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What projects are you building on your shop?

Well this is not much of a shop project, but my boy who is a little under 2 1/2 got a one hell of a boost in his little electric power wheels 4 wheeler. He kinda got bored with it because it would barely move faster than he could walk. Well it takes a small rechargable 6volt battery. I took that out and rigged it up with one of my 18volt dewalt cordless drill batteries. That little sucker moves! He has to lean forward when he hits the go button or it will wheely and he'll fall off the back. If he starts out on gravel he'll throw a little roost. He's even learned how to whip shitties in the driveway with it. Now I can't keep him off of it and I can barely keep up with recharging batteries for it. They'll last for about a solid half hour of riding. I thought it might smoke the little motor but he's been riding it like this for about 2 weeks.
 
My current project (Laughs maniacally) :
(no its not the orbital death ray cannon :D..............yet :eek:)

Its a custom clamp for my maglite, so I can hang it from the a shoulder strap on my backpack.

Current status:
Sitting next to Mr Slammy waiting for me to get enough time to do a loverly radius job on all the sharp edges with a 4 mm ball nose cutter... as it has since work picked up 3 yrs ago leaving me no time to finish it :bawling:

Boris

PS. Do you know where I can pick up an 8' mirror and a GPS aiming system from ? :crazy:
 
Are your batts git'n hot? Maybe with a half hr discharge they may not be. ???

I tried to pull a 4" ball hone with mine and even in low gear she would cook the batts. If we swapped with one in the charger rat away the batt was too warm to take charge - and even then I aint sure that it was discharged...

A cpl months later I thought that I had left a batt at an auction a few states away and went out and bought another. Found it in the truck burried under forty leven straps later. Now - with three I keep them in a rotation with a cool down stage. That came in handy a yr later when we were adding on to the shop and pullin' them 4" and even 6" long lags with that gun!


--------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
gary350 - good news on the riding - I do more miles than that, and my Drs. are really happy too...

What does your LowRacer weigh? And did you build it with mostly standard drive train components? (Like I don' t know of many derailleurs that will cope with a 72t chain ring.)

Oh, and lest anybody have doubts, a person can just never own too many bicycles... I'm "poor" I only have three... So far....

I like the "too many projects to die" theory....

My Low Racer frame weighs 10.5 lbs. I did not use high tech parts so they are a bit heavy. My front tire was a 1.500 width my back tire was 38 mm so that is adding a bunch of weight. My seat is covered was 2 layers of carpet foam pan on 3/32" aluminum 10" x 36" the seat weigh was about 4 lbs. Total weight of the bike was 36 lbs. I changed the back wheel to aluminum alloy with 25 mm road tire that dropped some lbs. I changed the seat and the front wheel too and dropped more weight. I actually have not weighed the bike since I reduced the weight so I am guessing it weighs close to 30 lbs.

I sold 2 of my low racers this summer so now I have 2 low racers left. I have 2 low racer frames in the work shop that I need to finish. I sold my trike I never liked it. I have 2 cruiser bikes and 2 upright bikes and 1 mountain bike. I built a Tour Easy copy that is the yellow bike in the pic. I buy lots of bikes at yard sales for parts so I can strip parts from several bikes to build 1 good bike. I have 18 yard sale bikes behind the garage I typically pay $1.00 to $5.00 for a bike. I bought 2 more bikes this week for $1 and $4.

The bike I am building will have a 72/52 on the front and 13/28 on the back. I was not originally planning to use the 52t sprocket but I think it will be hard to take off even with a 20" back wheel. I may test ride it first to see. I think I am going to have to use a long arm derailleur for an idler about mid way in the bike frame to help take up 35 links of chain slack. The combined length of 2 derailleurs should do the job.

I forgot to mention that I live in Murfreesboro TN.
 
That 72" sprocket or even the 52" sprocket is going to be hard to start unless you
are completely level ground or slightly downhill. 52/28 on a 406 size wheel is about
38 gear inches but you will have to get in the habit very early of downshifting before
any stop. If you are in a smaller cog on the cassette you will be in trouble. Something
I learned very early in my recumbent riding. You might want to ponder adding a mid
drive to your machine, good and easy way to get both large and small gearing without
big steps. Mine ranges from 22" to 144" on a 406 size wheel with 54 steps.
 
Congratulations!

Gary,

Congratulations on your early retirement, and thanks for sharing your projects!

If my job lasts, I plan to retire at 59 1/2 so I can take out the 401K money without penalty. Things are unstable, and I sure hate the thought of looking for another job.

I'm making a Shay engine. Can't post pics because the files are too large. I'll email photos if you are truly interested. Its a 3/4" scale, 3.5" gauge Shay locomotive engine which I'll run on a raised track.

I've also got an old Jayco camper I'd like to rebuild like yours.

Where do you get the dimensions/drawing for the front cranks you are making?

Thanks,

Duke
 
Gary,

Congratulations on your early retirement, and thanks for sharing your projects!

If my job lasts, I plan to retire at 59 1/2 so I can take out the 401K money without penalty. Things are unstable, and I sure hate the thought of looking for another job.

I'm making a Shay engine. Can't post pics because the files are too large. I'll email photos if you are truly interested. Its a 3/4" scale, 3.5" gauge Shay locomotive engine which I'll run on a raised track.

I've also got an old Jayco camper I'd like to rebuild like yours.

Where do you get the dimensions/drawing for the front cranks you are making?

Thanks,

Duke

The Shay Locomotive engine is a cool engine. Have you riden the Shay Locomotive train at Cass W Virginia? 2 Shay engines take about 10 car loads of people up the mountain then 1 engine brings it back down. Engine water stop is half way up the mountain. Stop at the top is about 1 or 2 hours. Cass WV is on the east border or the state. As I recall the train ride is about 5 or 6 hours round trip. Take an ice chest with drinks and food on board the train. The old ghost town has been remodeled it is really amazing. The old locomotive repair factory is really interesting. There is a nice mountain stream that runs by the town and you can make reservations to spend the night in one of the old cabins. The general store is all original and totally amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DC4tpQll48

http://www.cassrailroad.com/shay6.html

http://www.cassrailroad.com/images/num_6a.jpg

http://www.cassrailroad.com/shay4.html


Here are some pics of some of my model engines. I have about half a dozen hot air engines and about half a dozen steam engines. I don't have pics of all the engine on my web page.

2" bore hot air fan 450 RPM http://home.earthlink.net/~gary350/allcool2.jpg

2" bore hot air fan 450 RPM http://home.earthlink.net/~gary350/allcool3.jpg

2" bore hot air engine 900 RPM http://home.earthlink.net/~gary350/allcool4.jpg

1" bore hot air engine http://home.earthlink.net/~gary350/engine3.jpg

My Grandfather drove a 4-8-2 Hudson Steam Locomotive from Mattoon Illinois to Alton Illionis every day. The last train ran in 1955. I was 5 years old then and got to climb up into the cab of the engine when it stop in Mattoon. I can still remember that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eVO9DlaEqA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2hln47cP78&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8f9VFlNyDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP1_4ymsIig&feature=related

There is a group of guys that bought the Marion Illinios Railroad yard. They all own their own steam locomotive and drive them on about 40 miles of trackes. In 1976 I lived 15 miles from Marion I'm not sure the guys are still there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8f9VFlNyDQ


Ely NV you can rent a Steam Locomotive for the day and take it for a 35 mile drive on their tracks.

http://nevadanorthernrailway.net/locorental/engine_rental.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsYNHrl4l2Q&feature=related


Steam Train Rides. The ride from northern New Mexico to Colorado is much better than the ride from Durango to Silverton.

http://www.railsusa.com/links/Tourist_Railroads/
 








 
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