how about a quick and dirty project for a change?? this one will come in VERY handy, especially when painting and wet sanding fenders. i came up with this idea a couple days ago, finaly implimented it today. here goes.... basicaly i took some steel sawhorses i had previously made from old chainlink fence posts (there is another idea for ya. kinda a two fer one tech post) and added brackets to hold the fenders for our Bug project. you can do this for any fender (and prolly some other parts too) and it is a good STURDY way to support your fenders at a workable height so you don't miss any spots when your painting (thats what happened the first time these fenders got painted and thats what prompted this idea). this is what we're building....
first thing i did was have my trusty****istant Jake hold the fender a few inches away from the sawhorse at the height i wanted and took a couple quick and rough measurements from the stand to a hole in the fenders edge. in the case of the rears a 45 degree (or so) angle would need to be made to get the fender out and then mount it verticle to the stand. i took my measurements and transfered them to some 3/4 x 1/8 bar stock i got from the Tractor Supply store for under $6 for 72 inches. i did this four times, two for each fender. then i had Jake drill a hole, big enough for the fender bolt to fit in, in the end of each piece. then Jake put the first inch of the piece in the vise (the end WITH the hole in it) and hammered it till it resembled a 45. do this 4 times and we're half way there...
we loosly bolted the brackets to the fender and i had Jake hold it in position again while i tack welded the bracket to the sawhorse. after doing the brackets at each end it was decided it needed to be a little sturdier so a third bracket was added for each fender in the middle and to further help keep the wobbles away a piece was welded between the two middle uprights to tie it all together. it's sturdy enough for some wet sandin now!! this is pic is before the cross piece was added to the center uprights...
for the front fenders we skipped the center uprights and just made a piece to hold the tops of the two fenders together. it's not quite as sturdy but i don't have any more sanding to do on these so it is definately sturdy enough for painting and even for some light sanding if need be. the end pieces for this stand were'nt bent on the 45 like the other, just slightly bent by hand after being tacked on. like i said, it's quick and dirty and the great thing is, when your done you just cut the tabs off and you have your saw horses back. i suppose if you were going to do several of the same kind of fenders over and over you could build the stand a little nicer, but why bother for one time use? the center cross piece....
a special thanks to my little neighbor buddy Jake. this kid has already got more skills than i dreamed of having at his age, smart too. i could'nt have done it without him. here he is drillin the brackets. child labor laws my*****! ...
[ QUOTE ] Hey! You mowed the lawn! It looks nice [/ QUOTE ] LOL! you would notice that, but what about my cool stands???
[ QUOTE ] Hey! You mowed the lawn! It looks nice [/ QUOTE ] Don't let him kid you, Donzie probley did it and your stands look great Mike.... can I borrow them when it comes time to wet sand Big Olds?
nice Stand idea!!! You got more posts than my "frenching headlights"!!! I have to admit, my eyes were on the VW fenders as well thinking...WTF??? Nice job and great idea.
[ QUOTE ] I have to admit, my eyes were on the VW fenders as well thinking...WTF??? [/ QUOTE ] I'm sure you were just thinking, why isn't cherryblossoms bug done yet? Right?
[ QUOTE ] Man Pete, thise stands are pretty slick! [/ QUOTE ] "PETE"!!!!! you've been talkin to "Big Jake" Moomey have'nt you Court??
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