yeah tricky,,, common man i`m getting withdrawalls waiting for some more progress reports on your beast

I`m learning alloy tig at the moment with my machinist,,, his welds are just the very best i`ve ever seen & it looks so easy to do tho,,, havn`t quite got a good hold on the foot peddle yet tho, it`s a bit like learning to play the piano

keep up the good work mate

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

I sure enjoy welding aluminum, I find it both stainless and aluminum a little easier to get a nice bead with than mild steel. If you have the right rods.

I don't really have much that is exotic, just some hand tools, couple air tools, some angle grinders and various pullers etc I've picked up during various projects. I eventually want a lathe and a milling machine, but that might be a while. However I just found out one of my good friends is currently shopping for both a lathe and a milling machine, so I'm pretty psyched. He is also going to help me build a cage for my car. He's got tubing benders and notchers etc. However, he is usually building cages that go on the outside of 4x4 trucks. But he does nice work.

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email - [email protected]
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TurboOrangie/

67 Traveller - Needs restoration
www.victoria-chiropractors.ca

Hi Guys,

Just been doing a bit of shopping of late, I now have bought a panbrake, plasma cutter and pipe bender to go with the new TIG.

I used the plasma cutter for the first time on the weekend, man, what did I ever do without this little machine, they are awesome. It is rated at 50amps max, and they state it will cut up to 16mm plate Intricate shapes are a POP, and even though I was only doing 4mm thick 50x50 RHS (making the stand for the pan brake) on the weekend, it cut like a knife through butter on 10amps. It is so easy to cut straight lines pencil thin freehand.

Pictures:




Here is a pic of the 'boys' altogether - 200Amp TIG, 50Amp Plasma, 135Amp MIG, and 150Amp Arc. I made up the trolleys so that they could be ultra portable and flexible. Thats the end of my welding machine purchases for good I should think.


The gas bottles are all held securely, and the vertical PVC tubes on the TIG stand hold all my rods - mild steel, alloy, stainless steel and CrMo. As you can see, nice neat self-contained and totally portable units.


And this is the panbrake I bought, it weighs 170kg without the stand and can bend 1.6mm steel along its entire1200mm length. I will never bend anymore than 1.6mm so this will do me just fine. Its actually a box and pan brake, with removable and adjustable fingers so you can bend up boxes, and other shapes with internal bends.


And with the stand that I knocked up on Saturday. With the plasma and the MIG it was fabricated in a a matter of hours from scrap lying around.


And this is the pipe bender I am waiting on. I have the plans for this on my laptop (if anyone wants them), and I got all the steel laser cut here in Brissie for $400. The retails price from Sydney was $750 plus freight. The dies are of course extra (about $500 per die). It will bend up to 50mm tube/pipe, and 50mm RHS.




It is not a true mandrel bender, but a 'friction' bender, that draws pipe along a die to maintain the shape. It doesnt crush the pipe like a compression bender. It will do up to 5.0mm wall thickness on 50mm pipe.

So now I'm just about to pick up some alloy sheet so I can bend up the air filter box with the new panbrake on The Cat, and then weld it up with the new TIG. Then I can finish fabricating the alloy charge air pipes, and its essentially finished ready for painting.

So, now all I'm waiting on is the Mill and Lathe, just like Nigel! Nigel, race on then?

Cheers,
Tricky

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"Not Speeding Officer..........Qualifying"

I want toys like yours......

Cant wait to see some of the things that you are going to produce Tricky!!

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If you want more inches, stroke it
Life's a garden.... Dig It!
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20746

Wow

Love the branding on the pan brake.. macho

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

OK Tricky, now you've succeeded in making us all really jealous of your toys, why not at least give the people a photo of El Gato. It's what they are hungry for.

And when you say those welding trolleys are mobile, just how mobile are we talking here...
Fancy a holiday in smoky Victoria to finish off a certain Morris...

Madmorrie

ok,,, that`s it,,, i`m comming to work for you Tricky

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

C'mon over Matt, I could learn a lot from someone with your wealth and years of experience!

MM - yes, totally portable. Smoking Victoria, sounds inviting!

Give me a couple of days for a revised pic of El Gato, should have the airbox done by then! Patience, people, patience.

Cheers,
Tricky

Matt/Nigel - what do you think of this for a mill??


Website:
http://www.siegind.com/Products/br-x3-super-lathe.htm

Test here:
http://www.mini-lathe.com/X3_mill/Sx3rvw/SX3-4.htm

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"Not Speeding Officer..........Qualifying"

A mill too? You no longer have a garage, it's a true workshop.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Ah Tricky, that`s just cheap chinese crap mate,,, send it over to my place & go buy yourself a decent one

we use these old dungers--->



pretty old now, but (when it`s working) cam make some pretty funky things

& this new one,,, Haas 5 axis ,,, farking amazing thing


all 3d stuff , half of which we don`t know how to use properly yet

wish they were mine tho

I`m still comming to work for you tho & you won`t learn anything from me that you don`t already know mate,,, Trying to be all humble & modest doesn`t work with me
more likely i will be learning more fabrication stuff from you

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Fark Matt, if I had access to that kind of equipment I wouldn't be leaving the shed!!

I would love to have 5-axis CNC machine, if the funds allow, but unfortunately they dont (plus it would take me 6 months to learn how to use it).

The Seig Super X5 will do me for all the things I need to do - brackets, mounting plates, spaces, shafts, splines, tools etc so for now it will do just fine. I am quite excited about getting one, even though its a couple of months off.

The lathe will come before the Mill though.

I reckon we should do a JV sometime in the future to cross-pollinate our collective knowedges.

Cheers,
Tricky

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"Not Speeding Officer..........Qualifying"

With the thought of Tricky and Matt joining forces, there are times I'm glad to be in Melbourne

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

hee hee,,, physically laughing my guts out as i type this

& that is the 2nd time tonight david Rosenthal PM`d me & dam i`m still laughing,,, & then you come up with the cross-pollinate thing Ahhh gotta love this forum sometimes hey?

cheers guys

& Tricky,,, i will have to drop in & say gidday one day shortly,,, PM me your ph number & i`ll sort a time after the next couple of weeks,,, i`m off surfing at Byron for most of next week,,, then we have an Autocross at Willowbank next sunday, but after that sometime...K?

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

*jaw drops*

El Gato is going to be finished off to a higher standard now than it ever was....and it was a very high standard before

And I am very jelous of all your toys!

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina