90 replies to this topic

[Richard G With]

Just bending a piece of wire is pretty easy, I suspect there are "chassis god" tricks for relieving stresses introduced in the process. I worked in a spring shop years ago and we baked springs to make sure they matched the blueprint specs.

 

Things like this might separate the good from great builds.

[bbr]

Bending wire – one bend only per wire.

[Cheater]

That was always my approach, Mike.

[MSwiss]

Other than a nickel per foot in the '70s, K&S wire use to be plated.

 

IIRC, they sold 1 foot pieces that were plated, but the 3 foot never was.

I came across the plated 1 foot. sections, when I got back in the early 80s and did not like it all.

I didn't think it soldered well at all.

[Jason Holmes]

I think Tony is Like me half the Man he use to Be LoL

 

Jason

[slotcarone]

I agree with Swiss about the plating. I have some .063 brass rod from the sixties and it is much harder than what we get now. The current stuff is soft when cut with cutters and the old stuff snaps with the same cutters.

[tonyp]

I almost never used the plated wire because I have had incidents back then when it would come off with the solder joint still attached to it. So if I had to use it I'd sand the crapola out of it.

[Larry Labounty]

The first chassis I ran at C&C had that problem. Also remember one wire cracked right in half. Pretty sure it was a straight  piece, not on a bend.

 

At the time I always wondered about the wire that was used.

[Cheater]

Regarding the Tonyp chassis building seminar, I now have the twelve video files and will be editing them and putting them into a single file this week. Still have to figure out the correct order for them.

 

Thanks to Gary Clinton Jr for filming this seminar and to Tony for doing it!

[tonyp]

Larry,

 

Back then I remember there were batches of wire that probably were processed wrong and would crack when bent; you had to be careful you did not use it.

[Milkman]

Yes Bill, I remember the races at C&C. I always looked forward to racing there and really learned a lot about chassis building from Tony's discussions about the craft. 

 

I was ecstatic when Retro racing came around as I'm a scratchbuilder at heart and love to tinker and experiment. I'm fortunate to have a raceway close by (in Texas terms) up in Dallas (only a 4-hour drive) that promotes and provides an excellent venue for Retro racing (though they use those "Evil" rules). 

 

I'd be interested in seeing Tony's presentation if it's recorded.

[JerseyJohn]

Hey Yoda,

 

I hope you're not giving it all away in your clinic... You know what I'm saying...

[Cheater]

I think he spilled all the beans, JJ.

 

After this seminar gets out, you'll probably never sell another chassis... LOL!

[tonyp]

You only tell what you want the geeks to know. LOL.

[Richard G With]

TonyP: This geek wants to know what soldering iron you use, and where can I get one?

[tonyp]

I use a Hakko FX601 that you can get on eBay.

[DOCinCanton]

I use the exact same one; its the best soldering iron that I have ever used.

[James Grandi]

Third vote for the FX601. Had mine over a year, only recently had to replace the tip - as long as you take good care of it, they will last for a long time. Perfect build and travel iron.

[tonyp]

Crank it up to 11 and nothing beats it.

[slotcarone]

Any way to get more volume on the videos? I can hardly hear it turned all the way up on the laptop.

[tonyp]

You're not allowed to watch it. I think Greg is consolidating it into one video and fixing what he can.

[slotcarone]

Pretty please pretty please Master can I watch it??? Thanks Tony!

[Tim Neja]

It's always GREAT to see how the great chassis guys "prep" their parts and pieces before ANY soldering gets done!! I love seeing all the different tools Tony uses and the simple techniques to get a part ready to put in the jig! It's all part of turning out a very true racing chassis! Thanks for taking the time to put this down on video!! 

I've got a lot of people to thank for helping me learn to build my own chassis---Dennis Samson,Bryan Warmack Mike Steube, Jeff Easterly, ALL helped showing me tools and techniques they use in building! It's made building FUN and interesting! And not to forget Keith Tanaka and Gonzo for hard body building!! THANK YOU to all who take the time to help us enjoy a great part of our "Retro" hobby!!

[alainprost22]

Enjoyed the videos.  Someone mentioned something about the cutoff disc/wheel, but, I couldn't make out what they said.  What kind of disc is that??  Do you have to purchase an additional tip, for the Haako??   I'll stick to buffing, rather than building ..

[Bill from NH]

Al, the cutoff disc is a larger diameter than the regular Dremel discs & it uses Dremel's snap-on, snap-off connector rather than the original screw-in arbor. I still use an Ungar so someone else will have to answer your Hakko question. But I know Hakko sells 5mm (.20") chisel tips.