Dans's Chariot #4- Axle.

Took me long enough, but I finally got a belt for the lathe so I could run it in the higher RPM range and got the axle turned down. I'm using a Smithy CB1220-XL.  It's pretty beat- lotsa chatter but it works okay.  It's got a weird belt setup for changing the spindle speed- 2 short belts with an idler in the middle for the lower RPM's, or one long belt and remove the idler for higher RPM.  Long belt has been looong gone since before I started teaching here but I managed to find one that fits.  Took forever to get the idler loose enough that it came off the shaft too.  Got it all figured out and we're in business.

The axle started out as "sucker rod"... Not exactly sure what that is but I'm guessing it has something to do with well drilling.



After I hacked off the end and the goofy plastic piece, time to start spinning.




Haven't quite figured out how to change the crossfeed speed... It looks like there are a few gears that interchange but the other gears are missing.  With the spindle spinning about the correct RPM, the cross feed would fly down the metal.  Got a little warm, as you may be able to tell by the chips.



Finally got both sides turned down enough!





Looking good, although I think I may have to unbend a few of the curves to make the tongue higher of the ground. Right now, by my estimates the lowest point is 3-4 inches off the ground.



Picked up some castleated nuts, bushings, and washers so next week it should be a little more permanent.  Need to brush up on my welding and get the joints finished off too, then I can cut out the hitch end, make the seat brackets and mount the seat, and do some testing.  Long ways to go still and not enough time to do it!

Mendelmax 2.0- First batch of Student Projects!

Finally got around to finishing up the wheels for the student cars.  Think they turned out pretty nice!

Started out just running 4 at a time but got to where I did 8 in one fell swoop.







4 down, 33 to go.

Printed wheels of in batches of 100.  Looks like I finally got my bed pretty darn level.



Pile of wheels and my sample with 'em glued on.



And the finished products!













Some of them followed the instructions great, a few didn't and their wheels didn't fit in the wheel wells... Mostly they turned out pretty good! 

My Tech 2 class (Grade 8) has been playing with the printer this week, here are a couple of their "practice" prints.





They drew them up, exported the .stl, repaired it in Netfabb, and a few of them played a bit with Repetier. Couldn't get it to install on all of the computers though so we loaded them all in one file to generate the code.


We started on their big projects- have a couple students attempt ipod / iphone cases, one pair of glasses, an airplane, a couple of "lego" people, a trailer jack (?!?!?), a boat anchor and winch...  The things kids come up with.  Should be fun!

Whatever floats 'yer boat.

A few teachers are working on the Follet Challenge in hopes of winning our school some serious cash to update the library.  The librarian has been working with our ELL teacher and they came up with a "Treasure Island" theme.  As I understand it, Follet is a book / publishing company or something, so they chose a book and are trying to get the entire school involved somehow.  I volunteered to build Raingutter Regatta boats with my Tech class, and we just finished up the unit.

I think it went pretty well, I really wish we would have had more time to tear the boats apart and let them make their own design and go crazy with ideas now that they have a race under their belts and saw what worked and what didn't.  Unfortunately, we only have about 15 good work days left in the school year and have 2 units to try and smash into that time.

Anyways, here are their boats!

Roughing out the hulls.









Primer.



Smoothing out the primer, prepping for paint.



Paint!



Oooooo, shinnnnnyyyyy....



Getting closer.



Two that I made as demo's.



RACE DAY!









Think they had fun and learned a fair bit about boating and some of the design challenges associated with them.  Had a few boats capsize, a few with sail issues, and a few with hulls that just didn't want to float right.  The ELL class came and judged the races for us and also gave out a few awards for different categories. 

Many thanks to Greg of All Seasons Continuous Rain Gutters and Siding for building and donating the "race track"!  If you are in SE Idaho and need gutters or siding, be sure to give him a call-  208-785-2259!

FIFTEEN MORE DAYS.  Am I going to survive this!?

Dans Chariot #3- Frame Construction.

Parts came in a few weeks ago for the chariot. 



Seat looks great, very light weight. I think the harness weighs more than the seat! Looks like the harness does NOT bolt to the seat (I figured it didn't), so I'm going to probably have to come up with some kind of frame for it to bolt to behind the seat. Tires are pretty small but seem very stout.

Still need to stop off at the metal place and find some axle material, but I already have the frame metal and borrowed the tubing bender so I can start on it once I decide for sure how the seat is going to mount.


Spent a few hours in the shop today. Did a few practice bends with the tubing roller.



Started doing some figuring. Had an idea about a week ago on how to mount the seat to the frame with a whole lot less headache (I hope) so let's see if it comes together.  Kinda hard to see but the seat is tipped back a bit.  2 reasons for that- move a tad more weight back and also make it a little more comfortable to sit in.  With the seat flat, your legs just go straight out.  Unpleasant.



A few bends in on the main piece.  In the back you can see the angle the seat will be on.





Bending. Almost need a taller ceiling!



Thinkin thats going to be close enough.  Looks awful strange like this, but bear with me for a minute.



Tacked the axle tube on.  Thinking the axle will be a solid shaft inside the square tubing all the way through, still haven't decided how to attach it yet though.



Doin' some more figurin'. The cross braces are going to double as the seat mount, so they need to be in the right spot to line up with the bolt holes on the bottom of the seat.



Paper seat template to get things aligned.




Need 2 pieces like this, one on each side.



Made up the braces and tacked them in. Managed to get one yucky burn through but I can fix that easy enough.



The days work. The seat is sitting roughly where it needs to be.  The wheels, obviously, are way higher than they are supposed to be- they will drop about 8 inches so they are lined up with the axle tube.  Feet will go near the bottom bend kind of where it drops off the table.





View from the chariot.



Not a bad start. Need to locate a shaft to use for the axle still, and it looks like I'm going to have to make up a "roll bar" behind the seat to mount the shoulder harnesses to. Once I get the seat holes drilled and the current frame welded and the hitch made on the end, I'll throw the wheels on there and do some testing.