Warrior trike- 1st build

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Apr 26, 2021
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Had to wait for some parts to show up.

Measured out a 13 inch section of the seat tube to connect to a bottom bracket.

After a bit of cutting, filing, grinding and welding.


Might be off center roughly 1/16th of an inch.
 
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Apr 26, 2021
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After the first go at it when I realized the bottom bracket I had was aluminum, I picked up an adjustable angle magnet.

Totally worth the $20 to save myself the setup headache.

 
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May 28, 2013
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Regarding slow cool down on your possible chromaly stuff. Shove it in a bucket or tub of sand or vermiculite... it should cool slow enough there... just make sure there is enough on top as under.
 
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Regarding slow cool down on your possible chromaly stuff. Shove it in a bucket or tub of sand or vermiculite... it should cool slow enough there... just make sure there is enough on top as under.
This ended up not being an issue. Headtube didn't work out.

***

Hadn't updated in awhile. Thought I'd do so.

Over the last month I ran into multiple issues.

First my angle grinder died. Black and Decker sent me a free replacement. Very cool of them since i was a week over the warranty. Had to wait for that to show up.

Next my dremel died. Ordered a new rotary tool. Had to wait for that to show up.

Made the head tubes but when grinding them to be cylindrical to make cutting and welding easy... ended up with massive holes in them. Went to fill them in to repair them and it became a big pain in the butt.

Decided to make new head tubes and ordered a length of carbon steel tubing. That showed up today. Have to cut it and file away a bit of the inner wall to get the hardware to fit.
 
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I've killed a forgotten number of cheap power tools in my time. The shortest being a 9" grinder I killed inside 2 hrs! I since moved to the 110V stuff the professionals use here (std house voltage is 240V in the UK) and my power tool spending has plummeted. In the decade since I went to 110V I've killed only 1 grinder and that had lived a long and fruitful life before expiring. Secondhand professional grade power tools outlive cheap domestic crap many fold.
 
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I've killed a forgotten number of cheap power tools in my time. The shortest being a 9" grinder I killed inside 2 hrs! I since moved to the 110V stuff the professionals use here (std house voltage is 240V in the UK) and my power tool spending has plummeted. In the decade since I went to 110V I've killed only 1 grinder and that had lived a long and fruitful life before expiring. Secondhand professional grade power tools outlive cheap domestic crap many fold.

Totally.

Yeah, that grinder... I beat the brakes off it for 2 years.

Dremel was a hand me down so it is what it is.
 
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I've killed a forgotten number of cheap power tools in my time.
I think the clue is in the word "cheap", is it not? Quality 240V tools will last just as long as 110v tools, there's little in it I think.
110v tools usually have heavier windings, but are more susceptible to volts drop on cabling.
Pinion gears are the same, bearings the same etc. etc.
I've had one of my 240v grinders for 5 years now and it's fine and a 240v saw I have had since I was 21 so that's 45 years.
Buy cheap-buy-twice-or-thrice. ;)
 
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I think the clue is in the word "cheap", is it not? Quality 240V tools will last just as long as 110v tools, there's little in it I think.
110v tools usually have heavier windings, but are more susceptible to volts drop on cabling.
Pinion gears are the same, bearings the same etc. etc.
I've had one of my 240v grinders for 5 years now and it's fine and a 240v saw I have had since I was 21 so that's 45 years.
Buy cheap-buy-twice-or-thrice.;)
Yep, but I'm in the US.

I'd have to install a dedicated 240v circuit out in my garage or use a generator.
 
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Yep, but I'm in the US.

I'd have to install a dedicated 240v circuit out in my garage or use a generator.
Very true, so buy quality 110/120v gear. Grinders are the most abused of tools. They spend most of their lives ingesting the dirt they create. Its a wonder they last as long as they do. :)
 
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When we talk about 110V over in the UK we are meaning "building site" voltage. ie the 110V industry-imposed limit for building site work with it being much safer than a domestic 240V supply in the event of getting hold of something live - 240V is not fun at all and throbs like a bsa*d for ages if you're lucky. That means that 110V gear in the UK is always designed for a hard life so if you are buying a 110V tool here it's almost certainly a quality one. It's nothing to do with the voltage itself but simply where it's expected to be used. Presumably in areas with a much lower domestic supply such as the USA's 120V there is no such easy indicator of a tool's build quality bar the price - an indicator best used with care.

My experience with cheap power tools is usually the motor packs in or failing that it's the poor quality or even non-existent bearings that expire. I've seen bearings that consist of little more than a slice of steel tube pressed into the plastic case and a blob of grease which runs away as soon as the tool heats up. They're built with a design life of a few hours in the expectation that an average DIY person will not exceed that design within the guarantee period. Anyone with any real use for the tool has a good chance of exercising that guarantee. I agree with Danny that the grinder gets the hardest life with the drill coming a distant second so if money is tight spend big on the grinder before any other tool.
 
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I just burnt out a drill master grinder from harbor freight. It was on sale for 9.99. It lasted 11 months and it had a good amount of use in that time cleaning millscale and grinding welds. It was almost to hot to hold with my welding gloves, but i wanted to finish the last piece, so I probably abused it more than i should have. For a little less dollar a month, it being the cheapest available, low expectations and abused, I'm glad at how long it lasted.
 
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Very true, so buy quality 110/120v gear. Grinders are the most abused of tools. They spend most of their lives ingesting the dirt they create. Its a wonder they last as long as they do. :)

Yep. Was planning on picking up something nice if B&D hadn't hooked it up. Will do when this one dies
 
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I just burnt out a drill master grinder from harbor freight. It was on sale for 9.99. It lasted 11 months and it had a good amount of use in that time cleaning millscale and grinding welds. It was almost to hot to hold with my welding gloves, but i wanted to finish the last piece, so I probably abused it more than i should have. For a little less dollar a month, it being the cheapest available, low expectations and abused, I'm glad at how long it lasted.
Definitely got your money's worth.
 
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Apr 26, 2021
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Was running into an issue with the bolts that are used as front wheel lugs.

Had welded them thicker, but when inserted the threads were inside the hub bearing. On top of that, roughly 1/4" back from the start of them was unwelded.

Left like that I'd have ended up with quite the wobble.

Tried a couple fixes. Ended up turning one of the nuts into a bearing insert by sanding half of it down.


Side note. My motor showed up this week and a couple days ago I ordered a kweld, 2 6s14p bms', nickel plated copper and various other things for building a couple batteries.
 
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Ran out of super glue and spaced on it since I've been busy with work.

Improvised another solution for keeping parts in place while tack welding the steering.

Had a bottle of this laying around for when I work with leather and fabric.


Gotta clean the excess glue off the plate as it's causing the nut to affect the angle of the metal. I'm guessing the tube is kicked out enough to proceed further welding.


If anyone thinks otherwise, let me know.
 
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Apr 26, 2021
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What size is the bolt for the axle you used in the last picture?
The hub inner diameter is 12mm.

Was having issues finding something that work so I went with a 3/8 hex key bolt.

From there I welded a washer to the heads and ground them to the same size as the outer diameter of the inner bearing.

Increased the thickness of the bolt jackets from 9.52 mm to roughly 11.8 mm via welding, grinding, filing and sanding.

With the improvised nut bearing insert added to the mix, the bolts seem pretty snug and secure.
 
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