Guys contemplating starting construction of my own chassis table, lets see some photos and advice from anyone out there. Rick Wisconsin
Unless you are doing this as a professional, I would simply frame up a table of 3/4 particle board top and wood framing underneath. Most shop floors are uneven so use wood shims hot glued to the floor to level the jig on three axis. I have some old 35mm photos of just such a contraption. It worked fine on several projects. And it doesn't break the bank constructing the thing. What is cool about it is you can use construction screws to secure the top as well as any blocks or fixtures and you can take the thing apart when your through. I would refer you to Richard Finch's book, Performance Welding, as an excellent source of valuable information.
Or be even more of a cheapskate like me and frame up wood from the pit. All braced and straight. Works fine.
Keep one other thing in mind: when you pull the body off it should bolt onto your stand at the factory mounting points and your chassis,(frame) should be elevated at those same points. Any and all mods to either MUST be measured using the tri-angulated method. Measure 3 times from different fixed points, then, use the same points and measurements if they affect the body and DON'T forget the front clip. Wood isn't reliable for accuracy as it compresses withtime under the weight of old iron. One last thing is to level out your stands using a plumb bob, string and a level! That's an old secret and hope that helps! CAL1954 AT THE TOP HAS GOT IT RIGHT!!
I don't have any pics of mine. It is 3/8 plate top, 10'x40" it stands 12" off the floor. I added 4 trailer jacks with wheels. I can level it on an surface, and with the wheels it is easy to move, adjusts up to 36" tall. nice depending on what you are working on. I spent $600 on it a few years ago. Right now it is a big catch all table in the shop.
At the same time i built a model a body jig using one of the the factory spec measurement diagrams, one of the aftermarket diagrams, not sure who's.
See, this is what I'm talking about. These 2 guys put as much thought, work and steel into the table as their rods! Good job guys!!
I also have a plywood top, with lines drawn every 2" on the 48", and lines on the twelves on the 8' that i can lay on top.
Can't show you a pic of just the table but it had a central spine of 4" x 4" with perpendicular ribs of 3 3/4". It was very open so I could get to everything and it had castors. It worked great for me. By the way, there are a number of threads on this subject already with some fantastic ideas. Just search frame tables or frame jigs etc. Pete
Thanks for the kind words 5756r! Like you said wood will move. My advice is to spend the extra money and build a steel table. I don't have that much money in mine. Maybe $300 to $400 and a day or two. In the long run it will pay for itself. On a steel table once you jig something up its going to stay in place! You can get pretty aggressive with things and know that your not going to bump or tweek something out of place. Plus once you get your ride height set, tire heights and all the cross members set its kinda like connecting the dots. It makes it so easy. Takes all the guess work out of it.
Nice looking table I was just thinking of making one. Is that the same type of table that Troy uses? What did you do different... size, spacing, the little things that make a huge difference. How about some overall measurements of the table, and anything you'd do differently, if you built another one. Thanks for sharing.
good picts are on metal shapers site of chris davenports 40 aluminum willys build. google chris davenport 40 willys ... shows chassis and body build
Yep exact same tables we used at Troy's. The only thing I did different with mine is make it so the legs unbolt and the table drops down to 12" tall. With the bottom legs on the table its 3 foot tall. Like at Troy's the bottom legs also have trailer hubs on the rear of it and a center pivot in the front so I can bolt tires on it and the entire table acts as a wagon. Makes it really nice for moving and also loading on a trailer if the need be. The table itself is 72 inches wide and 15 foot long. Troy's were all 18 foot long. It was always pretty crazy taking an entire car off a 3 foot tall table at Troy's so I made my table so that it can be brought down to just a foot and its easy to get a fully assembled car on and off.
I just sold a dedicated bench to a hamber. It had came with 7 boxes of fixtures for holding all the important parts of your build.
here,s a couple of the set-up i built when i was doing the 25.4 backhalf on my 75 vega , plans are to skin the top with 3/8" plate down the road
I built mine fron square tubing. Just a perimeter box with provisions for rotation on each end. Each end rotates on a stand(think like an engine stand). It can now be rotated vertical and slid against a wall to save space when not in use. The rotation really makes position welding and grinding a breeze. I also placed the mounting brackets to accept frame rails upside down. This allows placement of front and rear axles while rails are secure in the jig. Steve
I built mine from lightweight 8" wide flange sections salvaged from a rooftop AC unit. Sized to minimize cutting and maximize length (8'-9" x 34" x 40" tall). Surplus castors and 3/4" leveling bolts. Total cost, $80 and beer.
Twenty five hundred pounds of american steel. Uhhhh. Heres the build link. In the works is one for the garage. Itll be a little bit more movable. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=385383
http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=65141&d=1249096194 this one weighs 12,000lbs if i,m not mistaken
Has anybody got any pic's of that boxing jig thing that Sqeek Bell uses to box his 32 rails, that was a cleaver and compact design.
Here's mine. The main bed is welded together with removeable legs. The cross bars with vertical supports are made to fit a 33-4 frame, ut are removable. Future plans are to make set of supports up to do Model A's, 32's and 35-40's. I used a straight original frame, a professionally boxed frame, and Wescott measurments to determine what to fab the standoffs to.
I made mine as my first welding project with a new TIG welder - was a great experience. I probably spent about $1500 on steel - as steel was REALLY high at the time. Decided to make the ends like engine stands - so I can rotate the entire chassis to weld at any angle. This was a REALLY great idea in that there are so many places you need to weld if you're starting from scratch - like I did on my 34 frame. I made the ends exactly the same as engine stands, so I can use them for that purpose later on. Also, I made all the cross tubes with sliding mounts to pickup the frame rails - that way it can be adjusted to ANY frame. I know I'll be doing a 40 Merc, a 32, etc -- might as well make things adjustable. Here are some pictures - hope it helps somebody!
Mine is made of 4x3/8 tube and has a 3.5"x 1/2" plate on top that was drilled every 3 " and tapped so you can bolt to it for easy jigs and mounts. I use a laser system for level and centerlines. I built it about 3 years ago and can not figure out for the life of me how I did it before having this. Mine is bolted into the floor and shimmed to 1/32" of level. Kevin LFD Inc.
so can a guy go to town welding up a frame with a stout table?....i've often thought you could go thru all that work ....unclamp it ...and have one corner jump up 3/4 of an inch
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