I just want to do the paint and everything myself, So id rather just look for blank cases
yea you can try one of QCF’s cases or maybe even Voltech’s
Qcf?
Really nice looking cab! Whats the steel frame for? mounting screen etc? Im 80 miles from you and have access to a fabrication plant (well 2 actually) and am really rather good with a TIG or MIG set. If your friend doing it you may not need it but the offers there 
Any luck getting the frame yet?
Good on you Doomy. Great to see offers like that to help others out. That’s what makes this place a real community.
Doomy, I may take you up on that if I dont get any news from my friend by the end of the next week.
The frame I need is basically to act as the base/frame with the castor wheels at the bottom so its easy to move about.
I have already made a 3D model which I will upload shortly.
I basically need it in 2 or 3mm mild steel ( no need for stainless as it works out tooo expensive). It doesnt need polishing etc just fabricating and welding I will give it the brushed metal look and then clear coat it myself
Once you have had a look at it let me know how much you could get it done for. Pleeaaasssseeee
First of all, it would take a few hours to do that. At MY work place I could make all of that out of aluminium 3mm gauge. Not sure if you have considered aluminium before but that stuff is VERY strong and also as a bonus very light. I work for an american company so they tend to order in imperial measures. The fat sides - I know we have 3x1 in stock which is obviously 26mm or so deep but the width is perfect for your drawing. That makes your 38mm crossbraces too deep but we also have 2x1 which is gonna sit perfectly flush but will do exactly the same thing as the mild steel you want. I’m sure at my other fab plant i can get my hands on they will have a lot more steel choice but I honestly think that for what you want aluminium will be more than strong enough. If youd like I can get it powder coated too pretty much any colour whic saves the whole ‘wish I hadnt decided to polish this crap’ scenario.
How heavy is over all ish? Can sort you proper industrial castors too. I dont mind doing it, if my idea is OK for you you can sort me a few beers or something but for that cabinet its worth seeing it done right. Youd have to pick it up tho, I can deliver it but my missus would want petrol money as I dont drive (lol) but as I said im pretty close to you and I could get that done pretty quickly. Just give me the go ahead and I’ll get on it on tuesday. Maybe redraw it with 75x25 aluminium and 25x50 for me so I know exactly where those holes are going with the revised design but seriously, I’ve made underfloor supports for screens that hang 5 meters up with aluminium (50 inch plasma) and if its a height issue, decent castors will allow you to raise that difference.
Let me know!
Oh and the rounded front, cant immediately think how I’d do that but there are a few options, none that I could think of till I look at our extruded stuff.
Doomy, if you can fabricate this for me I would be over the moon and I would definately pay you for it!
I did consider aluminium to start with but most of the local guys who work with aluminium charge silly amounts for the smallest job. Thats why I thought mild steel would be cheaper and I could pretty much get anyone to weld it.
My only concern with aluminium is that I dont want it to bend, even though I know it is pretty strong stuff I havent got much experience in the square hollow seciton form. Especially as the overall weight of the cabinet at the moment is easily 80kg at the moment and thats without the lcd etc.
Worse case scenario would be if someone lent on the control panel and the front frame legs bent or something. I guess it depends on the thickness at the end of the day.
I dont mind reducing the height of the sections down to 1" as long as you think it will be able to take the weight (min 80kg). I would really prefer 1.5" to be honest as 1" will not look very aesthetic.
With regards to the finish on the frame I actually wanted to give it a corse brush effect and then clear coat it after so I wont need to have it powder coated.
With regards to delivery I can arrange that if you like I dont mind or I can pick it up which ever is easier for you at the end of the day, again I will be paying you for building this for me so please pm me the expected cost.
If the other guy hasnt started it I will give you the go ahead on Tuesday as I dont want to end up with two frames, lol.
The only thing in the drawing which needs to be observed and followed are the overall length and width of the entire frame and the positioning of the cross members as shown on the drawings. The holes themselves dont have to be exact as I havent made the holes in the cabinet yet so I can do that once I get the frame.
I did already have a decent of castors I bought and I could send them too you as they are not that tall. I wanted to go for the smallest castors possible without it ending up looking like some big wheels on a small car. Also if we used too big a castors then the “regulation” height of the control panel will be off and not ve comfortable to use.
With regards to the rounded fronts I was thinking of getting an extruded tube and cutting it in half and then welding it to the front and then cut small pieces of aluminium to fill the sides. All joints/welds would idealy need to be without any pits so that they can be sanded flat and when I give it the brush effect you wont notice the joints. Im sure you would do that anyway.
When your back at the plant please let me know if 3 x 1.5" (sides) and 1.5" x 1.5" (OR 2 x 1.5") is available and we can take it from there.
Thankyou for helping out on this one…
Yeah the joins would be chamfered at 45’ and the gaps filled with weld and then sanded flat, looking at the design closer doesnt appear to be any parts of it that would produce more stress on the frame than another, Weight distribution is pretty much spread across the entire unit. The rounded sections would be done pretty much like you said. We carry extruded round tube at 29, 30, 32 (chemically brightened so would have to grind for weld), 40 and 50 and have done similar. If youd like it a little deeper we do also have 50mm box section at 3mm thick which is strong as hell too. The entire thing could be made from this quite easily and still be plent strong. Bear in mind most mountain bikes are made from this thickness of metal and deal with the rider too putting stress on every weld at various weights and angles. It will be fine.
Also at my girlfriends company (the steel plant/delivery facilities for my plexi’s hah) has lots of profiles in steel and can raid that place every sunday if needed. I think aluminium TIG welded by me would be fine but steel is an option if youd prefer.
Tell your friend to stop, I’m very interested in helping. As far as payment goes, honestly I rarely do ‘homers’ for people so I have no idea what to charge. Id like to help but I am actually saving up for a rear shock that I need in 6 weeks time for my annual raiding of welsh mountains as mine jest blew up. Its £400 and anything in my paypal account towards it would be kinda helpful. Come up with a figure in your head (again bear in mind I’d consider this a favour and not looking to capitalize, it wont take long to make) and that will be fine with me.
As far as delivery is concerned, if you can pay the petrol, I’d come and deliver it, would love to see the thing in the flesh and show my girlfriend what will be ending up in my new place as soon as time permits. But dont worry about that, that can be another time, lets get this thing made and to you. Friends favours can sometimes go on a little too long (we’re all guilty of that im sure). Powder coated ‘beaten silver colour’ is another option. Dont hold back here - I can do that too so if you think its a long process dont be shy.
Get back to me, I can go see what we got in steel tomorrow if you’d like.
I will definately sort you out for this and will send you a pm to let you know the details OR I could build you a custom stick if you like. I dont mind.
If you could check to see what material you have that has the closest measurements to the ones given on the drawing. I can imagine 50 x 50 would be very strong but it will end up looking too chunky which I dont want.
Please check to see whether you have 3 x 1.5", 1.5" x 1.5" (or 2 x 1.5") in either steel or aluminium.
After some thought and what you are suggesting I would be more inclined to go for the aluminium. The steel frame would just be adding to the overall weight.
I would be interested to see what the beaten silver colour looks like. Have you got any links/images?
I will send my friend a message and tell him to stop. I dont mind showing you the cabinet before its finished but would much happier to show you when its all completed and ready to go. That way it can be appreciated because at the moment wires are hanging everywhere and bits hanging out and I havent attached the control panel back (nor the doors, screen, speakers etc lol) yet as im waiting for the frame first. Im going to need to tip the whole thing on its side so I can mount the frame and then fit all the rest of the stuff.
Again, please find out what material you have that is a closest match to the drawings and what the exact sizes are.
THANKS!
Well thats just fine then! As much as I love your sticks (and christ they are nice) it seems unfair to ask for that, also I have 4 sticks (admittedly not as nice as yours) and another one may be a bit much. I dont get enough time to play to justify at the minute. Very kind offer though.
If it comes to it that we havent got the profile you want I can order it in for you at cost. But let me check tomorrow at my gf’s place. She seems to think that they have all of those at work. Ill get back to you tomorrow about that. Baaten silver looks like this but its a bad picture, its pretty much the reverse of that ie more black to silver. I can take a real picture tomorrow for you.
Feel free to PM with what youd like to pay (urgh), but before you do that have you thought of a way of mounting the screen yet? Id imagine it’d be an easy fix by incorporating it into the base. Dinnertime, I’ll be back on later.
:I What a nice offer :O!
GROUP HUG!
But seriously, this place has helped me out in more ways than one so yeah, the Bewlix need finishing and I can help so why not?
GROUP HUG!!!, Unno it’s not normal on here it seems, Haha.
I made a frame exactly like that for my Vewlix I’m working on. Let me know if you need any tips. Some pics:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n238/idzen/Vewlix083.jpg
So much camaraderie here.:rock:
That is funny, the frame is exactly the same as the one I plan to have built. Looking nice! Is your Vewlix finished yet?
@ Doomy, I just seen what the beaten looks like but to be honest I really had my mind set on the brushed metal look as I want it to add that slight ruggedness and shine to it all.
I will wait for your response as to what sizes you have available.
With regards to the custom stick I thought you might have quite a few anyway, it was just a thought. I will send you how much I can pay you for this once we confirm what is available and what needs to be ordered.
Looking foward to hearing from you…FINALLY THE PROJECT IS NEARING COMPLETION!
edit: Forgot to mention I have already made the screen mount so thats simply ready to be bolted in.