build you own........

[james83mills]

just bought a brand new sealey 350kg engine stand for £39.99

[ACE HIGH]

I had a close look at the big box shop engine stands and cranes etc and they are nowhere near the quality of my home made units,because:There are 3 sizes of engine stands,some have non swivelling nylon wheels instead of 3 cast iron heavy duty swivelling casters,ends of box sections are not sealed,will rust from the inside out,poorly painted,and the cheapest units have slightly thinner steel,plus the main vertical upstand is bolted to the lower cross member,and is loose in its mount,try moving 200 kg plus sideways with one of these with the main upstand moving around relying on a single bolt to hold it all tight.Also the book has a design for chassis mounts so that one is put each end and the whole chassis can be turned over,this is how the yanks do there Nascar chassis etc,very handy for a project such as the Roadster.These projects are dead easy and anyone who got stuck in would build them better and cheaper than the imported items and they will all last a lifetime.David

[Land Locked]

Originally Posted by ACE HIGH

and they will all last a lifetime.

Right there is the crux of the matter. I see tools as an investment. If by making it myself I can do it better than the bought goods price becomes a very very secondary consideration.

[ACE HIGH]

Thanks landlocked,the point I have been trying to get through to these young guys (in particular) is that they are "happy to spend with a shovel" on fancy wheels ,engines,guages,paint, etc,and "save with a teaspoon" by purchasing poor quality clamps,cheap hacksaw blades,rubbish work tables that wouldnt even be strong enough for my wifes stained glass hobbies and cheap Chinese tools,some of which are OK but most of which are not.They will still own quality tools as I do,50 years later but their Roadster will be a distant memory,plus most of these young guys will be "bitten by the bug"and go on to make other cars, boats ,trailers,caravans, etc during there lifetime,and will be pleased that they had the good sense to buy,or make quality tools.David

[ACE HIGH]

googleopular science power hacksaw for a couple of easy designs of a small power hacksaw using standard 12 inch blades,would be an easy build,I would recommend the version using the Chev con rods,should be OK for the light tubing etc for a roadster.Then you can progress to making your own large power hacksaw,when you find out how handy this type of tool is! David:

[ACE HIGH]

popular science power hacksaw.could not get rid of the face!David

[andyp]

hi i made my own trolley from some offcuts

[Land Locked]

Tripped over this earlier:
http://opensourcemachine.org/

[fluxcored]

Errrr, I'm busy building a power hacksaw at the moment because I'm cutting thicker stock these days - nearly killed myself with a 9" grinder - and refuse to spend money on the low end horizontal bandsaws although they'll cut much faster.

A multimachine is on my list because I cannot afford a lathe with the same size swing that the MM got + I can use it to do some elementary milling. If I can find a decent, inexpensive x-y table then I'll probably start.

I'm mainly using scrap because I'm out of pocket most of the time. . Came home the other day and found my wife hired help to do the ironing for her. She asked me whether she can use the ladies services on a more regular basis. My reply ...... no problem as long as you know in advance, I'm buying myself a Sierra!!

Drawback is that it takes me much longer to finish a project because I have to scrounge around to find the scrap, then work it until it's useable. I sometimes wonder whether it's worth the effort. Ah well, at least I'm doing my bit for the environment.

Reason I revived the idea for building a roadster/locost is that I found myself spending more and more time collecting scrap to turn into tools which I need to process more scrap into something useful.

[Land Locked]

Adendorff sometimes do x-y tables at fairish prices. I just dislike dealing with them cause if you walk in there looking like less than a million bucks you gotta lick someones behind for help.