It begins...

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Alex13
Posts: 238
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:01 am

It begins...

Post by Alex13 »

Introducing Black Snowboards.
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I've been waiting until I had something to show before starting this Journal. Happily, my press has it's first coat of paint on today so I can upload some pics.

Lining up the first vertical support:
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Welding it in using a good ol' arc...
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More welding of the second support. It's great having a housemate that owns a couple welders and knows how to use 'em!
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Closeup of one of the welds
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Flipping the first section over. Thank god for the chain hoist!
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Flipped over with second row of beams correctly aligned
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Calibrated Axe alignment tool
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Castors awaiting their turn for welding
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Castors welded in. May have melted slightly, but holds well!
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Chain hoist coming in useful again. Not dodgy at all...
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Painting... some parts were painted before flipping
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All painted up
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Needs another coat on the outside and will get a plywood top to be used as a bench. I'll probably weld in some more horizontal supports perpendicular to the main beams at the very top and bottom just in case there's any torsion when pressing.

Some extra stuff:

Picked up some wood veneer for the top sheets. Going with Silky Oak, hopefully she turns out alright.
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Cat track drilling... the very dodgy jig I set up was a godsend!
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Cat track all drilled up.
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Ends for the fire-hose...
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Misha
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Location: Murmansk r/ Poljarnye Zori. Russia

Post by Misha »

Very good welding seams! Inspire reliability! Good work!
I wait for continuation :)
From R with l :)
Murchonn
skidesmond
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Post by skidesmond »

Nice press and the welds are super clean. Looks huge, what size I-beams are they? Thankfully you had the hoist to move it around. I could have used one of those when I was building my press too. Keep up the good work.
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falls
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Location: Wangaratta, Australia

Post by falls »

Nice work Alex
It looks like my press's much bigger brother! Black is the new black in ski presses this year.
I could have sent you down my dodgy cat track drilling jig - that job sucked pretty bad. I had some angle iron drilled up for 6 inch hose too you could have had, but I think I'll hold onto it for when I get sick of my 4 inch hoses and upgrade.
That mini looks about as close to restored as the cessna my girlfriend and I are working on!
Don't wait up, I'm off to kill Summer....
Alex13
Posts: 238
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:01 am

Post by Alex13 »

Haha, that mini is one of 3 in the house and is not actually a restoration project. I own one sorely in need of restoration and my housemate James owns that one and another original one in very good condition.

That particular one is actually a mini shell stretched over a suzuki swift GTI chassis, it's 4" wider and 6" longer, and will have a full GTI interior and running gear. The engine has forged internals, turbocharged and a whole lot of other goodies. Picture a lower, wider mini capable of running 16" wheels, coilover suspension and 200kw at the front wheels... :P

I'd rather be building a plane though, an aerobatic one would be nice, I've had the pleasure of flying an aerobatic plane a couple times and man they are fun!

My cat track jig took me all of 3 minutes to build so all good :P I bought the drill press specifically for that job, and it was worth every cent.

skidesmod - the I beams are 310mm high by 165mm wide, 46.2kg/m, or 12" x 6.5". I wanted 310 x 200 (12" x 8") like Head Monkey has on his press, but doesn't seem to be a standard size in Australia. From the floor all up it is about 1100mm high (43").
Jekul
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Post by Jekul »

Welcome to ski building addiction. I can tell this isn't your first go-round with an arc welder. Nice job on the press!
Alex13
Posts: 238
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:01 am

Post by Alex13 »

The welds weren't done by me, they were done by my housemate James. Funnily enough, he had barely touched an arc welder in over 3 years. Fortunately for me, he's one of those annoying people who are just good at everything they do with minimal practice. His first weld was a little less clean (still good), but the rest are pretty much as you see them.
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falls
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Location: Wangaratta, Australia

Post by falls »

Yeah I bought a small drill press specifically for the job too. I have been using it a bit since too though.

200kw on a mini sounds a bit scary! But fun.
My girlfriends sister has a nice red mini that they got in new Zealand. When the company moved her husband back to aus they gave them a shipping container for their stuff. Turns out a mini fits very easily in a container with couches and tables etc!
Don't wait up, I'm off to kill Summer....
Alex13
Posts: 238
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:01 am

Post by Alex13 »

Small update.

Testing the fire hose.

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No leaks at 70PSI, no goop. Thanks to Head Monkey for the write up on his website, made this much less of a headache than it otherwise might have been.
Richuk
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Post by Richuk »

Got to agree with you there Alex - keep at it!
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falls
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Location: Wangaratta, Australia

Post by falls »

Nice mate
Looks like the race is on!
Don't wait up, I'm off to kill Summer....
Alex13
Posts: 238
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:01 am

Post by Alex13 »

After rewiring 2 or 3 times, the electronics are ready.

It is 56 degrees Farenheit in my shed. Whatever that means...
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Some gaps on the side...
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Messy wiring.
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Blanket end plugs.
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falls
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Location: Wangaratta, Australia

Post by falls »

Looking good.
I have read the instructions for the PID once and had to put it aside for a while! Changing from farrenheit to celsius will be the first step.
Just had the first test inflation of my press. Had to trim my hoses a bit to get a decent fit, but all in all pretty good I think.
Don't wait up, I'm off to kill Summer....
Alex13
Posts: 238
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:01 am

Post by Alex13 »

Exams at the moment so work is progressing slowly, however I've had some results:

Top Mould ribs being glued together after uni kindly donated the wood and CNC time...
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Cat track semi assembled, still not 100% sure how I'll secure the wire rope. Bottom mould ribs can be seen in the press cavity as well.
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Core wood being glued... Paulownia is rather light
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CNC cutting the tip (or is it tail?) spacers
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CNC cutting the base shape
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chrismp
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Post by chrismp »

really great journal, alex! wish i could use the university's cnc that often.

are you doing full pauwlonia cores? we're using pauwlonia as well, but we're using beech stringers at the inserts...didn't trust the pauwlonia too much in that department.
the way you're glueing up the core planks looks like you've got something to resaw them with...what are you going to do that with? (i'm planning on buying a big ass bandsaw so we can resaw our cores)
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