Turnigy HXT Powered Custom Cruiser Worklog

[AussieJester]

GrrrrAaaagh dear me...i actually made another mount this morning before i started what is reported in the below update, so i have 4 now BUT looks like ill only be using two and be needing a different style mount for front and back of the enclosure :: sigh :: These things are sent too test us John ;-S

Update

Well...i have several things to today, firstly i will start with the battery enclosure..

Yesterday I went too Fiberglass & Resin Sales and picked up some supplies $AU90
later i have 5meters of fiberglass (will need 3 for battery enclosure the rest is for
rear mudguard..and spare) Along with some EcoFoam (expandable foam)
To construct the battery enclosure from. I have also decided NOT too use aluminium for
the sides and top in the construction I will be going with a FULL fiberglass enclosure

Here's a few pics of the progress thus far-->

I have the "rough" shape completed this was done using an old wood saw followed by block & sandpaper.
The scoop height will also be lowered somewhat and the front rounded more...This top section (under the scoop)
will house the ESC and Fechters lil black Box of 'tricks'...Batteries will be below
in a separate section.

Next i will spread some body filler (bondo for you Americans) over the EcoFoam to fill any cracks etc
and basically 'even' things up where needed. The foam will then be sprayed with a few coats of
spray putty and then smoothed over with wet and dry before several coats of
release agent are applied...I should mention now... I WILL NOTbe doing a "traditional fiberglass"
layup, the foam WILL NOT be used as a plug to make a mould from which the finished product
would usuallyge layed up in, I will be covering this foam carving of the enclosure with 3 sheets of 450 chopped glass
this will make it around 3-4 mm wall thickness PLENTY strong enough too house 8
5000ah 22v Turnigy packs(PLUS) along with ESC and Fechters lil black Box of 'tricks'

Once the glass is set, the enclosure will be cut in half (the top lopped off 3/4 way up)
and the foam will be removed leaving a nice sturdy enclosure to glass some 'levels/shelves?' in
for the Turnigy packs to be fasten too along with spots for aforementioned electrics.
Fittings for mounting the enclosure will also be added...The outer shell will then be sanded smooth
and prepared for painting.

Courier called today with a few more parts...

Several weeks ago I ordered a SouthPaw freewheel (left hand thread for the left
hand side of the 3 speed hub) along with an offset sprocket for the Sturmey Archer Extra Wide 3 speed
I was SOOOO relieved when i popped the sprocket in the pulley to find it fit ABSOLUTELY perfect
in the pulley opening, I went by picture of Matt P's Pulley on his1000watt Cruiser worklog as too how much too take out,Matt unfortunately was unable to recall
the diameter he machined in the pulley and as i had no way of finding the measurement of this sprocket it was all guess work...
ZERO SLOP was the result and one happy AJ -->

ALSO!!!! PRAISE THE LORD...The pulley Matt R sent me several weeks ago i thought may have been MIA TURNED UP[/b]!!! I tell you one thing fellas, if you order something from Recumpence and it arrives damaged the courier
will be 110% too blame, the small pulley you see on the reduction drive in picture was in like a
~10in x 10in box PACKED to the hilt with inflatable bags and paper!!! Kudos Matt SUPERB packaging mate
EXTREME overkill in this instance but still SUPERB LoL..cheers mate...

Rear Wheels LACED UP!!!

That knocking you here is Methys knees, hes getting worried
Full GangSTA Status Imminent LoL

The Pulley alignment looks like shes going to be spot on and no further adjustments will need to be made to the
motor mount tubes, shall go ahead and weld these in place in the a.m

Lastly...i also called into Coventry Fasteners on the way to buy the fiberglass yesterday
and picked up the remaining marine grade stainless steel cap screws for the bike-->

These ones are to replace the threaded rod on all but the main actuator pivot..ALL other bolts on the bike
are Marine Grade Stainless steel (with the exception of the actuator main pivot this is front hub axle
i was unable to get a cap screw this length and diameter..)All up around ~$AU60 bucks worth of fasteners
this includes stainless steel nylocs and 2 stainless steel washers on all bolts/nuts...yes its pricey but hey, it looks pro
PLUS! they wont rust and i can disassemble the entire bike with 4 allen keys a shifter and a crank puller
makes for a small tool bag

Will be back tomorrow with an update on the battery enclosure progress...all things going well I shoooould g
have a rough fiber glass enclosure to show you fellas ;-)

KiM

 

[johnrobholmes]

Coming right along isn't she? This will be one sweet ride. I need to learn fiberglass so I can get some fenders done.

 

[safe]

Fibeglass is an amazing material. It takes some time to learn to have a "feel" for it, but when you do it opens the door to building just about anything. If you have the steel side "down" with a welder and add in fiberglass you can fabricate just about anything.

The thing I need is machining tools like a lathe and drillpress. In order to really step up to the next level you need precision tools. Without the specialized tools you are always "approximating" things then correcting. In the ideal world you get things perfect on the first pass.

Looking great !!!

 

[AussieJester]

Coming right along isn't she? This will be one sweet ride. I need to learn fiberglass so I can get some fenders done.

Yes fiberglass is good medium and very very simple too use mate. You can get just about any shape you desire too...Could be good project for you, make a up a few 'standard' size triangular shaped enclosures, from what i have seen people are always after some neat relatively cheap battery housings, they would sell like hot cakes i think?!

KiM

 

[safe]

It's hard to make a profit on hand made fiberglass, even if you have
the molds. The labor costs are insane if you run the numbers. If you
can get people to pay a large markup (like for specialized parts) then
you can, but otherwise you can't.

The best solution is injection molded plastic, but that has a very high
entry point for startup costs.

Fiberglass is best for custom projects or hobbyists... not for retail
usually. Boat makers are able to spray the fiberglass as a single
material into the molds and that cuts costs a lot. The hand layup
of fiberglass is very labor intensive. Also, the health hazards are
a problem if you are around it too much, people that do it as a job
have to wear a respirator all the time to prevent the fibers from
getting into their lungs. (it's like a milder form of asbestos)

Still... it's a lot of freedom and it's a great material.

 

[AussieJester]

Update

I didn't get quite as far along as i had hoped today, i thought i had some
Body Filler (bondo) On the shelf too use turns out i did, turns out it was
solid and not usable :-S SO..rang my good mate Flavio up for a ride
to the Auto Shop too pick up some filler, we also went for some SubWay
at the mall and perved on all the lovelies prancing around in their shorty
shorts, god bless summer, the g-string and spray on tanz is all i can say...

Got back in the afternoon and continued work on the battery enclosure,
Firstly some light sanding of the Eco-Foam to finish off the shape, i'm very
happy with the profile now fits the frame well IMO-->

The Scoop height has been lowered slightly from previous days pics.[/size].

Body Filler has been layered across the entire enclosure a couple of millimetres thick
this will now be smoothed over using 80grit sandpaper on a sanding block, what we
are looking for is a mirror smooth finish, as the sanding progresses additional
filler maybe required in spots to fill low spots and indents etc When the filler
is to a stage im happy with i will then spray several coats of Spray Putty
over the entire surface and sand this down with wet and dry 800 grit sand paper.
Once this step is complete, several coast of release agent will be applied
before the glass/resin is layered over the enclosure.

Back tomorrow with updates on the progress fellas...

KiM

 

[AussieJester]

Prep & Glassing of Battery Enclosure

Update

5.15PM so calling it a day, i did want too get a couple of layers of fiberglass
on the enclosure today but due to latish start to the day (tiz Sunday after all)
Didn't quite get there...
I managed to finish the prepping of the enclosure for fibreglass AND got the first
layer on though-->

VERY happy with how its coming along, i didn't put alot of time
into sanding the body filler 30-40 minutes my main objective was to get
the higher spots off, once this was done I sprayed a light coat of
spray putty to help see the low spots better, filled those gave them
a quick sand before applying 2 coats of PVA release agent. First layer
of fiberglass was layered on, 300ml of epoxy resin was used and a under a meter of
450 chop strand matt fiberglass... ~4 1/4 meters left
I plan on 2 more layers of glass, this will bring the enclosures wall thickness
too around 4mm PLENTY strong enough but still reasonably light...

I hope to get the rest of the glassing done by lunch tomorrow and get a good start
on sanding the enclosure smooooth before i cut it open and dig out the foam...

Back then...

KiM

 

[AussieJester]

Fiberglassing of Battery Enclosure Fabrication Completed (pics)

Update

Well..i finished the 3rd layer of glass today and decided a 4th wont be necessary
its way thick enough now for me too sand a millimeter or so off to flatten it out.
Once i have the internal shelves in place it will also add to the enclosures rigidity..

Not very exciting pics today pretty much look like yesterdays BUT for sake of update here you go-->

Shall work on smoothing the surface tomorrow before i think about cutting the
enclosure to dig out the foam. I do have a to add a thin steel plate to the bottom of
the enclosure as part of the mounting arrangement, i shall work on this tomorrow also,
this plate will have cut outs too fit around the linear actuator and pivot...

Back soon fellas

KiM

 

[AussieJester]

Battery Enclosure Nears Completion

Update

Been rather warm last few days so i been taking it easy...I have made
steady progress-->

Still haven't wet sanded the enclosure, as it is it has 2 heavy coats of spray putty over light body filler (bondo)...
I shall mark and cut the box tomorrow and begin digging out the foam...

Also...I was sitting here today after i had finished sanding and painting, beer in hand admiring my days work
when it came to me! I wonder what the bike would look like in Cafe' Racer / Board Tracker guise..
so...to find out i grabbed the allen key and found out--->

LOOKZ OuT Safe!!! hehehe...if that EBRR ever does takez off im ready for it grin5:

...Actually doesn't look too bad IMHO..i wouldn't use it daily like it though, might be good if i end up taking it too the drags to see how quick she goes... lil fairing on front to duck behind would help a little too hahaa...

Chopped hinged and gas strut installed tomorrow..

Back then fellas...

KiM

 

[AussieJester]

Battery Enclosure De-Foamed

Update


Cut and de-foamed the battery enclosure, was simple task, created a template
of the shape i wanted stuck it on the enclosure marked it, cut it with a dremel and
then dug out the foam, it all came away easily leaving nice 'smoothish' finish
inside for lots of GanGSTA LipO GooDNeSS

Having an early one today feet up relaxing ... more tomorrow...

KiM