A selection of previous and current builds

Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
94
Location
Sagle, Idaho USA
Popshot!

You are obviously a well accomplished builder and very prolific to boot! I am amazed and inspired! I know you have a preference for tadpole trikes- do you have a favorite out of all of these fine examples?
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
94
Location
Sagle, Idaho USA
Very nicely done! I could not tell that one from a fatory built machine! If I ge..t the hubs somehow, that will be my next project! Question- with the seat leaned back that far, do you find your body slides up and down in the seat with each kick?

P.S. I looked up the hubs you mentioned and they do not seem to be shipping any to the USA. - They are a fine bargain, for sure, but somehow Shimano is not shipping that particular model to the USA. Could be just the supplier- Chain Reaction.

I was given a rear hub motor and a controller, and now an entire Ebike, but it has it's battrey mounted on the rear luggage rack, and it is very unwieldy to dismount from as all the weight is in the rear. This one would be a good donor candidate if my benefactor would allow me to scavenge the parts for a tadpole project like yours.

Progress from yesterday-

With my crooked holes in the mount where the USS handlebars pivot, I was getting a tension change depending on the position of the bars, so I tore it back down and re-welded the holes up, re drilled and tack welded everything back together.
much straighter now, but there is still some tightening at the limits of travel. This seems to be less now and I would say it's an acceptable amount of bias towards the center of travel, so I will concentrate on the seat stays now and shoot for a test ride early this week.

Mig welder - sputtering when you first pull the trigger- this lasts about 2-3 seconds and finally settles down- I am having to aim away from the weld just a bit so that the sputtreing stops before I aim the gun at the weld area. Could be it's not getting the gas flooded onto the weld soon enough? The gas pressure is plenty high enough at 15psi.
Any ideas on that?
 
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Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
Question- with the seat leaned back that far, do you find your body slides up and down in the seat with each kick?


Mig welder - sputtering when you first pull the trigger- this lasts about 2-3 seconds and finally settles down- I am having to aim away from the weld just a bit so that the sputtreing stops before I aim the gun at the weld area. Could be it's not getting the gas flooded onto the weld soon enough? The gas pressure is plenty high enough at 15psi.
Any ideas on that?
It would take a lot more power than I generate to move my lard on the seat. I doubt even the most powerful and lightweight would have issue either.

With the mig you may have too high a pressure on the gas. Too little gives sputtering and too much gives spattering. Similar but different. It may also be as simple as a worn tip or liner. The tip is important in transfering the current to the wire and a poor tip will not do that well. Equally a poor earth will struggle. First use after not welding for a while I send a couple of seconds of wire through to get the co2 up the tube before starting.
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2016
Messages
357
Location
Lanc's, England
Mig welder - sputtering when you first pull the trigger- this lasts about 2-3 seconds and finally settles down- I am having to aim away from the weld just a bit so that the sputtreing stops before I aim the gun at the weld area. Could be it's not getting the gas flooded onto the weld soon enough? The gas pressure is plenty high enough at 15psi.
Any ideas on that?
Normally the gas for mig and tig are measured in volume not pressure, a correct gas setting should be about 15-20 cuft/hr or 8-10 ltr/min.
15 psi sound to high for me, you probable blow away the weld with the pressure build up, try lowering the gas down until you just hear a faint hiss.
Try welding and increase slightly if not enough, it should be as low as possibly.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
1,359
Location
Netherlands
This is a terrible hobby, you keep building. 😂😂
Looking good. You have a very nice collection of builds.
I wish that I had the space, then I could build more than I can now.
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2022
Messages
159
Location
Norfolk UK
Some great bikes there Popshot. They all seem to have at least one interesting inovative design 'quirk' you can see and no doubt a lot that aren't immediately obvious. Just a shame the build logs aren't available for them. I'm horribly unimaginative and to see and read how others have come up with original ways to build is very inspiring.

I'm also amazed at the patience some Zombies have. Reading how you and Paul and others try and retry your ideas till you get it right puts me to shame. I've just cut up my overlong bent as I really couldn't get comfortable with such a beast. It felt like I'd need to start turning into my drive before the rear end entered the village? I'm now back on the Deltarunner/Timberwolf lookalike which I hope will be more successful.

Thanks for putting up the pics.

John
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,575
Location
Nottinghamshire England
I'm horribly unimaginative and to see and read how others have come up with original ways to build is very inspiring.
Hands up I just copied an American design for Python 1

I'm also amazed at the patience some Zombies have. Reading how you and Paul and others try and retry your ideas till you get it right puts me to shame.
Well it much easier starting with a working design and massaging it into the design you want than a blank piece of paper.....
However Popshot & DannyC will probably tell you how perverse I am when I have an idea that I think will work and a Jack Russell obsession ......
This is maybe not healthy ;)

Paul
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2022
Messages
159
Location
Norfolk UK
Ive read your build thread of the Python-a-like Paul and saw how long and how involved it was trying several different frames and cutting things apart and remaking till you got a trike you were happy with. I did consider cutting and shutting my Wildcat but decided the main spine was too complex to do a simple shortening job on and I made the mistake of starting to alter the size and shape before I really knew what I was doing. Lesson learned. Brad's designs are pretty optimal so I will stick to his basics while I learn a lot more. Once I have somehing built and rolling I can think about alterations of my own.

John
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
94
Location
Sagle, Idaho USA
Normally the gas for mig and tig are measured in volume not pressure, a correct gas setting should be about 15-20 cuft/hr or 8-10 ltr/min.
15 psi sound to high for me, you probable blow away the weld with the pressure build up, try lowering the gas down until you just hear a faint hiss.
Try welding and increase slightly if not enough, it should be as low as possibly.
Pegasus- I will try 10 liters/min and see how that goes- Thanks for the info. I am also seeing a big difference when welding something that is laying flat as compared to something that is vertical. Pretty sure the gas is not staying around the weld at all in the vertical position.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
Every welder struggles with vertical more than flat. The weld pool simply wants to run away. Where ever you can, rotate your work so you can weld flat. Where you have to weld vertical try to keep the arc at the edge of the pool so it builds up less or revert to simply spot welding a half second or so and then move along the work in that manner, spot welding the entire join one spot at a time. That way there'll be no pool running away
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2022
Messages
159
Location
Norfolk UK
'Spot' welding is a good all round method on thinner stuff in any position. You can use a bit higher amperage without burning through and get good penetration in the joint.
Don't know if it's my cheap welding helmet or just elderly eyes but I find it hard to see the joint as I'm welding and often find I've strayed well away from my intended line when I've finished a run especially if I'm welding at a funny angle while crawling round on the floor! Doing short tack welds instead allows me to see where I am as each one cools a tad so I can adjust my aim as I go along.
John
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
94
Location
Sagle, Idaho USA
It would take a lot more power than I generate to move my lard on the seat. I doubt even the most powerful and lightweight would have issue either.

With the mig you may have too high a pressure on the gas. Too little gives sputtering and too much gives spattering. Similar but different. It may also be as simple as a worn tip or liner. The tip is important in transfering the current to the wire and a poor tip will not do that well. Equally a poor earth will struggle. First use after not welding for a while I send a couple of seconds of wire through to get the co2 up the tube before starting.
Popshot- yes my results are very inconsistent. I turned down the gas pressure to 10 liters per minute instead of using 15psi and that may help, but today I noticed that I was backing off the position too far (about an inch total stick out) in an unconcious effort to see the weld puddle on the other side of the gun
Pegasus- I will try 10 liters/min and see how that goes- Thanks for the info. I am also seeing a big difference when welding something that is laying flat as compared to something that is vertical. Pretty sure the gas is not staying around the weld at all in the vertical position.
Pegasus- Update on my welding- The 10 liters per minute seems to be better. There is less popping after the instant the trigger is pulled. I would guess one second instead of three.

Even when welding vertical it seems like less popping, although vertical still has a longer wait for the weld to get established.

Today was a good test for the Mig rig- I tried the 10 L/min and also was very religious about only welding on shinye metal.

Maybe it's just me, but I always go back and grind out any porosity I find. That slows me down considerably.

Progress- I'm still staying with the cable steering system for now- After studdying some of AZ' details on the Aurora trike it looks like there was a definite requirement to have the steering post and the head tube angle match each other. I was thinking this might be the reason why my cables were getting tighter and looser as I rotated the under seat steering.

(My steering post was not parallel with the head tube) I am still modifying my USS tubing to allow for this change, but that should be done today or tommorrow. I'm hoping that this will be the last change to my parts locations as changing anything from this point on will be a bit more difficult. Thanks to you all for your inputs on the Mig welding!

Mig welder - Pre flow gas-? I think that would be a good idea- not sure how to implement, but having a 1/2 second of gas flow before the wire starts moving would be good insurance for a more reliable start. It takes about this long for everything to get moving anyway, and if the arc is not shielded 100%, it will do nasty things to the work.
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
94
Location
Sagle, Idaho USA
Finally got it tacked up! The Mig welder is behaving itself somewhat better now and if I could just remember to turn on the gas again after coming back from lunch! Arrrrgh!!
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
94
Location
Sagle, Idaho USA
Cable tension changing- Well after modifying the angle of the steering tube to match the 15 degree angle of the head tube the problem still was there. Ended up taking the 15 degree angle bracket back out and making the pulley parallel with the cable loop ( no tilt) and the cable tension is now constant regardless of the amount the handlebars are turned.
 
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Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
94
Location
Sagle, Idaho USA
Note to self- cable tension is stable after changing from pivot arms back to pullley system. No more tension changing when steering away from straight ahead.
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
94
Location
Sagle, Idaho USA
Popshot- yes my results are very inconsistent. I turned down the gas pressure to 10 liters per minute instead of using 15psi and that may help, but today I noticed that I was backing off the position too far (about an inch total stick out) in an unconcious effort to see the weld puddle on the other side of the gun

Pegasus- Update on my welding- The 10 liters per minute seems to be better. There is less popping after the instant the trigger is pulled. I would guess one second instead of three.

Even when welding vertical it seems like less popping, although vertical still has a longer wait for the weld to get established.

Today was a good test for the Mig rig- I tried the 10 L/min and also was very religious about only welding on shinye metal.

Maybe it's just me, but I always go back and grind out any porosity I find. That slows me down considerably.

Progress- I'm still staying with the cable steering system for now- After studdying some of AZ' details on the Aurora trike it looks like there was a definite requirement to have the steering post and the head tube angle match each other. I was thinking this might be the reason why my cables were getting tighter and looser as I rotated the under seat steering.

(My steering post was not parallel with the head tube) I am still modifying my USS tubing to allow for this change, but that should be done today or tommorrow. I'm hoping that this will be the last change to my parts locations as changing anything from this point on will be a bit more difficult. Thanks to you all for your inputs on the Mig welding!

Mig welder - Pre flow gas-? I think that would be a good idea- not sure how to implement, but having a 1/2 second of gas flow before the wire starts moving would be good insurance for a more reliable start. It takes about this long for everything to get moving anyway, and if the arc is not shielded 100%, it will do nasty things to the work.
Well after watching some mig welding videos on You Tube I took a tip from one of them and trimmed back the outer gas nozzle edge so that it is flush with the tip. Wow- what a difference!

The weld porosity is almost gone and I can spot weld vertical much easier. I would reccomend this change immediately to anyone that is having trouble with porosity or sputtering weld starts and stops!
 
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