RODS build........

[tbone]

That Manky Monkey has a lot to answer for 

[Manky Monkey]

Oh right, blame the Monkey. 
I chose wood work at school instead of metal work, cos it looked easier!
My big brother Brock trained as an engineer when he left school, then changed careers to become a carpenter.
Hurry up & post some photos Rod -I'm curious to see this creation now. 

[ROD]

[Manky Monkey]

Interesting. Got any overall shots?
-not piccies of your overalls, but of the trick tricycle.   

[ROD]

For some reason the pics were ok yesterday,but now all I see is a red'x' in the corner!No overall shots ,as havent ever taken it out of the garage in its rolling state!

[tbone]

you tease 

[Manky Monkey]

Piccies look fine here mate.

[ROD]

They seem to have come back up now!
 self explanatory pics ,apart from the wooden jig with diagonal slots in it. Its the former for my footplate grid. Would you believe Ive run out of the 20x5 stainless ,and gotta go buy another whole length for the sake of approx 2ft!Hey Ho!
  My original idea was to build the trike in a large shed I re furbed just for the build. I was gonna build the basic frame on the jig in the garage then transfer over. The floor in the shed is too wobbly to set angles correctly. Frame has gotta come out of garage for final welding on Saturday,so when i get the frame back Im thinking I may tranfer over into the shed ,as all the angle setting is now done ,and also I can easily pull it out of there into the daylight ,to have a look now and then.Whereas my Merc is blocking the front door at present.I also think it will help having new surroundings to work in . Getting bored in the garage !TBH I havent had the urge to look at it from a distance.I keep looking at the front end and wishing I hadnt raked the front frame tubes as much. I think it looks too long,and could be about 6 or 9 ins shorter with more upright tubes. If it wasnt for all the re setting,Id lop the front of the frame off!
   Rod

[Manky Monkey]

My very humble opinion:
chop them off & re-do them now
If you're not happy with the frame now, you won't be in 6 months time when it's all painted & kitted out. At the moment it'll only cost you a couple of lengths of tube & your own time. That's the beauty of building something yourself -you can change anything you want to as often as you fancy.
And you're right about the change of scenery thing -boredom kills creativity stone dead.

[ROD]

Gonna go out and have a measure to see what the realistic amount is I would gain by doing the deed!at the moment theyre about the same as t b's.
 On another note ,just had a real result. Made a frame for my battery (sort of an open tray)Was wandering around outside looking for something like aly or stainless to clad it with,found a whole load of stainless door kick plates! all still with coating on . all about 30" x 12" .So plenty there to get what I need out of!Gotta go to see a mate to get them guillotined and bent tomorrow.Theyre too hard a steel to bend in my little vice mounted bender or Id give them a try.

[ROD]

Just had a look! I reckon that I would shorten it by 6 inches(ooer) if I brought the tubes more upright.At the mo' they are 25 degrees from vert. I cant really justify all that effort and huge cost to do it Im afraid!

[tbone]

Too long? i think you should put that to the vote, i realise its a pain in the ar** for you, but please, lets see a full photo as it stands. In the main you will get honest opinions from us all, if it looks wrong you`ll soon know  . I believe the builder to be his own biggest critic, and other peoples views can well be an eye opener.
The other good thing about seeing a complete photo is, you can view it as someone else does, and not as the pile of tubes you have spent months welding and grinding, trust me on this, its worth it 

[ROD]

Yes tb ,youre right,and Ive been wrangling over this for quite a time.No good asking anyone in this household ..they dont 'do' bikes! I think the reason it looks long is that my top tube ,which is parallel to the ground,has nothing on top of it.. ie no tank. It tends to make that area a bit spindly and low looking.       Last night I taped a piece of tube on top of it,along its length,and it gave the whole thing some height ,and took away the spindly look.Once the frame is back ,I'll assemble it and take side view pics outside.
    Rod
   

[tbone]

you know it makes sense 

[ROD]

Welding almost complete. Battery box nearly finished . A workshop visit today to bend up and fashion the box lid(cos they got hard edged metal tables to bash the aly edges over on!)Doubt if I 'll get a nice finish to the top,so Ive arranged the sides in polished s/s and the top in aly ,cos easier to work . I'll paint the aly same as frame,which will allow me the odd bit of filler on the corners if I mess it up!