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$ 96.00 aluminum sheet today
Made it to Fulton's Metal in Denton today.I found a 4' X 12' sheet of light gauge Alcoa aluminum.She's water stained and rough,but good enough to convert into synthetic atmospheric gasoline.I hope!
Also grabbed a few steel pre-forms which will make strong hinge pivot points.They're already hole punched and angle bent.Just weld on.
I will have to create my own hinges.They've got to be like a Lancair canopy hinge.Kinda like a letter G,pivoting about the end of the inside angle,with the panel frames attached at what would be the end at upper right of G.These allow non-interference swing-out and return of a deep contoured panel from a flush position.
I looked into having them plasma cut,but a local machine shop says they can do a pretty good job with just a cutting torch.I can do the finish grinding.
I could cut 'em myself,except my bottles are empty and I've really grown fond of the wire-welder and don't want to buy oxygen and acetylene just for cutting.It's 102 F today.No torches please!
The frames for the side panels are roughed in as of this AM and I've got steel for the top panel frame.
And I think I know how I'm going to do the lower panel(s).Could be one of my famous brain traps ( Three-Stooges Engineering!).
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There is a surprising amount of washboard road,killer pot-holes,and killer expansion-joints on the interstate bridges.The vertical cantilever side panels are going to be subjected to 'jerk',which is the most intensive instantaneous acceleration that a structure can encounter and I want the ends of these panels supported with a 'living' reinforcement so they don't topple their attachment frame which cannot be triangulated for support.
I'll be going on to the the west coast from Bonneville,maybe 6,000 miles of travel. And I won't be taking my welder,if you know what I mean.
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