it wouldn't be fun

looks like a good start. if your coming back to medway feel free to give me a shout and you can come and see my buid if you like.

AshG.

I am back in Medway on Sunday night for five weeks and would love to come over for a quick brew and a nose at your Roadster.

I have perchased an iternet dongle today so when I get back down there I can still check the forum, told the wife it was so I could do reserch whilst on course.

I will pm you early next week if that is OK.

Cheers Ginge

It's coming along
 

14 Oct 09

The trip to Salisbury only took up the morning so I got the front frame completed and cut some of the top rails, also brought a ‘3’ mobile broadband dongle! So I can get the ‘tinter’ web whilst on course for the next 5 weeks.

15 Oct 09

Had a full 9 to 5 day in the garage today and the chassis has risen from the base board.

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No major problems, a little fettling here and there. The seat back was interesting, got it lightly tacked then measured all the angles before adding the first diagonal which stiffened it up nicely.

Looking forward to a second 9 to 5 in the garage tomorrow, probably won’t get as much done at the weekend as the kids will be popping in the garage and I like to encourage them which slows the whole process down a touch.

A question, which I vaguely recall being raised previously, is there a definite time to start fully welding everything together? Only there seems a lot to weld and grind back down.