Sunday, September 28, 2008

All Done With Welding?

Today I did what I think is the final welding on battery racks / boxes / hold-downs. First, I finished the hold-down for the front rack. Here is what it looks like in Sketchup:

The protrusions are of two kinds. The first (6 of them) is a place for the threaded rod to attach to. The second (2 of them) is kind of a protective "cover" for holes in the rack to allow the 4/0 welding cable to enter/exit the rack. To make them, I started with 1.5" by 1.5" box tubing (3/16" walls):


I cut each piece in half, either straight or diagonally:


And then welded them in to place:


Here's the hold-down balanced on top of the threaded rod (on top because I have not yet drilled the holes for the rod to go through):


I also did the final welding on the upper rear rack. I created a cube missing two walls out of 1 1/4" by 1 1/4" (1/8" thick) angle stock:


I then welded that on to the upper rear battery rack. This also is a protective "cover" for a place where cable exits the box. It also, not coincidentally, reinforces the horizontal support so that a hole can be made in it.

I also welded on the threaded nuts for the hold-downs to screw into:


There are three remaining things to do on the racks:

  1. Drill any required holes
  2. Paint
  3. Install

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