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Sweet idea on joining the tubes. I'll see if I can make it happen

I tried out the rear tube guard...
I have the width, but the radius is to large I'll try a different method to get it right. I really like this idea of the rear tube cage, thanks again XLR8!

In the mean time, I got some diamond coated (three grits sizes) 5mm chainsaw files. These will make things go considerable faster. I has using 3 different sizes of files plus some 320 grit sandpaper wrapped around a rod to get close to the right size, what a pain in the butt that was!

Hmmm, round chainsaw files to notch the tube ends? I would never have thought of that. Brilliant!
Hey, how are you sharpening your lathe tools? I have a bench grinder but I think the wheel is too coarse, it spins too fast (it creates too much heat) and I have no way to accurately control the grind angle.
What's the best way to keep the tools sharp??

XLR8 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 1:45 pm Hmmm, round chainsaw files to notch the tube ends? I would never have thought of that. Brilliant!
Hey, how are you sharpening your lathe tools? I have a bench grinder but I think the wheel is too coarse, it spins too fast (it creates too much heat) and I have no way to accurately control the grind angle.
What's the best way to keep the tools sharp??

I've got one of these for sharpening basic lathe tools: https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-Knife-Sharpener-Onion/dp/B00EJ9CQKA/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1535134463&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=work+sharp&psc=1 with the grinding attachment: https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSSAKO81112-Grinder-Attachment/dp/B00J9AADN6/ref=sr_1_5?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1535134656&sr=1-5&keywords=work+sharp+grinding+attachment It's a dual purpose tool, grind cutters and sharpen knives.... what's not to like about that I've had it for 3 yrs, no problems. Don't forget to have a cup of water to dunk your bit in, cool it down.

For grooving cutters, I just buy a new one!

Cool, thanks.
I'd never thought about using what looks like a belt grinder to sharpen knives. Just shows you what I know.
I reckon these are very special belts -- nothing like the abrasive belts I use with woodworking.
Anyway, thanks for providing the links.

A little out of practice but it turned out straight and not to awful bad. Lots of file work but I'll get it looking good.

Looks good.
Did you TIG weld it?

XLR8 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:16 pm Looks good.
Did you TIG weld it?

Yes, looks kinda messy but it's cleaning up nicely. I had worked a little bit with a Dremel before the pic. Back at it a couple more hours so far...

Looking good Michael!

Another benefit of working with aluminum (besides the obvious fact that it's light) is that it's soft and easy to sculpt.
In fact, it's soft enough that I can even cut it with my carbide tipped woodworking tools.
Aluminum, Kydex, Styrene, G10; with these materials you could build a car from scratch.
... and I'll add one other material. I needed to build a centrally mounted transfer case for an SCX10/Jeep that I finished last year (the motor and primary drive were relocated to the front), so I used blocks of cast PVC to make the case halves. This is the same material as architectural trim. It worked great. Cast PVC has similar properties to sintered nylon (although not as strong) and it cuts like butter. I've also used it to make a pair of cylinder heads for a scale 350 Chevy, the texture is like cast iron.

Yes, it does work very easy. I'm having no problems getting the joints smoothed out to my liking. Getting close on the front two cross members. I''ll hold off on the back two, going to add some more tubes there and want to have the added security of more "meat".

OH, I almost forgot. There's another benefit to aluminum; it can be polished to look like chrome.

I've been wondering how it would do in my tumbler with some polishing media

Looking pretty awesome! I need to invest in a tig machine to go with my mig machine... lots of 1:1 parts to make.

jeepnut24 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 26, 2018 1:39 pm Looking pretty awesome! I need to invest in a tig machine to go with my mig machine... lots of 1:1 parts to make.

I'm bumming a friends equipment.

I only got to spend a short time at the welding shop today (man was getting his gear ready for the work week). I got one side cross member done and spent some time cleaning joints up with files. I have the other side cross member ready to go.