I purchased the Full Tube
Chassis drawing package from NAERC
in the beginning of the year (2004). I am a mechanical engineer with no
experience in welding or fabricating a car chassis, my day is spent designing
rack router & computer chassis. So let me be the first to tell you...
I have no idea of what I am doing. I will be taking step-by-step photos
as I build this chassis (part of the Lounge's success - how to build something).
My strategy right now is to
tack weld it and send it out to have a pro welder finishing welding all
of these "flat" assembly part for the chassis... as I don't
have the years of welding experience to sit my butt down in a moving car
chassis going 80+mph and hear a weld break.
Talking with Ken (NAERC) and
Dale Van Blokland at EDB
they both recommend that you tack weld the full chassis then come back
and finished fully welding the chassis. This does not make sense to me.
With metal heating up from the welding process, I don't see how you can
fully control the straightness of the metal.
My theory is to have all the
flat assemblies section fully welded as a flat piece, then when I start
putting together theses assemblies I will know that these were welded
straight and flat. Then when the rest of the chassis is assembled and
welded, the welding process will pull and I will not have to work so hard
to keep the chassis frame straight.
If anyone has more to add to
this theory please let me know what you think. |
