Holy Guacamole! Why didn't someone tell me how much that insulating foam expanded. It blew the pattern apart. I guess we will just have to file this under Things not to do. Meanwhile back at the finish welding farm, I have added the gussets to the suspension pickups.

Supports have been added to the front roll bar landings.

I added another piece of 1/8" wall square tube to the bottom of the frame. I don't think there will be very much flex in the frame unless the girls decide to try and pile on 10 more kids.

I am trying to support this model so that it will not move when the fiberglass and epoxy is applied.

OK. I have an idea to speed this up. The can that you see on the left in this next photo is a can of that expanding foam that they use to fill in spaces between pipes and crevices in the foundation and plumbing. I will just fill in the remaining holes in the model and make it more stable.

Well just one can didn't go very far. But it should be enough to really solidify the model.

The fiberglass hood will be my first real try at making a plastic part. The first thing to do is draw out a sketch of the area to be covered on a solid surface.
Next you will need to cut templates out of chipboard or similar material for the model frame.

Next I prefer to start at one end and start building up the model using the foam insulation I described in an earlier post. The nose of the template seems to be a logical place to begin and work backwards. The foam needs to be glued up a little thicker than the overall dimensions so that it can be trimmed to the finish dimensions.

There are probably better ways to do this but I prefer to cut the sections and layer them up to the needed thickness.

You can make the model completely out of foam if you like and it would work just fine. But I prefer to use chipboard templates to help shape the model because I am not that artistic. ( I just remembered that I dreamed about making this model last night.)

I am going to try to use a solid piece of foam for the top contour so I am cutting 5/8" off of the inner templates to accommodate the thickness of the foam.

In order to keep the contour constant you will need to cut off the inner ribs at the same length as the outer framing.

Now that you have the outer dimensions defined it is just a matter of reinforcing the model so that it can be covered with fiberglass and resin without distortion. ( I now recall the dream I had last night about the model. I dreamed the model was complete and the first layer of fiberglass had been set smoothly in place but I had not put on the epoxy resin. Someone had come along and put a bunch of junk on top of the model and messed up the fiberglass. )

There are a few simple tools that can aid in finish welding the frame and component parts. Pictured below are the angle grinder with a flap disc, Drill with a wire wheel, a wire brush, slag hammer and pliers to cut the welding wire when necessary. A bright light can also help. I find that my welding greatly improves when I can see the weldment clearly.

I have finished priming and painting the suspension parts. They are glossy black.

I suppose it is about time that I get started on finishing the go cart project. There are a number of projects that have consumed most of my time for the last four months. I now have a truck that runs on natural gas and have just installed a compressor at my house so that I can fuel the truck from home overnight. But the most demanding project physically has been the tower project. At our cabin on Tenkiller lake in Oklahoma we once Had a tree house look out tower that got blown over a couple of years ago. I know very little about constructing wooden structures but my brother Carl knows plenty. So he came up with plans to build a 3 story free standing wooden structure which is no small feat for weekend warriors. Trying to drill holes for the posts in this rocky soil is next to impossible even with the skid steer that I rented. There is a jack hammer mounted in this picture. I would drill until I hit rock and then switch over to the jack hammer to break up rock and then switch back to the auger. It looked like a war zone when I was through drilling.

We cemented the posts in as far as we could get them down then started laying the foundation.

We did not have time to finish the railing on this trip but it will be secure enough that even small children cannot slip through.

Here is Brenda atop her new tower.

I am trying to figure out a way to put a Zip Line on this thing.

Ok back to the go cart. I have been taking it apart so that it can be fully welded, sand blasted and painted. I really will not have anything new to show until I get a little farther along in the finishing process.

I hope these short videos will illustrate how the hydraulic drive system works. So far it seems to work the way I had envisioned but of course the real proof will be in how well it rides with the kids on board. There seems to be some binding when I put it in reverse. I think it has something to do with the chain tensioner being too loose. So what is next? If you said tighten all the bolts and go for a test ride then I don't think that would be a good idea because everything is only tack welded so far. Now we have to take everything apart and finish weld the entire frame and each individual component. Next it will be sand blasted and then painted. I guess I better go get some more welding wire. The pet monkeys won't be much help because I have not had a chance to teach them how to use the MIG welder. A monkey using a mig welder, that would be silly. They only know how to use a stick welder.

When I tried to bolt the wheels to the axles I discovered that the threads on the axle were flat and also had been painted right along with the rest of the axle. So I had to get a threading die to clean up the threads before I could finish assembling the rear drive train.

I also had to add a tab to hold the return spring for the brake pedal. There are so many little things to be done that I am not sure I can find enough time before Christmas to get this cart finished.

I finally got all of the hydraulic hoses and fittings connected. Here is a short explanation of how it should work.

1. The hydraulic pump is connected to the engine.

2. The hydraulic pump receives fluid from the hydraulic tank.

3. The pump sends fluid to the control valve.

4. While the control valve is in neutral it simply allows the fluid to pass through and return to the tank.

5. When the pedal is depressed forward it sends fluid to the hydraulic motor and turns the wheels in forward direction.

6. When the pedal is depressed backwards it reverses the direction of the flow and activates the reverse direction.

7. The fluid is returned to the tank through a filter which strains out any contaminants from the hydraulic oil before recycling through the circuit.


In the following photo you can see the hose connecting the hydraulic pump to the control valve. The control valve is below the pump.

Some of the hoses are too short but they will have to do for the test run. This photo shows the return line running from the filter to the tank.

Here are the 2 ports of the motor connected to the control valve.

Here is a side view that shows the return line from the control valve to the filter.

Now that everything is connected it is time to see if a hydraulic gocart really works.


A couple of weeks ago we were in Charleston South Carolina for my neices wedding. This is a very interesting town rich with history dating back to the revolutionary times. We decided to go on a walking ghost tour at night and learn a little more about the cryptic history of the town. I have no explanation for this mysterious video that just showed up on my I phone.