Chassis Jig

[53Vipette]

I've been dragging my feet to build this jig for a while. My project is getting to the point where I had to have it to make any measurable progress, so I grabbed my debit card and rolled over to the metal supply yard. I went with four pieces of 4"x4"x20' .120 wall tubing and two sheets of 4'x8' 3/8" and a handful of scrap I had laying around the shop.

To start, I cut the main rails to 15' and then cut 2 piece more pieces of tube to 4' long. Overall, it'll be 56" wide. The metal yard pre-cut my 3/8" into two 6' x 2'. I chose to build in a vertical position because it was easier to find a 4" wide swath of shop floor that was almost lump free then something 4'x15' wide and smooth. The pics and time lapse don't show all the clamps and bracing I used to make everything square. It ended up being 1/16" out of square, I blame that on mismatched lengths of tube.

I hope you guys find this of use and I'll answer any questions you have.

Thanks for reading!


I recommend watching the time lapse of it so you can get a grasp of all the subtle nuances... However, as of right now it's still uploading at mid night on 1/24/2013 it should be done in about in a few hours.
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I had planned on TIG welding everything but was foiled by an almost empty bottle of Argon. Luckily, my handy Miller Matic 140 MIG was ready to go.

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I added these diagonal braces to keep it square and they will also support two similar pieces that run parallel to the main rails. Fast forward after two days of fabrication and you get this...

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I staggered the legs in an effort to balance any torsional loads. Added benefits are extra storage for tubing. The spread on the legs is roughly 5 1/2" so you can stack a fair amount of stuff.

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The piece of tubing that is under the 3/8" plate are guides to help the plate slide parallel to the main rails. The concept is to have the two main "pads" be movable for different length wheel bases. Once the pads are set I'll square and tack them in place. A third will be used for the motor and trans to sit on.

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[exwestracer]

Nice piece! You planning on sliding fixtures on the main rails to hold the frame?

[tommycomfort]

Awesome! I really enjoyed the Youtube video too. Seems like you can build one in no time at all...

[53Vipette]

Awesome! I really enjoyed the Youtube video too. Seems like you can build one in no time at all...

Yeah it only took me two minutes and now that you've seen a YouTube video about you are an expert lol. In all seriousness it wasn't that bad.

[53Vipette]

Nice piece! You planning on sliding fixtures on the main rails to hold the frame?

I was going to do stanchions that were welded to the main rails. I haven't figured that part out as of yet. I really wanted an open middle area so I could still get underneath easily.

[BK2LIFE]

what are you planning on building? sherman tanks??

that is a pretty serious 'table'.. i am pretty jealous of it.

i like the style, i am planning on one similiar, only taller, and not as wide. i like the sliding plates idea as well

[53Vipette]

The first one I wanted to build was out of massive I-Beams I found for cheap... Except there isn't a way in hell I could move it on my own. Without the plates its a manageable to move alone. The sliding plates will come in handy on future projects I think.

Thanks for reading guys.
Matt


what are you planning on building? sherman tanks??

that is a pretty serious 'table'.. i am pretty jealous of it.

i like the style, i am planning on one similiar, only taller, and not as wide. i like the sliding plates idea as well

[Bryce]

Very cool. Good luck with the chassis build.

[FlyDoc]

looks good, I like and want one also, but a two car garage, and living in Hawaii makes it very low on the tool list.
I would suggest a clamping system for the sliding plates, and adjustable feet so when you move it, you can make it square with the world.

[53Vipette]

I hustled today and was able to get the rear suspension out the car on the jig... stay tuned for more chassis jig related cool stuff.

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