My Gazelle build

[2mAn]

I like your project a lot. I'm following your build. Have fun.

Thank you! I keep plugging away slowly and its starting to feel less like a dream and more like a neverending project haha

I'm with Joe, only I'd use a handheld bandsaw. Chop saws are deafening and throw a lot of nasty particles into the air to inhale. The relief for the rail looks to be a long straight section followed by a short curved section. The rail supports the body but it does not have to hug the skirt perfectly.

You may want to jig everything into place first. Scrap 2x4s with 3 inch deck screws will get you close enough to shim.

pinching the frame rails was a pretty common thing when my dad was a young man (it was the 30's) so it can't be too hard to do.
Try looking for information on pinching 32 rails to fit an A, it should point you in the right direction.
Can't be too hard to do if you aren't taking up much, rectangular sure likes to bend if you leave it laying around half supported.

Im all about manual tools over power tools (Im weird, I know) and so I am really leaning towards using the handheld bandsaw when it comes time to take the cuts out of the straight rail. I have a bunch of random wood, and think that would be the best to use to get the angle just right and use that as a template for the metal.

Im finally moving my fiance down this weekend so she will only live 30 miles away instead of 300 so that should mean more sundays to play in the garage.

[factorypartsjoe]

When I said cut off saw I meant the hand held air powered type that use little discs.

[2mAn]

Finally got a chance to head out and play with the gazelle. Decided it was finally time to cut the frame rails and get it ready to weld to the custom mounts that my friend made for me. I like the way they fit with each other, but I want to make sure they get welded on and theres an exact 90* angle. Anyways here so pics. Hopefully they are welded next weekend.









It looks to me that they can remain straight for a good portion before I need to take a little pie cut out and bring them in line with the body. One step at a time.

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

When I said hand held band saw, I meant this:

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-too ... =band+saws

[2mAn]

You guys have such cool tools!

Im getting married in a few months and the wife-to-be is going to let me register for some Craftsmen tools! haha

[2mAn]

Big day today!

I had a work training thing that ended early so I snuck out to the garage and was determined to overcome my fear. I have only welded a few things and nothing of this size. Its one reason I wanted to build something like this. Plenty of welding to practice my skills and get better. Last time I welded I started out bad but once I got the technique down it came out pretty nice (I made a battery tie-down for my E30).

This go around was pretty much the same. The first mount (passenger side) welded on solid, but it looks horrible. Its solid though and Im more concerned about that then how it looks. The driverside was much much better and one issue on the passenger side I had was the gap between the two metals was a little much, and when I got to this side, the lightbulb turned on. I had already tacked it on, so I took out the hammer and closed the gap, and the welding went on 100x better. I will let the pics tell the rest. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is welcome, please be gentle Im a total newbie.

My high-tech work station


oof....




driverside pre-welding pics





Im pretty happy with this




meh, not horrible! haha


this spot was pretty hard, but compare it with the other side and you can see how much better I did on this side


after it was all over, I threw it on to see how it lined up and as expected it was good, but I will need to take a pie cut out further up and "bend" the rail inward. tips on this?




The only thing I noticed was my tank seemed to be making a noise that I dont remember it doing last time I used it (nearly two years ago ) and when I was all done, it had a lot of condensation around it. Common sense tells me its leaking, but I dont know from where exactly and how to fix it.



and the best part of all this?... now that I overcame my fear, and confirmed my single 12v outlet can handle the welder, Im going to buy a 20ft stick of 1" square and 1" round OD and start cutting and welding the rest of the frame together. I will also need to buy the Beetle center tunnel soon enough so that I can have the spine of this whole thing.

[Funkatollah]

I'll offer some constructive criticism. The welds you are making are not good. You are placing a series of tack welds together to make a seam. This is not welding. It may work on body panels, but the pictures you are posting of structural members of your veichle. You can see an obvious difference between your welds and the welds from the mounts your friend made for you. The Welds on the mounts are one solid line of weld and not a series of connected dots.

The big danger with trying to connect a series of tack welds is that the base material does not get hot enough to fully coalesce with the weld metal to form a fully integral joined section. There is joining witg a tack but it will not have the breadth and depth as if you kept the arc lit and traveled the length of the joint. It also appears that you lost gas coverage at either end.

Pay attention to your stick out (distance from the end of the cup to the surface of your work), your torch and travel angles, and lastly your joint preparation (especially cleanliness). Don't be afraid to hold that trigger button on and move the torch along the joint. Keep your movements steady and deliberate. This will show you what works and what doesn't. Please rework those welds after some practice.

[waltj]

To address the condensation on the regulator, I would check that all of the mechanical connections between the tank and the inlet to the welder are tight. Then assuming that there is still pressure in the tank, do a leak test. A couple of drops of dish soap and water in a squirt bottle will do the trick.

Part of the "ugliness" on those welds looks like not enough shield gas. That could be from your leak, or if there was a breeze going on while you were welding.

WaltJ

[KB58]

...Part of the "ugliness" on those welds looks like not enough shield gas. That could be from your leak, or if there was a breeze going on while you were welding.

WaltJ

Agreed, the orangish-brown residue = lack of shielding gas = contaminated welds.

[robbovius]

T
Part of the "ugliness" on those welds looks like not enough shield gas. That could be from your leak, or if there was a breeze going on while you were welding.

WaltJ

yup, those are classic symptoms of MIG welding out of doors. even if the air seems still, its not. mig welding needs to be done indoors in still air.

[2mAn]

Thanks for your input guys!

I wasnt even thinking that welding outdoor would be an issue, but Im sure it didnt help me like I thought it would. I always use this spot around the corner of the garage when Im cutting metal (which makes a lot more sense), but didnt think about how the air would affect the welding.

Good news is that the next time I get to work on this my buddy Matt (same guy who built the mounts for me) will be staying over at my house and will be helping me. I will have him make sure the welder isnt leaking and then we will tackle the welding again. I will have him shadow me to make sure Im doing it right. The other thing I hope to accomplish while he is here is to take that pie cut on the other end of the frame rails and bring those in.

If thats all good, then I can move on to the next phase which will be to purchase some 1" round and 1" square metal to start the rest of the frame.

until next time...

[robbovius]

right on Simon.

these builds are all learning experiences, and the curve can be very steep initially. In the end though, its worth every minute. keep up the good work

[2mAn]

Alright guys! Finally got to the garage with my buddy Matt and we started by grinding all the welding flat, then cutting V groves into the welded areas. Matt blasted through one entire frame rail in what felt like 5 minutes while I watched. Then I took what I learned and he watched me and made sure this time it was done right. Still not perfect, but we figured out a few things to help out the process.

Here were the shots I got of his welding







Here was my welding.

[davew]

Nice! Much improved
Dave W

[Funkatollah]

Looking much better! Now it's just practice. Lots and lots of practice. Like a car's worth of practice.