Progress on the Frame

Last Saturday we started working on the frame of the kart, using the steel that had arrived from McMaster a few days prior.  We're using 1 inch square tubing with a thickness of .083" that comes in lengths of 6 feet.

6 foot lengths of steel, still in their shipping tube.

We had to go through a few different cutting experiments to find the best way to cut the steel at right angles.  We started with a circular saw, then tried a hacksaw, and finally settled on a table saw.  Unfortunately, the grinding blade we have is a bit too small for our table saw, so each cut required the steel to be turned twice (a total of 3 cuts).  As a result, most of Saturday was spent cutting the steel.

On Sunday we started construction of the frame.  We did most of our work in our garage, which was very hot (probably about 95 degrees).  The first hour or so was spent trying to align the frame so that it had relatively right angles.  We finally managed to get the frame clamped down into the correct position with large clamps and some dumbbells and we tack welded it into place.  Below is a picture of the setup that held the frame together for the initial welds.

After the setup phase things went relatively smoothly.  We spent most of the day welding the primary assembly pictured above, as well as the T structure at the front end of the kart.  We also messed around with a wire brush drill bit, which helped us clean our welds so we could assess their strength.  Below are some pictures of a weld before and after being cleaned with the brush (the after photo is a bit out of focus).

We're hoping to have the rest of the frame finished this week and to have a rolling frame some time next week.