Yeah sometimes you have to take what you can't think of yourself
Anyway I might not get finished today. An old customer just rolled in with his hypochondriac Commodore. The temp gauge is in the red and the engine's as cool as a cucumber but it's bubbling like it's boiling. All I needed is another job
Anyway I got a couple of hours in the morning and here's my material list. There are no dimensions as I have a bad habit of not bothering with a tape measure. I went to a management training session once where they told me that "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Well I think you lose the innovative edge. I prefer to wander around the workshop looking for the next bit that I need. If anybody wants measurements I'll find the tape and add them later.
Keep in mind this is not meant to be a work of art. It's just a tool for a job. I know my limitations and I'm no artist.
A piece of 20x40 pine for the handle
25x25x1.6 RHS for the base frame and a bit of 25x50x1.6 RHS across the front
A pre-bent bit of 1.6 zincaneal sheet steel for the sleeves around the vertical post
An old bricky's spirit level that's no longer level for the main upright
A little 40x3 galvanized flatbar for the lugs
A piece of 12mm exterior plywood for the base (it's much lighter than particle board)
A 40x8 bolt with washers and nyloc nut
An old trampoline spring, I'm not sure if it will be suitable
I found a piece of zincaneal with a right angle bend so it just had to be cut with the 5" grinder and 1mm cut-off wheel.
When you're working with little items that need to be drilled and shaped it's easier done before you cut them off.
Lugs for the handle pivot. My handle is pine so I added a little bit of tube to the bolt hole to prevent it from wearing out.
If you are working with scrap yard bits one problem is that you can never find two tubes that fit neatly together. The easiest solution is to make the outer tube to fit. This is where I used the 1.6mm steel with the right angle bend.
IMPORTANT NOTE: "If you intend to weld a tube over another piece of metal and you want it to be removeable you must put a spacer in place before you make the weld. Paper is the best option. A single sheet of paper in the join will make it removable. I used an old window envelope because I wanted enough clearance to make a sliding fit. Don't worry the paper cannot burn inside the joint regardless of the temperature"
Oh well, back to work....
