Boat tail project based on a single wheel trailer...

[dremd]

Originally Posted by Xist

Not very good reviews for $175: 120 Volt Spot Welder

Making your own for ten dollars and a dead microwave seems infinitely better.

Here is the one that I have 240 Volt Spot Welder it WILL spot weld .040 aluminum IF you sandwich a piece of 20 Ga steel on each side, however you have to let it cool a lot if you are spot welding aluminum, steel you can just go to town. Mine still works, it survived daily use for about 6 months before I got the 75 KVA spot welder which is amazing.

[deejaaa]

i had seen this already and too was impressed of the production quality. i built an arc welder using 2 microwave transformers but my windings weren't good enough i guess and it would only work on small stainless rods.
i would like to give this a shot.

[freebeard]

I guess I should report the negative result. The Uni-spotter has a nose about 1 inch in diameter. Because I was working in the bottom of a corrugation, instead of a single spotweld in the middle, it made two crescent-shaped spots that didn't contact the pipe.

Not even worth a picture.

[dremd]

Your using a resistance welder?
If so, increase clamping force dramatically.

[deejaaa]

what happened to your post BamZipPow?

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by deejaaa

what happened to your post BamZipPow?

I think it's morphed into spot welding...

[freebeard]

Fer me to move forward in designing and fabricating a more permanent design will require different materials/tools and skill sets that I currently don't have.

...and who is to blame for that?


Patent US3203144 - Laminar geodesic dome - Google Patents

Here, from Bucky Fuller's own patent drawings, is how you cover a compound curve surface with diamonds. You nip the corners and weave them together. The secret sauce is the precise edge lengths of the diamonds.

A home-made spot welder with an arms reach of the [arbitrary] width of a diamond would enable creation of any arbitrary shape or size. You could make a garage to park it in.

I would think single wall construction with double walls for reinforcement along the edges.

[BamZipPow]

Seems the extended hose is leaking somewhere...probably right where it connects to the air valve.

However, I figured that I could use a hose with 1/4" NPT fittings on the ends so it could be threaded directly into the system with the air valve at the business end. Seems that compressed air systems use a whip lead hose that should work perfectly fer my air spring bag setup! Time to order one and see if it fares any better.

Amazon.com: Goodyear EP 46508 3/8-Inch by 3-Feet 250 PSI Lead-In Rubber Air Hose with 1/4-Inch MNPT Ends: Home Improvement

[ConnClark]

I can't help but notice your mileage hasn't gone up. I think that added rolling resistance and weight have offset any gains you have gotten in aerodynamics.

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by ConnClark

I can't help but notice your mileage hasn't gone up. I think that added rolling resistance and weight have offset any gains you have gotten in aerodynamics.

The trailer setup only gits installed fer long distance trips and testing runs. My mileage during holiday runs have increased with the trailer attached compared to the previous runs without the trailer attached. Most of my driving during the past few years without the trailer setup is city driving with a ton of stop lights and stop signs.

Keep in mind the purpose of this project was to see how viable a boat tail build would be on a single wheel trailer platform.

Weight gain only comes into play when I'm doing a lot of stop and go otherwise it become negligible on long distant drives. I don't believe the rolling resistance of the single wheel is making a significant impact on economy from the increased aerodynamics of the setup...at least I'm not seeing it in my mileage numbers. I coast longer with the trailer attached as compared to not having it attached. There are times that I have to use the brakes to keep from coasting into the vehicle in front of me.