Ognib

Thanks, Michael. So far things are fitting together fairly well. I'm the same as you, if I haven't had experience with an area I'm modeling, I just take my cues from the 1:1 world & what their parts & structures look like. When I initially shaped this piece, I purposely left it slightly oversized for final shaping later. This allowed adequate material for cutting a flat on the top for locating a frame mounding pad. At 1:1, it's a 4" x 4" area. Now I can balance the position of the sides for drilling bolt holes.

Decided to mock it up in the frame with the body, to further enhance my visualization of the mounts. With the body at ride height, there it is, staring out at you. Looks like I'll have room for fuel cell, drysump tank & battery. However, I have just about arrived at the point where I NEED the wheels & tires I'm going to use. Will need the measurement on wheel center height for calculating how high to set the center section in the frame. It looks a bit oversized right now, but it'll loose a lot of that bulk once it's cut down to match the back cover.

So I'm in my model corner this morning, looking over the obvious things that I need to accomplish. But in the back of my mind there's this nagging something that's bugging me. Couple more cups of coffee & it occurs to me that I still haven't finalized in my mind exactly how I'm going to hang this thing in the frame. I'm real big on having clear pictures in my head of how everything should look as I proceed from one step to the next. So I've spent the entire day, to this point, mining all the on line pics I could find that would illustrate how irs center sections are mounted. Found these. Not a winters or what you might call a traditional looking quick change, but I like the way it's mounted. Lower cradle is hung on turnbuckles for fine tuning pinion angle, I assume. It's open in it's design & doesn't conflict with the visual impact of the center section itself.

Scott, the mill bits are from Grizzly & taps from Micro Mark It's the weekend. I was a good boy & took care of business all week. Now I'm gonna play. Couple of machine screws & a coupling nut to securely clamp all the side pieces in place for marking bolt hole locations.

Ya, & with recently getting the machine, christmas has come early a couple of times this year.

New toys just arrived yesterday. Ball end mills, 1/8 through 3/8 by 1/16's, for cutting the sides of the case & back cover. Thread cutting taps, 00-90 in the handle, through 3-48.

Thanks, Michael. Ya, I agree. The bigger piece with the ribs will grab a lot of the visual landscape in that part of the car. That's the piece where I've been undecided as to which size bolt to use. Nah, I don't obsess over details tooo much...

Quick mock up, with some washers for brake rotors, to help me visualize the design of the axle shafts with u joint yokes.

Ya, I'm hooked. The model is cool & all but my biggest attraction to this is the challenge of learning to use the machine to it's fullest...seeing the pieces take shape & how well I can make them fit together.

Just outa curiosity...

My friend goes through a lot of tires on his cars. Says the tires can be bought without the rims. On real aluminum hot rod rims & up against another car like the coupe, they will take on an entirely different vibe.

I'm currently considering something along these lines. Like to find them sized so the model can have big & littles to help the rake. Still have a while before I've just got to have them...keep looking.

That's looking real good, Tim.

This is one of Jay Leno's cars.

Hi Scott. I've thought about the weight thing. I'm using hi strength silver solder with a torch for good even heat & the frame, as it is, is quite strong & rigid. By the time I add the cage, I don't see any problems with the amount of weight it will hold. Tires...??...don't know...have to wait & see. A friend is big into rc cars & there are some nice sturdy tires out there for them. I'm going to cut my own wheels, so I can size them to work with what ever I choose. Been looking at some that have what they call a chain link tread that are used for hard surface rc cars...corners etc. This car is an eclectic blend of old school hot rod body styling setting on a current technology frame/cage & set up for corners...nascar road race type stuff..accelerate, brake, turn, shift, accelerate...etc. Engine wise, I'm a big fan of the big merc cruiser marine engines of over 500 ci, where they can put them on the red line & leave them there for an hour or so at a time... So, I'm thinking a new style performance tire with a funky tread pattern might be visually interesting here. I don't think the model will weigh more than some of his nitro rc's, so they should stand up ok under the weight.

Thanks, guys. Michael, the taps are not expensive so figured I'd give it a try...just for grins. If I pull it off it'll be a nice warm fuzzy moment for me. As far as my rating, I feel it could be done a little "tighter',..just little things... but it's not loose enough where I'm willing to spend another 3 days cutting another one. This one is "take 3", as it is.

Kind of a tricky piece to cut...objectively, I give it a 6.5 - 7 on execution. Outer edge is not final shaped. I want to match the end of the case to the shape of the end cap, so it just makes sense to get the cap installed & do all of the shaping cuts at one time. I'm using 00-90 bolts on this piece & I've located a source for mini thread cutting taps. Going to see if I can pull it off to actually bolt the end cap to the case.

Gettin there.

Fun stuff, makin chips.

The first layout was for the drilling operation. Washed it off & reblued for laying out the next step.

Bought a slitting saw & arbor. This one is 4 in dia & is 1/16 thick. I rotate the table & feed it in a thou, or so at a time. It gives me a smooth, polished, machined looking surface on the back of the parts where the cut was made. This pic is from when I separated the first end hub from the stock.

Yep, plus gaskets between the parts. 00-90...tiny little thing. Slow going. Just kiss it with the bit & rotate on the next one & on & on. Carefully rounding the corners around the bolt heads. I've got hours invested in this piece...make sure I get it right.

Hi Michael, Yes, think big. That's the back plate. Turning out much better this time...so far. Your talking about lighting prompted me to get a small, bright led flashlight from my night stand. That with the 2x flip downs allowed me to see well enough to get good placement for my drilling. My original intent was to buy hardware with black oxide finish for visual contrast. Couldn't find a supplier who had all the sizes I wanted in black. Want to keep it consistent...so went with the stainless instead. I'm thinking that as I handle the aluminum parts during the build they will take on a bit of a duller patina. This should allow the stainless to stand out with a bit more contrast.

There, that's mo bettah...3rd time's a charm, as they say. Now can finish the layout around the bolt heads...want a nice even edge bordering the outside.

That's what I've been thinking about. Bought the wife a double flexable stem led for her keyboard music. Has a couple of AA bats which last quite a long time. A magnetic base would be the thing...hang it off of the vertical column at any point.