frame jig and almost in the new shop

Hey I'm almost in the new shop hopefully by next week. Anyway does anyone have a set of plans to some measurements for a frame jig I have an idea but would like some input? thanks gordon

 

BTTT! Gordini...Next time talk shit about the Goodguys or maybe what is "traditional" and you might get some input.

 

I have been wondering about this myself. I am thinking of locating a used table from a frame pulling machine to use as a platform for a frame jig. I want to make it portable, or on wheels, so that I could move it out of the shop when it is not needed.

 

hey flesh, did you ever take pictures of that elcamino? is it still for sale? email me if it is. flamedranchero@hotmail.com

thanks

 

flesh danny`s freind in oregon has one set up for 32 frames he has his made so it stores upright against the wall pretty nice setup may be danny could take some pics and mesurements for some plans his screen name is vondanno

 

thanks some picture would be good.

 

I'd like to see what everyone else has too. I'm moving into a new shop soon and am going to build a frame jig so my next frame will not be 1/2" off on the wheelbase. Dimensions and tubing sizes would be nice. I was thinking 2x2 tube and just wide enough for a pair of deuce rails. of course, I've never used one, so I don't know what the main design points are. Dave

 

I built a frame table years ago from 8" X 1/4" chanel and 4 X 4 .250" wall tubing with a 1/2" thick top plate. It is 4' wide by 16' long, two four by eights end to end.

 

from there we can drill and tap holes in the surface and bolt things in place. It has six legs with adjustable feet that allows me to level out the surface. I had a surveyor friend of mine come over with his transit and we set it level with the earth, and it is flat within 1/16" over the entire surface. I bought good quality plate for the top, it was a bit more but well worth the money spent. All told I have about a grand in time and materials to build this.

IF you want I can take some more recent pictures of it and more detail shots. Some of what you cant see well in the above pic are the reinforced slots in the side so I can pick it up with my forklift and take it with me when I move out of this shop.

 

Its had a number of different projects on it including whole vehicles, this one for instance. Truckin' magazines "WFST" and lastly I had a 65 Nova II on it. I wish I took better pics of that one.

 

Thats a whole lot more than I'm going to need at this point. I just need something to build old ford frames with. I like the idea of a good surface to drill, tap and bolt stuff to. I think 4' wide is a good number, 16' might be too long for me, but since the steel comes in 8' lengths, it would be easiest. Dave

 

i don't have pix, but maybe i can describe my friend's frame jigs. he has 4 of them in his shop that he built. of course most of us don't need 4 of them, but he's in business to make $ so he can't be waiting on a jig to become available. his are basically two longitudinal rails with cross rails about a foot apart. the cross rails are about 4' long and the long rails are about a foot longer than the longest frame he would be building. i'm guessing that would be 33-34 frames, but i'm not sure. sort of like a set of train tracks/ties. the cross rails might be longer than 4', too. keith's dimensions aren't that critical; you're going to build yours to suit whatever frames you'll be working on anyway.

i believe these rails are all 2x4 heavy wall tubing, but again don't quote me on that.

the slick part on these jigs is that they are all mounted at working height with swivel joints on each end so it is in effect a large rotisserie. each end is built similarly to the head of an engine stand, with a hand crank driven gear in one end so that you can rotate the frame to make welding easier.

the whole deal is on a frame down at the floor level with casters so they can be rolled around the shop.

if it weren't 2 hours away i'd go take some pix (assuming he would let me) for you. but that just ain't gonna happen in the near future.

i'm going to build my "T" frame on my shop floor, shimming the pieces to level as i go. but if i were going to be building a jig i think i'd copy keith's. this will probably be the only frame i'll build in my lifetime and it would take more time and $ to build one of these jigs than it will to build my frame.

 

elpolacko,u got any gaurd dogs at that shop..........need any,i would'nt charge u a dime just so i could f--k with your shit laying around there.

 

I made a table out of two 10 in I-beams 33in on center,mounted on4x4 legs with 6in chanel cross bracing on the I beams.On top of that are 2x2x.250 tubes on 8in centers.The I beams wern't all that flat.Before I mounted the tubes I took it to a buddy that just installed a HUGE horozontal mill.I halled away the dirt for the 5 foot thick concreat pad that it sits on.The table for the mill is 14in thick steel and 20 foot by 30 foot.He flatened my beams when he was tring out the mill.This winter he is puting up his 20 foot plainer and that will be something to see in opperation.The 2x2 tubes all were twisted along their length so I welded one side and twisted the other with a 18in long steel pplate,1/2 in thick with a square hole torched in it and pulled with a ratchet chain binder to square them. All this was easier than a new flat floor in the front of my barn.

 

Another resource is metalshapers.org. in the gallery there is a couple pictures of frame jigs. hope this helps

Garth