Back to the Log Book now after a break. Want to thank everyone again for all of their support on KickStarter.
June 19, Father’s Day -
We all go to San Rafael in the Mini: Mary, Jason, Andrea, Me and Phaedra. It was a bit like a clown car with all of us wedged in but well worth the trip. Family, Father’s, friends & food!
Spent the rest of the day at NIMBY. It gave me great pleasure to work with Jason on Father’s day.
Jason helped cleaning up the removed temporary supports for the boom that were on the blade/stylus/plane. I have yet to figure out how to think of this as a tool. We will modify it for this year on the playa, make it as wide as the tracks so that we may erase our tracks, but leave a full width (6’-6” wide) line or smooth surface.
Much has happened since that last entry!
Yesterday we up ended Maria with the forklift so JP could finish the structural welds on the bottom side of the tilt frame. He should be able to finish the structural welding - ALL OF IT - tomorrow or the next day! What a haul!
The primary lift cylinder is at a shop in Richmond being modified to fit better and allow the car to sit lower on the tracks; a kind of “wheel fitment” issue.
The bump rubbers are in place. The tilt cylinders fit and are preliminarily mounted. The boom is done with holes drilled for routing hydraulic lines.
Figuring out the hydraulic lines is a real puzzler. The rotation of the cylinders (tilt) - the arc they swing is extreme - over 90°. The slack hydraulics/lines needed for their movement is too much to manage simply. Dave P has suggested an articulated carrier, which I think is the way to go. Need to research.
I have two new heavier duty push pull cables to try for the controls.
Using Teleflex /Morse cables that my Dad used to sell for boats- these are what I knew, but their automotive/industrial line: Kongsburg, are about 30% cheaper. Curious.
At this point, I think we are about 3 weeks behind schedule. So much time off for personal (yet necessary and fun) travel has seriously impacted the schedule.
We should be finishing up the formwork for the fiberglass by now. Hope to have the basic hydraulics working by the end of June so we can start.
I put a Maria del Camino decal on the back window of our Mini and I’ve been wearing my Maria T-shirt as often as possible! Ramping up towards Burning man.
More photo information:
Drilling nearly complete! Note the last bit of template below the fin- a hand full of holes that the drill cannot reach from the outside.
Our hero. John Porter preparing for the last structural welds on the tilt frame.
Testing the movements. With the boom raised, the swing/arc of the cylinders is checked to determine the length of the hydraulic lines.
Details, details. Here you can see the bump rubbers for the boom on the pillars and the spool valves are finally mounted. Ready to run the hoses and cables.
