Ognib

Fantastic work!

Check this out.

Hi Tom, I agree. I prefer to do my business locally & buy a brand of equipment where parts & service are readily available, but since this is a hobby I really have to consider the best price/value available & check out all the options. I'm also trolling CL etc in hopes of finding a good used unit at a reduced cost. This is probably where the best bang for the buck will come from. Just have to be patient till the deal I'm looking for comes along. In the meantime, I'm looking for a 1:8 32 3 window to use for pulling templates for the body buck, so I can get started on that as well.

This one has a real strong vibe about it that I like as well.

Also really like this car. although it's not a 32. Had a hard time deciding between a 32 or a 33/34. Especially dig the wire wheels.

This car is my main inspiration for this build. Set it up right & drive it hard. If I could afford to build a 1:1 this would be it. Hum, the link isn't working...try to figgur out what's wrong. Really would like for you guys to see this. Got it!

Found this http://eastwood.com/tig-welders-eastwood-tig-ac-dc-welder.html ac/dc, footpedal, high frequency start, square wave inverter. Best price I've found with all the desired features. Good user reviews on value & quality for price.

that's a nice looking chassis. What materials are used in it's construction?

Dave, I appreciate your straight-forwardness in this. As I stated in an earlier post, I have no answers in the aluminum thing & am at this point, gathering information & "thinking out loud". My main attraction to it as a modeling material has been it's easy availability...plus I think it's a beautiful material to built into cool things. Hence my strong attraction to the mill work you do on your builds + the fact I understand the dedication you have invested in your skills to produce such striking results in your work. One thing for sure, I've been planning, studying (lurking on model forums & seeking out scratch builders to study), reading & thinking about this build for quite some time. Couple of years before I retired from doing cars after 30 + yrs, I was in my mid 50's & had already decided I wanted to do guitars. That was 15 yrs ago & after being in the shop every day & thousands of hours of study & practice, I've pretty much mastered it. And it has been a worthy challenge to learn how to build a good playable neck that good players want to play on. Seems like though, every few decades or so, I need a new worthy challenge. I've set my mind to learn how do this at a high level...I aspire to produce results with the same striking realistic detail as yourself & several other builders who's work I study. The deuce is gonna get built, even if it takes another 15 yrs + another thousand hours of study & practice. That's just the kinda guy I am once I get hooked in on something like this...I just can't resist the challenge. So I just gotta decide what I'm going to build with & how I'm going to stick it all together & unfortunately cost does enter in to my end decision. Heck, I may end up building it with steel, just for the unique factor...I do already have some experience with it. And...thank you so much for your generous offer to share your knowledge & insights in this. Best to you.

Slaps self on forhead...seems as though I mis-spelled the word deuce in the thread title...

Great work! Do you have any build shots?

I remember now. An old style AA rail, I think, on about page 22 of the forum. I'm all ears. I'm new to working aluminum & need good info. Is there a mini tig out there that'll fit my needs?

Ya, it's a good design, it holds everything nice & secure. If I end up welding it together, will probably have to re-build the jig with a different material...not sure the maple will stand up to welding temperatures.

I've been systematically reading through the entire big boyz archive & someone mentioned that he tigged an aluminum seat for a project. So I'm currently looking for a small 110 volt tig unit that will effectively work with .016, which is what I think I'm going to use for body panels, to .060 for the frame...a mini tig, if you will. The entire head of the unit would have to be mineaturized to allow getting into the small spaces of the inside of the rails, door jam corners on the body etc. In my small, somewhat confined work space that I've set up for this project i'm beginning to think that I'd rather stay away from flamable gasses & this is pulling me away from the ox/acet jewlers torch. A tig would be perfect in that the shielding gasses are non-flamable. I have an explosion proof exhaust fan ducted into this room, so it's well ventilated. How did your t-top project finally work out? I assume that your persistance eventually paid off with a successful conclusion.

Here's the assembly jig to hold everything to strict configuration for joining the frame pieces. I'm using hard maple...I'm also a guitar builder & have a nice collection of maple off-cuts from neck building. Top pieces "spoon" on to the bases. This establishes the contour of the side rails. I pinned them together vs gluing, to allow for future disassembly if needed.

Thank you. I'm excited about getting started on it. Been planning it in my head for several months. Thanks. Have you started threads on any of the projects? Wasn't there a famous hotrod/customizer out of the past located in Winfield? I remember the name of the town as being associated somehow with special interest cars.

Tip to tip, 18 5/8" Wheelbase is 13 1/4 Thanks. Sounds like that might be informative & enjoyable. Good way to mingle with similar interests. More info, please.

That's good. That's real good!

Ace, I've read about the characteristics of aluminum, but never encountered it for fabbing & welding, as virtually all of my 1:1 work was in steel. So any tips & insights would be much appreciated! I know I've a bit of study & practice to do. I do have a lot of torch time over several years, as I didn't own a wire feed or tig until the early 90's. Panel work was all with ox/acet & used a good miller stick with well chosen & cared for rod for my frames. I did see some of Ron Covel's work back in the 80's when he was building Varners "calif star", which was alum bodied, which went on to win the AMBR trophy. He did his panel work on it with ox/acet or perhaps ox/hyd, but done with torch none the less. I've even been considering a jewlers ox/acet torch for this & see how that works. Don't have very many answers yet for the aluminum thing. If it's too troublesome, I'll just drop back & build with brass...but I gotta try...

Comp, LOL, we use to call it alugium. Gotta say, while I've got you on the line, I've been lurking on several model sites for a few months now & I've spent considerable time studying your work & techniques. I'm blown away, man. One thing's fer sure, I gotta get myself some machine tools & take a couple of classes...

Thank you. Ya, 1:1 is a pricey hobby, especially if you intend do do something solid & nice. As far as big scale, & I'm no expert, as this is my first large scale build, but the space within the build created by it's size offers more visibality to the components, thus offering greater opportunity for finer, more realistic detail. I've been lurking on several model sites for several months now & there are some guys out there that are doing some incredable work. In fact, I'd have to raise it, in classification, from modeling to small scale engineering. A worthy challenge to aspire to, for sure!

Making sure to transfer axle centerlines, etc to the pieces for accurate placement when joining the frame.

I set the bandsaw up with a 14tpi raker blade rated for wood & soft non-ferous metals & cut the shapes just outside the draw lines. Did the final shaping on my spindle sander with 50 grit. Since the footprint of the stacks is slender, I used a straight, square piece of maple to hold it against to insure that I got good square sides, thus identical pieces within the stack.

Thank you. My first post of my build thread is up.

I'd like to say that I'm really glad to be here, in the company of some very talented & skilled modelers. Also somewhat intimidated by that talent, as this my first model build since I was in my early teens. I spent 30 yrs, before retiring, in auto metal shops & in my own home shop, repairing & fabbing panels & a couple of frames as well. With that behind me, I want to scratch build this project in metal, since it's a material that I have experience with. Never had a 32 & always thought they are one of the best designs ever developed, so a deuce is a logical choice for this project. Since aluminum is plentiful & scraps of it are everywhere to be had for cheap or free vs brass being less common & somewhat pricy to buy, I'm researching methods & products for soldering/joining, to see if I can effectively take advantage of aluminums easy availability. My plans are drawn in 1:8 from dimensions gained from Wescotts web site. I then overlayed the drawing with tracing paper & drew it again. I took a piece of 1.5" x .062 aluminum angle that was laying around & cut it down the spine to make two flat pieces to work with. After stacking 2 pieces of the appropriate length for the side rails & 4 for the top & bottom edges, I laid out my tracing paper drawings on the stacks, held with double sided tape & drilled & pinned, with 1/16 brass rod, to a 1/4" piece of pine to hold the stack securely for cutting & shaping.