Turbo Twister

I cant remember the last place I posted about the planks of timber I said I would post photos of so here they are! This one is a spalted beech table top I made recently for a friend, with an ash frame, coloured epoxy with a clean coat epoxy resin finish. The below planks are spalted ash, I will probably make live edge tables with them when they dry out in a year or two.. Happy New Year everyone!

Hey everyone! The new parts for the starter motor came today, so dad has kindly replaced the old ones. He plans to fit the starter motor tomorrow along with a seal. I haven't look at the trailer since my last post as we are very busy in worl with the run up to Christmas. I hope to get stuck in a few days before xmas next week and get it completed! I did fit 4x reflectors to the front and rear racks so it's at least looking a bit better.

Thanks @Goober, we have already made up the telescopic hitch which seems to work quite well (although I haven't actually tested it yet as the starter motor is disassembled currently). I did start on making up a way of quickly attaching/detaching the sides quickly but the weather has been awful here so I didn't get any photos. Hopefully I can do some more work on it over the Christmas break as work is rather hectic in the final 2 weeks before break.

The idea of a single nut on the side is a terrible idea in my opinion. At least if you loose a nut on a 2 nut side cover, the other nut will get you out of a hole if you need to continue cutting. As a rule, single nut saws are generally hobby type saws or, in the case of climbing saws for pros (Stihl Ms200) for example. I once bought a husky and quickly replaced it for a Stihl. They do have a little more torque but I find they rattle your arms to jelly! I currently have all Stihls, an MS201T top handle saw and an MS661-C for milling and chopping up big stuff, I've a 42inch bar for it. Both saws have done a mountain of cutting for me, and apart from air filter and spark plug changes every year, neither have let me down. Buy cheap or buy twice!

A day out in my favourite county 'Cork'! Doing my favourite thing, and the weather was just right! Same again tomorrow on another farm for a relative, firewood and felling dangerous trees. Look at the really nice spalting on the ash! I planked two pieces to make coffee tables in the future, I'll post a pic of them another day.

I plan to drive mine, now that it is rebuilt! Heading to the south of Ireland on Friday to drive it all over the place and enjoy it! Might consider a winch on it next year but for now I'm not too pushed.

Milwakee claims it will out cut a petrol cut off saw of similar (kw) power. For a tool that size I would stick to mains electric or petrol, you'd go through a lot of batteries in no time. I have to say the Makita top handled 36v (dual 18v) chainsaw has impressive power, I have 2 petrol stihl saws, an ms201T and an ms 661c, both fantastic cutters in their class. Again, I'd go through a lot of batteries in a day if I was using a battery chainsaw lol. Some progress from dad today.

I agree you get what you pay for. I burnt out 2x makita battery grinders in less than 1.5 years and when I swapped out to dewalt, the difference in power was unreal! Any cutting tools, I find Dewalt better, but impact guns and drills, I prefer Makits, so I've the best of both worlds. I get about 35 mins of actual grinder cutting from a 9.0ah flexvolt battery which I think is pretty impressive for a 5inch grinder! And to top it off, the same battery will last me about 3 days with a chopsaw going flat out! The 54v (60v in your country) batteries are very expensive in Ireland but a good deal cheaper in England if you buy them in bulk!

@Mac102004

Mac, have you seen the new 144v Milwakee battery? It's for use with a cordless cut off saw or big concrete breaker.. it's only $1200 per battery!😂 I have a lot more cordless gear than dad mentioned, along with approx 20 batteries, half makita, half dewalt. There is a huge selection of gear to choose from, as you say, some of it is still quite expensive but that will change in the future.

I have a chop saw from dewalt but the rotary speed is terrible, I will probably swap it for a makita one in a few months as their cutting tools seem to spin a lot faster. I can then fit a steel cutting blade to the chopsaw and use it for wood and steel.

Mac, its the best grinder I've ever had! I bought my first 60v dewalt grinder 3 years ago and it had to be replaced under warranty after 5 months due to a faulty switch. I have used and abused this current one and cannot fault it one bit, the only thing it doesn't like is aluminium, itll kill the battery in no time (I probably should look for better cutting discs for it). Overall, I couldn't live without it, as dad says, cable days are long gone! On a side note, a lot of safety officers in Ireland and going to be banning 110v tools on building sites in years to come as the cordless gear is far more advanced in safety features!

So it was fairly chilly this evening! The frost is settling in hard these days so a good time to keep warm with the welder. I first cut out the sheeting for the floor and gave the trailer frame a coat of etch primer to stop any welds rusting over. Then I got stuck into the 4x frames for the sides, front and rear. I decided initially to cut everything square and use plastic caps on the open ends to stop dirt getting stuck, but then quickly decided to do 45 degree mitred joints instead with a full bead of weld, a much better job and no plastic required. It took me about 2.5 hours to mark out and cut everything with an angle grinder, I don't have a metal chopsaw due to lack of use for one so I think I did well to get the cuts reasonable tight fitting. I won't be able to do any more until next week as I'm away down the country with the bike and chainsaws for some weekend firewood cutting with friends and family (long overdue!). Enjoy the pics..

Telescopic hitch complete! I drilled 4 holes through the smaller box steel so I can tow the trailer at varying drawbar lengths depending on the terrain. The spring loaded bolt works great too, its quite tight which is the finish I wanted, reduced rattle etc.. Enough done for one day, we are off hunting tomorrow! Happy weekend everyone.

That was sitting idle on the ground for a few months, and yes, the back if it was used as a persuader at times haha! I know I was on about making the bed 3ft by 3ft but since dad's idea about the telescopic hitch, I can afford to leave it 4ft x 3ft. Its actually just shy of 4ft wide when you add the wheels aswell. And it fits very snuggly in my van which is even better. Hubs being fit, I made a spacer with 2x 20mm box tubes welded side by side, then welded a 6mm thick plate 100mm x 200mm onto them, the welded the lot onto the frame so I have room to get a nut on each bolt, it worked out better than expected.

Very nice e Melatv, I'll have the axle 1/3 of the ways in from the back of the frame, I find f it much easier to reverse a trailer with them further back rather than centred. But I will do a detail like yours for in front of the wheels

I have, in the space of 3 hours, cut the basic frame for the trailer, welded it all together and am enjoying some of my mothers yummy toasted sandwiches before I crack on. I think its clear my welds have improved since I began the bike restoration. I also have 2 handy 90° angle clamps to square up all the steel before tacking, it has made a big difference and everything is nice and square (and flat!). The new frame is super light and with just the hubs and wheels also being permanently fixed, it should make it very easy to move around. Once I have the hub plates welded and drilled out I will begin the sides.

Wahoo!! The rear brake and diff guards came in the post this morning. The brake guard is in good condition, just needs a lick of paint but the diff guard will need some paint and new rubbers. (I might have these mixed up?) I'll be starting the trailer frame this morning so stay tuned!

That's a great idea Melatv, I'll certainly add that into the build. I could combine it into a mudguard bracket if I decide to put mud guards on.

If I'd have known you'd be selling a mint 300, I'd have held off on restoring the one I bought 🤣 Jokes aside, that bike looks brand new! Well done you on restoring it to that condition

My passion for quads started when I was 5 and bought that exact Britains Model quad and trailer! You guys have some very nice gear to boast! What I'd do to have some of it here in Ireland lol

As I'm out on sick leave currently, I had plenty of time to mess around with different designs for the new trailer frame. I want it to be as light as possible but also strong and able to take some battering. I will only be carrying firewood or saws and cutting equipment or grain in it. The attached photo is quite detailed and all walls of steel section are 3mm thick, I find it hard to weld anything thinner than 3mm with my welder but 5mm is too heavy and expensive. Dad suggested an idea he has on his boat trailer already, so I am going to have a telescopic trailer hitch where I simply pull a spring loaded bolt and slide the draw bar (40mm x 40mm) into the 50mm x 50mm box section that will be welded to the underside of the trailer frame. I will then be making up 4 rectangles for the sides, front and rear, using 20mm x 20mm box steel. They will sit down into pockets and be bolted to each other at the top where each panel meets end to end (I haven't drawn this yet but have it in my head). I will then clad the inside of each frame with checker plate aluminium. For the main body I am using 40mm box section with 20mm box section stiffeners to stop any twisting. I will be re using the old hubs (with new bearings) and wheels off the old trailer as I like that they are quite small (approx 14 inches in diameter), so will make the trailer compact in height and easy to get into the van. I will also reuse the hitch from the old trailer. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions please. I want to have it as simple to make and easy to assemble as I can. Colours in photo are just to highlight everything.

I agree, I did something similar about 6 years ago, but I had two old trailers and made a new one out of the two. I find it easier to build from scratch than to chop and change something old. It's also a pain in the !, like trying to put make-up on a pig!

After some considerable thought, I have decided to start the trailer from scratch, all new metal and aluminium. The problem with the trailer I inherited is the frame is too heavy and overkill for the use I need it for. I purchased a load of steel and a sheet of checker plate aluminium today with dad so hopefully I'll be in workable health this weekend to get the frame started. Will post a few drawings (better than my previous sketch) of what I plan to do when I get around to drawing it out.

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