First off I would like to thank all those who have helped me out with this project on this forum. I’m sure I’ll forget someone so forgive me if I missed you, @Orob@jonatpridesleap@dlang@bar@Metalmaslow and @MeticulousMaynard for the concept of the adjustable beam.
So the concept for this build was to keep it contained in as small of a space as possible. I chose to use the wall space alongside my 4 post car lift.
Here is a picture of the wall mounted Raspberry pi “Command Center”. I’m running it as a web server and use my laptop or phone to log into webcontrol. None of this made any sense to me when I first started this project. Again, thanks for all the help guys! You can see the adjustable wood extension board around the waste sheet. The round holes in the side of the is for using a socket on an extension for loosening and tightening the extension board, based on material thickness.
The next picture is of the motor and slack side tension system. I am using rope pulleys that came with my metal maslow kit instead of sprockets. They work great. For the pulley next to the motor sprocket, I sourced that from a local hardware store and replaced the axle with a bolt and only used the actual pulley and bushing. To keep the pulley in line with the motor I used washers to shim it. The end of the chain is connected to the motor bracket down below with a master link.
Here is a closer picture of the master link connection. This is the right motor.
This picture shows the slack chain routed to a moveable pulley before it returns to the motor bracket. I raised the fixed pulley in the center to minimize the chain sag from rubbing on the perpendicular beam bracket. The rope is routed up and outside the frame on both sides to a wall mounted pulley and then is attached to a counterweight. I am currently using the only thing I had handy which is a gallon jug of coolant. The coolant plus jug weighs 8.5lbs. Because the system uses a moveable pulley, the dead end of the chain and the part coming off the motor each share supporting the weight. Therefore there is 4.25 lbs pulling on the slack side. This weight, coupled with the idler pulley near the motor seems to be just about right.
Because everything hinges as a unit, the only thing that changes when you tilt the unit out is the fleet angle of the rope on the fixed pulley’s of the beam to the fixed pulley’s on the wall and they are well within allowable limits.
This next picture shows my sled holder. I can not take credit for this. @Orob had one of these in his chain extension calibration video and I liked it! I used a 5/16 bolt, cut some 1/2" steel tube for a spacer and put washers on the end to give it a bit of a lip. The curved cuts was my first actual cut. I took an SVG image of a mountain off the interweb and imported it into Easel, set my cut path and depth, then converted it to gcode. I’m still playing around with my workflow and trying to figure out what is best for me. I have librecad which I have designed some cabinets and I’m playing with the SVG on that but there are a couple warnings from almost a decade ago that it won’t do something…I don’t understand any of this computer S***
Obviously I need to move the cars to use it. I’m currently land-locked by the fact there is another car parked in front of all this that is waiting on air conditioning parts and is currently not able to drive on its own power…
Anyways, hope you enjoyed,
Jerry
51 gmc pickup with LS3 engine 6sp manual out of a 2010 camaro SS. Air suspension, Power brakes, power steering, air conditioning, matte black with wiley coyote theme
Under lift: 54 chevy belair, 350 cid, 350 turbo transmission, painted in house of kolor tangerine over black base with medium mettallic flake, white top. New upholstry
behind lift: 71 dodge demon, recent restoration. Kirker paints blue metallic, new interior, ps, 318 (i know, I know…I bought it that way), I’m currently waiting on AC to arrive so I can finish up my new fuse panel installation under the dash. Also installing a stereo amplifier system that works off a smart phone with sirius XM, etc.
The mustang in the far end of the lineup is my sons 67. It was a father/son project when he was 14. I do all the fabrication, panel replacements, bodywork, paint, everything except for tire mounting and balancing.
very nice indeed!! I know my Father-in-law does a lot of restorations. I know at one point he had a '64 Sting Ray (black with red leather interior) that I think he did a resto-mod to, he was working on an old truck (sorry I don’t remember year or make) that he and my nephew were going to work on but then COVID happened. And now he has a '70-something Cuda he is working on (Note, when my wife and I were dating, this was what he had and it was a dream of a car. He had gotten rid of it for something else, and I think he always regretted it, so now he has one again!!). I am always impressed with metal fabricators and how they can take a sheet stock, cut it, bend it, weld it, and everything else and create/recreate the exact curve and lines of these “mature” vehicles. And don’t get me started on the painting process (I have started to try and dabble in this arena, but mainly for 3D prints and other woodworking projects)!!
Hi ACME,
Very nice set-up!
I can see you use the same router as I do. My ‘prototype’ Z axis system, which was designed to live a few weeks before being replaced, is running since more than 2 years now… It uses the manual guidance system provided with the router, that I coupled to the Z axis motor with 3D printed parts (white & grey on the picture)
I’m working on a new one, and if you have photos of your system and/or any idea, tips, you would like to share… I would be very happy to read about it!
Probably the best picture is the one in my post where it is hanging on the storage bolt. It is a metal maslow gantry Z axis which is a C shaped gantry. I keep looking at the Makita motor base and I think some day I would like to make an adapter piece to bolt it to the gantry. I’m not impressed at all with the aluminum part you see in the picture because it is very sloppy. I don’t think welding to the Makita base makes sense because it needs to remain flexible so it clamps and I’ve welded enough aluminum to know that not everything that looks weldable is necessarilly weldable. Heck, it could be magnesium for all I know.
Actually, I think the more I look at it, I would remove the black plastic base on the makita mount and make an L shapped adapter to bolt it to the Z gantry. It would just have to be stout enough so there isnt flex (i.e., angle brace on both sides).
Jerry
Thanks, I purchase replacement quarters, door skins, rocker panels, etc. When it comes to floor panels, I use a bead roller to replicate the original impressions. On the GMC, the original frame is a C channel and very twisty. I built 8 mounts which I bolted to my floor and the mounts were a square tube slip type which i welded to the frame, leveled, and then welded the joint between the larger and smaller square tube. At that point, I was able to remove and replace all the crossmembers one at a time and I boxed in the c channel. The rear 1/3 was just to wimpy so I fabricated my own with all the key attachment points in the exact location.
I learned how to paint when I was in Vo-Tech and was rebuilding totaled snowmobiles. I then applied what I knew to auto-body and opened a seasonal body shop which I operated to pay myself through college. Things have not changed much since the early 80’s. The new Low VOC paints seem to be nastier than the old acrylic enamel I used back in the day but what do I know? Jerry
