Buffer

I finished up the nose for the jitney/track racer. Pretty straight forward. Because of the curved shape I had to keep an eye on the outside to outside distance when I was tacking things together due to warpage. The holes I drilled for the plug welds were a little small to get the tungsten down in and melt the brace inside the framework. I ran a drill down into a couple of them after making the welds and then rewelded them to be sure the welds were tied in. Even at that, I decide to reach down in there and run a bead with the stick welder on the inside seam to make sure everything was tied together. I drilled the holes out larger on the bottom strip before tacking it on and that worked like I had intended from the start. After finish welding I ground and sanded the welds along the edges to a nice rounded profile and then bead blasted the finished assembly to remove all the mill scale. I tacked the spring perch on but I still need to make a couple of gussets to help support it. I get those made up and I'll prime the whole nose assembly.

I'll probably work on getting the engine mounted up next. I've got the two temporary cross members bolted in to keep it square and the right distance apart. There's no reason to break it all down to make the rear side rails and then have to bolt it back together to set the engine in. Get the engine in and then I can see where the tranny will go. Knowing that, I can set the cockpit in place. I might be able to make the rear frame rails while everything is still on the horses and even tack them on. I've got a couple of pipe stands that I can use to support the rear end. The plans call for the two rear side rails tapering in at the back with a fabricated crossmember to mount a transverse spring. If I run two springs the rails will run straight back with a tube crossmember at the very rear. I can make the two rails, square them up on the shop floor, tack in a temporary X brace to keep everything square, put a couple of clips under the front rails to clamp the rear section to, support the back with the pipe jacks, and then weld it in. Sounds simple, right? I just need to decide what I'm going use for the rear end and how I'm going to suspend it.

Think the job through so you've got a decent plan and then dive in. I like to walk around and stare at it once or twice and maybe even sleep on it before starting if I've got the time. That way I'll have a real good mental picture of what the finished piece will look like and a decent idea of the best way to get there. I don't know how you could possibly measure this, but I'd be willing to bet that people who are readers can visualize a finished project before starting it much better than non-readers. Using your imagination to "see" the story has to help you see the project in your mind's eye. 

I'm going to work on my buffing set-up. The buffing wheel is mounted on what was originally designed to be a miter saw for making picture frames. I made this a long time ago in a machine shop course I took in college but it's spent the majority of its life as a buffer rather than a saw. But that's OK, works good as a buffer and now I've got a decent miter saw set-up. The base is from a bandsaw that was scrapped. I want to make a door for the front that will hinge from the bottom and have a compartment on the inside that will hold the buffing compound. This is kind of a small thing with all the other projects I've got in the works but I need some new buffing wheels and compound, so might as well take the time to get it organized and more user friendly.

Took the Missus to the oncologist Monday. Everything is A-OK. Goes back in a year. We stopped at a new BBQ joint on the way home to celebrate. Ribs for the Missus, brisket sandwich for me. Life is good here at the shack.