Newbie, Greenhorn, Fresher - New Guy...

[Rich-G]

Hi there to one and all!

As you can see from the title I am new to this forum, as indeed I am to the whole welding arena!

Just a little info on me and why I'm here. I'm a Sparky by trade and my hobby is power/traction kites. In pursuit of my hobby I am looking to build kiting buggies (you know the kind of thing, three wheeled - whizz up and down on the beach).

I'm looking to build my own, as I would prefer to be more hands on rather than just buying everything, after all, it's my hobby and I'm in no particular hurry!

In addition I'm also looking to learn welding - always a usefult string to the bow - and after looking at this forum for a little while from the outside, it appears quite friendly with some useful links on How, What, Where.

So, Hi everyone, and expect a load of questions (most probably naive).

Cheers,

Rich

EDIT: Forgot to say - looking to use 316 Stainless on one buggy and Mild Steel on a few others...

 

[Bigjoe]

Hi Rich and welcome ,
What sort of budget are hoping to spend?

Your main options are Mig and Tig as im assuming the tubing would be 2mm approx wall thickness? Mig is an easier technique but tig could be the better finish and also all you would need to change is the filler wire with Tig rather than wire and gas (If you do it properly) to go between mild and stainless steel.

Regards

Joe

 

[Rich-G]

Thanks for the welcome Joe. Budget - presume you're refering to the steel? If so then I have a deal on with my local scrappy to save all the 316 and 304 that comes his way until I get a chance to give it the once over and choose the bits that I want. I may end up spending some dough on some box section, but I'll cross that bridge as and when.

As far as filler/rods and so on, I have absolutely no idea about any of that stuff yet - that's kinda where the forum will be of most help to me! (like I said - expect some really naiive questions!!!)

EDIT: Tube wall - looking at min 3mm especially on the axle!

 

[Bigjoe]

Hi Rich, i meant a budget for the machine mainly...I see you've poster in the buying a welder section,as you're dealing with heavier sections i would probably go for a mig or a secondhand 3 phase Tig maybe, or even arc welding the heavier stuff depending on budgetry constraintS.

Feel free to ask away and there is loads of info on here to totally confuse you!

Joe

 

[Rich-G]

Oh, sorry.

As far as machine budget is concerned it's gonna be the same response as most DIY guys I guess, as little as possible so long as it'll do the job! With my trade, sorting out power won't be an issue - it's everything else that I need to know!

Yeah - see what you mean about the info...

 

[Disco_Mark]

Hi Rich,

Welcome along. I have done a little bit of power kiting myself, and keep thinking about building a buggy (I have a board, but can't really get on with it...).

I would have thought that 2mm stainless would be fine for most of the buggy structure. 3mm is going to end up very heavy.

Do you have some plans to build to, or are you working to your own ones?

Whilst MIG is easier to learn, I think that DC TIG would be the ideal process for this sort of thing.

Make sure you post some pictures up in the projects section

Cheers
Mark

 

[Rich-G]

Thanks for the welcome Mark,

Yes, the weight of the buggy - should end up around 50 kg (without wheels and tyres). Looking to do cruising in it though (not a freestyler!) so the weight is needed to keep the thing on-line and not get dragged sideways!! The kites I'm using are Ozone Razors - biggest I own (at the moment) is the 8.5 square meter - it's a beast of a kite!!

I have plans already for the ones I'm looking to build - one I paid for (and can't share under sufferance of Hit Squad!) and others that I've downloaded from the iternet.

I think it looks like TIG is the way I'm heading, but I'm gonna wait to get more feedback from people.

Cheers

Rich

 

[Disco_Mark]

Rich,

I am still getting to grips with my flexifoil bullet 3.5, which will happily lift my ample frame in a reasonable breeze!

No problem with the plans - just curious is all. I had started to design my own based on some of the peter lynn and flexi ones I had seen, but I hadn't found plans freely available. It was some time since I last looked properly though!

Cheers
Mark

 

[Rich-G]

Here ya go Mark, try this link to a mates website with some plans of the Libre V Max copy - these are the ones I'm looking to use a bit of mild steel for - then powder coating...

Trucknuts Free Plans

Truckie is a great guy - if you do build a buggy - post him a few piccies and keep him happy!

The other plans I bought off a guy called Popeyethewelder - he builds some absolutely stunning buggies, but I signed an agreement with him when I bought the plans that I wouldn't pass them around, so...

 

[Disco_Mark]

Nice Link, thanks! I am sure pictures will happen, but I'll need to get a bit further down the list of projects at the moment!

Cheers
Mark

 

[Rich-G]

No worries Mark - hope the plans will be of some use to you soon!

 

[Rich-G]

Just a quickie to say thanks to everyone for the warm welcome!