E-Trike Project

[Lenk42602]

Thanks Aussie.

I have a Hobart 125 handler, + MIG conversion for it... Runs on a regular 110v outlet.... Still have to get the gas mix right....

http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/wirefeed/handler125/


Len

 

[AussieJester]

Hey Aussie! The "truss arangement" mentioned is the triangles between the upper and lower tubes or beams.

Ahhh yup im with ya now sorry for my earlier ignorance LoL And yes i think there is a high possibility of the design having the truss arrangement implemented, would be strong enough without it with the material i am using but i like the look so will be added regardless hehe... I have obtained some 40 x 40 square tubing to use for the lower arm, and will moooost likely settle with the tubing size used on the seat support for the rest of it (aside from the axle) This smaller tubing had a wall thickness close to 3mm so definately has the strength.

I neglected to mention I burnt a hole the size of coke can on my foot on Monday to, yes yes i should know better i know, i had my leather apron on gloves and socks on my feet, one of my feet was sitting in a wooden box i store my scrap rag in, of course a spark went under the bench lit up this rag as my foot sat in it, as i have no feeling in my foor i didnt realise this was happening untill my pants caught fire...has slowed me up somewhat, although i have no feeling in my feet it has increased the leg spasms i get every few minutes daily so i have been stuck feet up tanked to the eyeballs on 200mg tramil for the last few days...plan on hitting the workshop tomorrow though WITH SHOES and Spats this time LoL...

Lenk neat welder you have there buddy, MUCH better quality than mine, i bought a cheapie off ebay for 180 bucks, after a lil modification to the wire rollers that slipped horribly on slower wire speed settings and the addition of 4 caster wheels to it, it hasnt skipped a beat, have welded 6mm thick steel plate with her not a problem, would do 8mm easily i think

Hope to have an update of swing arm proceedings tomorrow fellas...cheers for the input/advice also much appreciated as always

 

[Miles]

Sorry to hear about your accident, Kim.

Looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[recumpence]

Thanks Aussie.

I have a Hobart 125 handler, + MIG conversion for it... Runs on a regular 110v outlet.... Still have to get the gas mix right....

http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/wirefeed/handler125/


Len

Len,

A couple quick pointers on welding (gas MIG welding). Wire feed versus amperage is important. If the weld is burning through, you either have the amperage too high or the wire feed too slow to match the amerage setting. If the weld is not penetrating into the steel, but laying on top, your amperage is too low for your wire feed rate.

I do not have my welder at my house to look at the bottle for my mixture, but if memory serves me (not as much as I get older) it is 75% argon, 25% CO2. But, don't quote me on that! :wink:

Matt

 

[AussieJester]

Sorry to hear about your accident, Kim.

Looking forward to the next instalment.

Thanks Miles

Took a snap of me foot tonight to show a mate of mine on msn, heres the offending blistered appendage LoL --->

Warning to those with squeamish stomaches

Blistered foot pic

Off to bed for an earlish night now so i can be up at the crack of midday to get into some swing arm fabrication

Kim

 

[Miles]

Have a look here: http://www.marrscycles.com/

 

[docnjoj]

Double ouch to the foot! Hope U heal quickly! Maybe see a...................doctor!
otherDoc

 

[AussieJester]

Double ouch to the foot! Hope U heal quickly! Maybe see a...................doctor!
otherDoc

I actually did a similar thing 12 months ago, i had my foot hanging over the end of my desk, on the floor below was an oil radiator type heater....you can guess what happened from there blister the size of a tennis ball on my heal, i still have a heap of sealed bandages the home nurse sealed the thing up with and a huge tube of the cream so im a using that now She'll be right mate

 

[AussieJester]

Apologies to those awaiting more updates, my foot has taken a turn for the worse im afraid, i went to the doctors today and he was wanting to admit me to hospital, seeing i have a severe dislike of them he reluctantly arranged a daily visit from a nurse to dress the burn along with a script for antibiotics and orders to keep weight off it... This wont be to much of a problem seeing i cant walk but until the frequent leg spasms get back to there normal 1 every 5 minutes instead of every minute or less i have to stay out of the workshop and prop the foot up on a pillow... shall report back when i have an update...soz fellas :-(

 

[docnjoj]

Heal Fast! Thats an order!
otherDoc

 

[AussieJester]

Heal Fast! Thats an order!
otherDoc

hehe i willz Doc ... i have a nurse coming daily to dress the burn now, she reckons 4-6weeks and it will be right BUT i wont be waiting that long i have already defied her and reorganized my workshop as i scored some free shelving off side of the road-->

foot was rather swollen by end of it all though so taking it "shifts" from now on...shall do a lil then come in pop foot up etc...

I do have a question for the members here... OH and my trike hubs and dual front disk hub along with adapter for the freewheel to screw onto arrived...question though, how does the crank assembly come apart (pictured below)

I cant seem to see how anything unscrewz :-S Any ideas fellas?

Kim

 

[docnjoj]

Glad to see U R defying medical authority again! B careful! It looks like U got it down to crank?????? Are there bearings inside that tube?????U need to replace assembly with the new one and hope they are compatible with Ur bottom bracket! See Sheldon Browns site re: different types of BB diameters. There are adapters if not!
otherDoc

 

[AussieJester]

Glad to see U R defying medical authority again! B careful! It looks like U got it down to crank?????? Are there bearings inside that tube?????U need to replace assembly with the new one and hope they are compatible with Ur bottom bracket! See Sheldon Browns site re: different types of BB diameters. There are adapters if not!
otherDoc

No all the bearings are in the unit i have in my hand hence why i want to pull it apart they need grease badly...This whole unit screws into the bottom tube. I shall have a looksee over at Sheldons site tomorrow.

 

[TylerDurden]

EEEEK! Organization.... be very afraid.

:lol:

 

[diver]

I used the same hubs on my trike with the 12 guage spokes. They will handle some weight. my bike is 400 lbs plus ..lol

 

[recumpence]

Man, I am having alot of fun watching this project unfold.

Hurry up and get it going! :wink:

Matt

 

[Link]

EEEEK! Organization.... be very afraid.

:lol:

Seconded. Almost all of my smaller tools (soldering iron, wire cutters, jeweler's pliers, etc.) are either strewn about on the bench or almost literally thrown in a box. My mom has this annoying habit of trying to organize it and then I can't find anything when I'm looking for itl, even AFTER I've asked where it is. :?

 

[AussieJester]

Update

Ok fellas I have made a start on the swing arm, at this point it is just tacked and alot more tubing/bracing/axle housing to come etc etc etc... Yes miles i will be using the square tube in picture and there will be two vertical braces not one as you suggested (how you think using one will make it less flexible is a mystery :-S ) anywayz...the only piece not going to be in final product is the square tube joining the two longer side pieces. (that is there simply to brace and keep width at correct measurement.

Last pic is a rough Photochop of whats still to be added to the swingarm assembly

This took me 3 hours to knock up :-| I hope to get down to pick up the solid 14mm rod i will use for the axle tomorrow morning so i can cut the tube that will hold the bearings and fit it to the end of the unit

I used the same hubs on my trike with the 12 guage spokes. They will handle some weight. my bike is 400 lbs plus ..lol

These are also the "heavy duty" hubs (they sell two varieties) these are "For Use with Heavy Duty Weight Spokes"

Shall be back tomorrow with more...

Kim

p.s i shit you not i lit another piece of rag up when welding today luckily saw it in time before anything else (my foot) caught fire ;-| And yes i have now removed ALL rags from under the desk hehehe...

 

[Mark_A_W]

Glad to see U R defying medical authority again! B careful! It looks like U got it down to crank?????? Are there bearings inside that tube?????U need to replace assembly with the new one and hope they are compatible with Ur bottom bracket! See Sheldon Browns site re: different types of BB diameters. There are adapters if not!
otherDoc

No all the bearings are in the unit i have in my hand hence why i want to pull it apart they need grease badly...This whole unit screws into the bottom tube. I shall have a looksee over at Sheldons site tomorrow.

Umm, it doesn't pull apart.

That's the bottom bracket. It's typically a sealed cartridge unit.

Just buy a new one for $30 or so.

And don't forget the drive side thread is left handed!

 

[docnjoj]

We are gonna change UR name to "hotfoots". But U aint half as cute as "hotlips Hoolahan"! Dont U use a welding blanket in Oz?
otherDoc

 

[AussieJester]

We are gonna change UR name to "hotfoots". But U aint half as cute as "hotlips Hoolahan"! Dont U use a welding blanket in Oz?
otherDoc

HaHaaa No welding blanket here no. I wear a leather apron though I have my sister picking me up some work shoes (cant get ma feet in bootz) for me too (she owns a second hand shop and has several pairs there now, scored 3 sets of new overalls off her on the weekend )


I continued on today with the rear swing arm, firstly the rear axle housing/tube needed to be made...when i say 'made' it needed to have the inside diameter reduced so as the 28mm OD bearings can be press fitted. First set of pics below show how this was accomplished-->

After cutting the tube i squeezed it together and tacked it along then cut it once again, this is the method i used on the bearing housings on the frame, once this was pressed and tacked again, i beveled the edges before welding the entire length and grinding the weld flush using a flap disk on the grinder.

I'm almost glad i messed the first swing arms up now, i'm reeally liking the look of this now. Tomorrow i hope to get to the shop for the 14mm solid rod for the axle, when i do get this i can then cut the tube mount the bearings and pop the axle in. I shall be cutting the plates off the old swing arms and welding them onto the new unit tomorrow so i can bolt it to the frame also. OH, i have completely welded the axle housing in place, the other tube is still only tacked, this will be fully welded tomorrow also as well as the rest of the support brackets added...Still alot to do but its really starting to resemble a trike frame now i think....

back soon with more

Kim

 

[Ben]

I was thinking about what you said in safe's 001 thread about the $80 batteries.

You can get 17Ah batteries out of the 900A portable jump starters. If you search around or wait for a sale you should be able to get them for $50. IIRC BiGH did this to start off.

 

[AussieJester]

I was thinking about what you said in safe's 001 thread about the $80 batteries.

You can get 17Ah batteries out of the 900A portable jump starters. If you search around or wait for a sale you should be able to get them for $50. IIRC BiGH did this to start off.

Yup i am aware of that also aware they are rubbish batteries. I first read the availability of them in these charger pack thingos on This website when i first started researching the whole e-bike idea... cheers for the input though, but prefer to spend the extra on SLAs that will last alot longer

 

[Ben]

Fair enough.

I'm also astounded at how much cheaper SLAs are in the US.

I'm not sure of the quality, or if you live near one, but Jaycar sell 18Ah SLAs (AGMs I think) for $65 each.

 

[AussieJester]

Fair enough.

I'm also astounded at how much cheaper SLAs are in the US.

I'm not sure of the quality, or if you live near one, but Jaycar sell 18Ah SLAs (AGMs I think) for $65 each.

I have a Jaycar less than 10 minute drive from my place and am there quite often actually BUT have NEVER really looked at their batteries!! shall check them next time i pop down to Bunnings as JayCar is across the road from them Cheers for that