Making your own race parts

Nah, gotta be bike related. I've been getting the itch again big time lately.

 

easier to learn tricks when its ur full time job. Start with polyester resin and chop mat fiberglass(cheap) u really just need a paint gun with highbuild primer(for mistakes/leveling), bondo/sandpaper skills(same reason), and a good release wax(rexco partall paste #2)... vacuum pump(plus bagging materials) for making nicer, lighter parts. I use sollercomposites for carbon... u can get the other materials anywhere.

 

This. Lots of instruction out there but you need to practice.

 

Not a race part but something more difficult I took on
Fits some obsolete piece of farm equipment
Fusion 360 has a cool spur gear add-0n that got me started with the initial CAD layout
Material is 8620 steel

 

That's awesome. Something about new, milled shit replaced worn out cast stuff gets me.

 

So I'm getting trained on our fancy new OMAX water jet at work and I was told if I want I can model something on my own time and cut it during our training. Some how this place doesn't have a simple bridgeport mill so currently that isn't an option. But I can do 5 axis beveling up to 70 degrees and only material I'd be allowed to touch is aluminum (hopefully 6061) and mild steel. Brainstorming of what I could make so far and I'm thinking maybe rearset brackets, some kind of axle block spool lift, some fork mount AimSolo holder. Can't be cutting lots and selling stuff but I'd like to make myself something nice and useful.

 

Shark fin, lever guard, heavy duty coat hanger for leathers. Cut your name in them. Rear set side plates. Cut a bunch....
Also think about tools. If I had access to a water jet for an hour, I'd be banging out a bunch of Kant twist clamp side plates in all different sizes. The rest of the clamps are simple lathe/mill work.

Having a job that lets you use the equipment on your own time is a very nice luxury. Right now I'm waiting on some steel to come in so I can get started on building my own bandsawmill.

 

Sadly my dreams got crushed when I found out we only have thin soft aluminum I could use. I can't really do this whenever I want but the training lends itself to it. Supposedly we have small pieces of titanium floating around I may try and snatch. Nothing like taking advantage of everything you can as an intern!

 

Metal supermarkets. Buy your own material. And yeah, never pass up an opportunity

 

Grab some foam and shadow board your tool box.

 

Which omax did you get?

 

They bought the big bad boy. 100hp motor, 6 cycl pump, A-Jet, largest table they offer, crazy 4 valve external filter system, etc. $700k........

 

Ours has the tilt-a-jet head. 55x100 table. I honestly haven't looked at the hp rating.

Man I love ours. The dickhead I work for doesn't allow us to do anything for ourselves. On the waterjet or the cnc machines. I try and what not but barely get anything accomplished.

Don't know your location, but is Ray wilmes your trainer from omax?

 

Pit bull pins
Push pins from McMaster are expensive!

 

But worth it

 

I’ve been playing with some prototype black powder mini cannons. Started with turned wooden barrels with pressed in stainless tube. Evolved to solid billet aluminum due to a “hot load” failure. One has a brass breach. Started with .177 BB’s then to .250 ball bearings.
Too much fun!!

 

Clubman legal?

 

With a 1.6 cc load, it pierces 8 gauge steel.

 

https://www.yarde.com/cgi-bin/dropzone.pl

 

I used to race an old BMW. Eveything had to be handmade. Luckily I had some really good fabricators/builders as friends: Frank Shockley, Troy McAfee, Barry Crowe, Ed Johnson and Brad Phillips, with advice/help from Mark Mitchell. Too bad I was a slow AF sissy or I would have been a force with which to have been reckoned.