Re: Keegan's 55 Clipper Deluxe

Posted by Keegan Chaput On 2010/2/4 23:11:49

Been working on the replacement brace a little.

I used some 1/2 inch square tubing. Heated and bent it around a pipe I tacked to the table. It worked out really well. As you can see in a couple of the pictures, the contour of the bend matches the old brace pretty well.

I used some 18 gauge sheet to skin the brace. I would have liked to use some 16 gauge, but I couldn't find a piece big enough laying around the shop, so I used what I had.

I wish I had a bead roller!!! I wanted to stiffen up the sheet metal a little before welding the tubing in place. I used a flanging attachment for the air hammer and ran a flange down each side. Luckily, the flanges are exactly 1/2 inch wide, perfect for the tubing I was using. Didn't plan it, just lucked out.

What a difference the flange makes in stiffness.

So then it was just a matter of welding on the tubing. The pictures don't show it well, but I used a series of stitch welds on the outside edges and tacks on the inside. I managed to get it burned in without warping the hell out of it.

I also repaired the seat brace that runs perpendicular to the floor bracing. The middle portion was the really bad part, the rest was pretty solid. I laid in a new piece of sheet metal over the bottom and repaired the outside edge with another. Good as new. (Well, as strong as new anyway)

I've got a few other things to do before it can all go back in the car for good.

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