Welding - January 19, 2013

This Saturday was welding day for the steel running the length of the car.  It was a "January thaw" day which made for very good conditions.

We missed Craig for this work session, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

In the photo on the right the tie rods have been pulled back to the left (north) in order to bring the steel on the right out of the car to weld.  We had a water hose handy as well as fire extinguishers, hopefully not to be used.

We brought the steel piece out of the door of the car, over the end sill and supported it on a sawhorse.  The tent flap was lowered to keep the wind at a minimum so as to not interfere with the welding gas.

All contacts of the splice piece with the larger pieces were solidly welded.  For all of us except the welder it was a hurry-up-and-wait day.  We worked to move the tie rods, then get the steel out for access.  During the welding we caught our breath.

Now the welded piece (truly one piece now) is back in place, and the tie rods have been moved to the right to free up the north steel.  The jacks were used to take pressure off of the tie rods in order to slide easier.

We slid this piece under the end sill and welded in this position.
Fortunately we had a good crew for the moving.

Here is a good look at the end result.  The welds were ground smooth along the edges.  The bolts will remain in place and be torqued.  We moved the steel back into the car and called it a day, saving repositioning the tie rods yet again for another day.

Sills drilled - 1-5-2013

Bob and I continued with drilling in the south inner sill for the pipes which will act as struts between the steel that will be placed against the outer aspect of the sills.  Please see the previous post for a better look at Lenny's right angle drill.

Meanwhile, Craig was cutting pipe for the struts.  Tom had set up a jig for the proper length previously, but due to a prior commitment Tom was not able to participate today.  (Hope you are healing quickly, Tom!)  After cutting, the edges were rounded to remove the burrs.

Thanks to Glenn for taking these pictures.

This photo shows a pipe strut passing through one sill, with the far end at the hole in the other sill.  Note the blocks at the top of the photo which are mortised into the sill acting as spacers.

This photo shows the pipes in place.  The inner sill on the right was replaced at some time prior to our acquiring the car, probably due to breakage, and no spacer blocks were mortised into it at that time.  The splice into the original part of the sill is present just beyond where the orange cord crossed the two sills.  (Clicking on the pictures will enlarge them.)

Craig has made new blocks to install where that sill replacement was done.  He is holding one, and there is a stack on the step behind him.  He and John are discussing dimensions.

New mortises had to be drilled and chiseled out of the replaced part of the sill for the new blocks.  It is much harder wood than the original as we found out when we were drilling as well.  A new block can be seen in place near John's right shoulder.

We should be about ready to weld the steel pieces at the splices, then bolt everything together.

Short day - 12-15-12

We just worked a half day today because of Tom's Christmas party.  It was an extravaganza as usual, as he and Hilde go all out for it each year.

The project for the day was to continue drilling larger holes in the two inner sills for the pipes to pass through containing the bolts fixing the steel on each sill together.

 Lenny has a robust angle drill that will fit between the sills, and he and Craig built a guide for holding the drill in position.  However, sometimes the most elegant solution is not the most practical.

The final solution was to hold the drill and use a Forstner bit.  Lenny worked from above and I helped stabilize from below.  We finished the holes in the north sill so we tackle the south side next time.

Meanwhile, John was marking places in the south sill at the west end for  morticing for the blocks to be placed.  An original one is present in the foreground of the photo.