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Well, I'm way down but don't count me out yet. I managed to overcome one of my early stumbling blocks and got my aluminium fenders rolled out with a little help form a friend. I broke my harbor Freight roller trying to do this but it was a piece of cake for a real machine. I'm planning to use big English 28x1.5 wheels. Hoping to have a productive weekend.
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Here's to hoping you had a productive weekend!!!
 
Here's the dual top "tubes". Pretty happy with how they came out. These only have a slight shape to them, the other frame members are way more challenging. I've eliminated the carbon from this build and replaced it with Wenge. The carbon did stiffen the wood significantly but for some reason it didn't bond well to the wood and so when it failed it was dramatic. Plus the carbon is nasty stuff to try to grind and shape and I have a lot of grinding and shaping to do.

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I'm so glad that you're back on this. It's gonna be fun seeing your creativity and skills applied to this unusual medium.
 
My first attempt at welding aluminum. Looks just like the picture eh? View attachment 101548
By far the biggest thing in welding aluminium is cleanliness. Even if the material is new you must clean it.
The system I use is this:
Wipe the aera with thinners.
Go over the edges with a stainless steel rotory wire brush in a drill. Do this till the area is a matt finish. Any shiny areas will be contamination.
Wipe the weld filler rod with thinners.
Uses new, clean gloves.

Other than that it's just practice.
 

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