Jessie The Jeep Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) Once the blocks were dry, I started marking out and cutting the box sections to fit together, cleaning the surfaces were the welds were to be. To avoid twisting, I just tacked each joint with a small weld, and then removed it from the jig. It was turned over and another small tack placed on each joint. This now held each joint from both sides, allowing the main weld to be made without the heat pulling or twisting the sections. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) July 8th The following day, transit frame two went into the jig and was welded up. Trying to conserve my Oxy/Acetylene, I was using an arc welder. It was a fine balance between having enough amps to get the arc going and too much power and burning through the box section. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) Once the two transit frames were made, I began on the seat base support. This will brace the flat bottom of the seat bucket and hold the pivot to allow the seat to rotate when being used in the truck's observers position. This part of the frame would be fastened to the seat, and would bolt to the transit frames when driving. They would then be removed when the seat was used for display in the observers position. The two side frames of the seat base were clamped to the transit frames, drilled and bolts fitted. The nuts were then welded to these pieces. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) These two sections would then be welded to diagonal braces which would join them to the centre pivot. The old jig was chiseled off the board, it was sanded and the new seat base plan drawn out on the wood. Once again, wooden blocks were used to jig the box sections in the correct location. By school run time, I had the first diagonal piece, cut to mate with the side rail. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Anyone ever tell you , you are a genius? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Not enough!!!! I'll probably be appreciated after I'm gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Was ever thus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) July 9th On Thursday 9th, work continued on the seat base, finishing the jig and making the diagonal cuts on the cross pieces. The tube had a 2mm sheet steel end brazed in, to act as an additional bearing surface rather than the actual seat. The ends of the cross pieces were then trimmed to length to fit this tube. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) The cross pieces were tack welded to the outer parts first, and a small tack weld added on the tube end, being careful not to burn through it. It was then removed from the jig, and the joints at the tube end were brazed; a safer option with the thin walled centre tube. The outer end welds were then completed with the arc welder. This allowed the three main pieces to be bolted together. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) Two bolts were welded into the top of the transit frames, onto which will attach the seat back. This back will be braced by the cross member seen here. The last job of the day was to cut the quarter round edges on the back of the 2mm seat base. On Monday I hope to be starting the main bucket of the seat. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) July 13th On Monday 13th, I set off with a large sheet of steel to visit a friend with a sheet metal roller. I've not used a roller before, and while I'm sure I would have got to grips with it, it was easier to leave it to him. In return, I did some stencilling on some dummy bombs which took considerably longer than the metal rolling, but we both came away happy with the results of the day. The only thing that didn't get done was swaging the stiffeners in the seat back, as the swaging tool didn't have a deep enough throat. So that's the next job, making a male/female swaging tool to tap the stiffeners into the sheet metal. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) July 14th On the 14th, I decided to tackle the swaging. Metalworking has never been my favourite pastime, far too noisy, dirty and heavy! I much prefer wood, plastics and resin, but metal it had to be in this case, so I prepared myself for noise and mess. After having a think about a full length tool that would go right across the back of the seat, I decided against it due to the amount of force I would need to form along the whole piece in one go. Instead, I opted for a small tool around 4 inches long, that I could work my way across the metal with. A quick look in the scrap box found some 10mm square steel and some round bar to make the male tool. These were screwed down to a board to hold them in place for welding. Once the ends were tacked, I turned the tool over and welded all the way along the back of both joints, and then filled in the gap with additional weld. The female tool was simply a piece of aluminium channel, screwed to an offcut of railway sleeper. A piece of 1.2mm steel sheet scrap was placed over the channel, the tool held over the top, and with the swing of a large hammer, bang, the first part of the swaging formed. I went back and forth until I got the result seen in the picture below. I was very pleased with the result. The only problem was the sheet moving around. Clamping a piece of steel the size of the chair back was beyond the abilities of any of my clamps, but I had an idea. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) After the test, I cut down the aluminium channel and block of wood, so that they would fit inside the back of the curved sheet metal. To hold the seat back still during the swaging process, I opted for drilling small holes in the seat so that it could be screwed through the female tool to hold the alignment correctly. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) There weren't any more excuses not to get the big hammer out and make a start! The female tool/sleeper were placed on top of one stool and another piece of sleeper placed on a second stool to support the U shaped steel clear of the floor. To reduce the noise and ringing, I covered the area of steel not being worked on with an old towel, and then placed the folded up Dodge canvas on top of that. This worked pretty well to deaden the sound. The first swaging area on the sheet was then lined up and screwed down to the female tool, and battering began. To my surprise, it worked rather well, even around the curve at the edge of the seat back. I didn't want to go too far in this area in case it began to straighten the curve made yesterday. Once the seat bucket is all welded up and cut to shape, the swaging around the curved corners can be finished off. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) I was on a roll, and after the first two were completed, the other three came soon after. They still need a little tidying here and there with a small hammer, and I may yet fill in the screw holes, but those things aren't urgent right now. Once the swaging was complete, I welded the seat base to the centre post and diagonal braces made last week. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) After the seat base was welded, I didn't have long before school pick up time and childminding duties started. The sheet was oversize, and to allow for the backwards rake, the sheet needed slotting to clear the transit frames, allowing it to drop lower than the seat base at the rear of the seat bucket. Two holes were also drilled for the bolts on the transit frames that hold the cross piece in place. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) Wooden wedges were hammered into the rear of the frame to hold the seat back firmly against the seat base. This will be the first part to be welded. Once the rear bottom seam is welded, I can start to work around the corner and along the sides to the front, but that's for another day, I had run out of time! Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I was on a roll…. No - that was Monday wasn't it? Today I think you were on a swage. I really like the way you tackled this challenge - kind of sets the benchmark for dogged determination in the absence of specialist tools! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 I've never let the lack of correct tools, or someone with experience telling me "it can't be done", stop me from doing things. I think my best "Up Yours" moment was after I made Lynne's wedding ring, which the jeweller told me I wouldn't be able to do. I didn't actually go back and put him right, but just had that smug "Told you so" feeling!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadawg Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Below is the pick handle, with three coats of paint/glue, and rubbed down between each one, with a final rub down to dull off and slightly distress the finish. I'm very pleased with the finished result as it was a bit of an unknown using the paint/glue mix. The last picture shows all the tools in the back garden, baking in the afternoon Sun. The bright sunlight makes the woodwork look a bit more pale than it actually is. Next time I have the truck home, I think the tool rack also needs a clean and paint. Awesome, just awesome. Can you give detail on the electrolysis process? What was in the bucket? How much voltage/amps did you apply to the solution? I might need to do this at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 ....Can you give detail on the electrolysis process?.... Have a look at these two links. http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tools/Electrolysis.htm http://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-aka-Magic/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) July 15th After a quick trial fit of the child seat, I started welding the seat bucket sides. Because I didn't have any really wide clamps, I made do with a few small ones. I also placed the seat on its side with a number of old lead acid batteries on top, to weight it down and close up the gaps. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) When both sides were welded to the seat base, the front lip was welded in place. I also welded two uprights to the cross piece on the back, and to the seat. At the top between these pieces, I've wedged a tube which will be welded once I finalise its position. I need to cut some holes in the seat back for the seat belts, and they will wrap over this tube before heading down to be anchored to the frame. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) I marked out the side cut out next, and roughly cut it with a 4.5 inch angle grinder. It was cut slightly oversize to allow a little trimming room to smooth out the curve. Measurements were taken from the first side and were then transferred to side two which was then cut. The excess sheet extending down the sides below the seat base were also trimmed, once again leaving them a little over sized for now. The curving top to the seat back is yet to be cut, but I'm very pleased with the way this is turning out. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) A couple more views from the side and rear. It's really starting to look like I had imagined several months ago, before it was even a drawing on paper! Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.