thank Goodness for friends...

Well, I solved a lot of problems tonight as far as new materials to build with... I scored about 20 brand new sheets of 12ga, 304 stainless steel @ 36" x 48", FREE! I can now rebuild body panels on all the tractors, and most if not all of the recovery vehicle with all that stuff... at least a thousand dollars worth of sheet metal!

What it was, a long time friend of mine, like a little brother is trying to clean up his late grandfathers place, and was almost done but didn't have any use for this metal. He knew what it was and how much it is worth but he felt it worthless due to having no practical need for it. That being said, I had asked him 2 days ago about some scrap metal that might be left over out there (his grandfather built everything from scratch if he could) and he said he had some but wasnt sure just what or where. we found that up against the car port at the back of his g-pa's place... and he said "take it".

So, with some luck soon I can rebuild the hood on the other mower project and put it back on the move, give war machine a more finished look and get the recovery vehicle it's own body made up this summer!

talk about luck lol

yeah no kidding! I did a little research on actual costs, my first estimate per sheet was wrong (hence the edit of the post)

onlinemetals.com lists the stuff @ 295$ a sheet. I think I counted 22 sheets... do the math, rather doing the math I have according to their prices over 5 grand worth of fresh metal that'll resist just about everything but direct exposure to acid!

lol wanta send some of it my way? lol

If only the location was closer I'd be happy to share once the recovery vehicle is done...

prometheusEDI wrote:

If only the location was closer I'd be happy to share once the recovery vehicle is done...

lol just noticed....were on opposite sides of the country lol

You lucky mo-fo. I probably would have paid market price for spare sheet off my friends lot, if they had any.

Good luck bending or forming that stuff, 12 ga stainless is tough!

Stretch44875 wrote:

Good luck bending or forming that stuff, 12 ga stainless is tough!

Well, that's ok actually Tough is what I am after - and most of the body panels for the golf cart recovery vehicle are just going to be angle cut pieces, anything curved I can scavenge from scrap piles and add on

Can I get some?

Ariens YT11 wrote:

Can I get some?

I still havent taken stock of how much I'll actually need to use yet, but... maybe... if you were in the area

You could make a snow plow out of a piece for your offroader.

greener179 wrote:

You could make a snow plow out of a piece for your offroader.

You know... I've been needing material to make a plow and I never once thought of that! Thanks!

Happy i could help.

Stainless? oh dear hope you have plenty of drill bits handy. 304 and 316s is harder than you think.

Thunder's right- that stuff is a dead horrible son of a hemmorhoid to drill. 12ga is awfully heavy for body panels, too.

If it were me, I'd keep a few for "you never know" and sell the rest at a sharp discount. They will probably go pretty quick, and you'll have a big, bad, budget for whatever you want!

You know I bet NONE of my friends would do that for me.

prometheusEDI wrote:

Ariens YT11 wrote:

Can I get some?

I still havent taken stock of how much I'll actually need to use yet, but... maybe... if you were in the area

You know I live on the West side of the mountians of you, not to far away from North Bend and past Carnation into Monroe.

Ariens YT11 wrote:

prometheusEDI wrote:

Ariens YT11 wrote:

Can I get some?

I still havent taken stock of how much I'll actually need to use yet, but... maybe... if you were in the area

You know I live on the West side of the mountians of you, not to far away from North Bend and past Carnation into Monroe.

Yes, roughly a 5 hour trek from here. But I meant, in my area.

Now, today is the day I go pick it up. The cart I mean. I decided I will in fact use that sheet metal for the body work. It's going to have approximately 2 feet added to the back framework, and a foot or so to the front. Thinking volkswagen style arrangement - front cargo/fuel, rear engine and drivetrain. Body will resemble a mix of a model A truck and an M37. Will have a removable boom with either boat winch or my preference an electric one.

Drivetrain other than suspension will be entirely mower donated. 6 speed spicer, properly braced and adapted where needed... no less than 15hp motor. Will be slightly overdriven but not much, it's going to have some big ol' tires in the rear. The relevance to the sheet metal is this- I'll not be making a whole lot of angled pieces, with exception of the hood and cab, but i can simulate those with wood and cover them in the end with bondo or fiberglass resin, sand and paint. Would look seamless no?

Besides, any sheet metal can be drilled and bent as needed when enough heat is applied...

My trick for stainless is slow drill speeds and sharp bits.. Its starts out pretty soft, but it work hardens extremely quickly.

Nice thing is it welds like butter.

Well I got it. I already see that my preliminary idea of rat rodding it will work, as will the motor arrangement and drivetrain. Front wheels won't be able to be oversized by much, maybe 10" rims or 12's with low-profile tread. That is, IF I do not mod the original battery tray/floorboard area much. I could in theory get some lift shackles meant for a RV trailer and use those, as it's just a 3 leaf trailer spring in front. The steering angle is going to be tricky, along with the idea of making it a long enough bed to haul a tractor should one break. I think I will be modifying the hoist idea to include a tuck-away cradle to help hold the front wheels up (or rears depending on what breaks) so as not to push the framework too hard over the rear springs. We'll see.

On another note, I scored more goodies today for the mower... but that's for another thread. Let's just say it's even more powerful now, 30% more fuel efficient and has some brand new tread up front.