'83 Lund "Sirius" total gut and rebuild

[nurseman]

Priceless....a summer well spent imo....

Didn't you catch anything except a buzz?

Some times it seems like I can't even catch that!

So along with your impressive painting skills you're adding trailer fabrication as well. You must be a gluten for punishment.

Yep! Actually, I had forgotten how enjoyable welding is. So I'm kinda having a good time!

 

[nurseman]

Hold on Woody if you look in the second pic you will see a clamp on the edge of the work table .. I'm sure the Mayor of Clampville used it somehow in the fabrication ..

Thanks for pointing that out Sam, I was gonna tell Wood to get in to see his eye doc!

And yes, I did use the clamp...

Pretty cool NM! Can't find exactly what you're looking for.......just build one yourself. :thumb: I like your attitude. Just curious, what are you welding with? Stick, wire-feed ? Keep up the good work!

I'm using a 220V stick welder that I picked up this spring. I think I put a pic of it in the thread somewhere, but here is what I am using.

 

[nurseman]

As promised, proof that I actually did stuff yesterday! I used cement blocks for my lay out because the floor has some slight waves. Used some ratchet straps to hold things together while I got things level and square.





Welded all of the cross members to the rails. I forgot to take pics of that part, but it looks just the same, but without the straps around it!

I didn't want to have to buy new steel for the tongue, so I recycled the tongue from the old trailer, and gave it a good cleaning. Got all of the old paint and the little bit of surface rust off. Turns out that it was a tilt trailer that had been welded into a solid tongue!





The angled pieces aren't welded to the rails or the tongue because I ran out of rods at that point.





This is where it is at right now. I just have to make sure that I get things lined up straight when I get to welding the tongue on. Picked up some more welding supplies on my way home tonight, so I might get to it tomorrow after work.

 

[ahmincha]

Very nice looks like you know what your doing you definitely have skills

 

[Corjen1]

WOW, great work Nurseman!! You rock!!

 

[sphelps]

How you going to keep the tongue straight .? Mark the center of the post then measure diagonally from each side of the back corners ?
Pull a string through the center maybe ?

 

[Woodonglass]

What rods are you using and what settings on the welder?? What's the side wall thickness of the steel..3/16"???

 

[nurseman]

How you going to keep the tongue straight .? Mark the center of the post then measure diagonally from each side of the back corners ?
Pull a string through the center maybe ?

Close, but not through the center. I pulled a string along the side, even with the top of the trailer. As one might expect, clamps were most handy!









In order to get this part centered in the trailer, I measured diagonally from the back corners to the points of the channel, then tacked them to the tongue.



Here is the bottom side of the tongue / frame joint. The welds still need to be dressed up a bit with the grinder.

 

[nurseman]

What rods are you using and what settings on the welder?? What's the side wall thickness of the steel..3/16"???

Woody, I'm using 1/8" 6011 rods for all of the channel welds. The main frame rails are 4", and the cross members are 3". The side wall thickness is indeed 3/16", with the exception of the tongue tube, which is 1/16th thick by 3 inches square. For the welds on C channel, I have the welder set 110-115, and for welding the C channel to the tongue, I turned down to around 95. (and I still had to watch out for burn through! )

 

[Woodonglass]

Alrighty Then!!! You're making some nice looking melted metal circles!!! I'm bettin' she'll stick together just fine goin down the road haulin that BEE-U-TEE-FUL boat of yourn'

 

[kcassells]

The Nurseman does do the bestest work! We may have to change his name to the ClampMan!

 

[ahmincha]

Hey kfc I wonder if he's related to the Clampetts from Beverly hills

 

[nurseman]

Hey kfc I wonder if he's related to the Clampetts from Beverly hills

​

The Nurseman does do the bestest work! We may have to change his name to the ClampMan!

I think you guys are jealous...

 

[ahmincha]

You got that right of your work and your clamps

 

[Mikeopsycho]

Woody, I'm using 1/8" 6011 rods for all of the channel welds. The main frame rails are 4", and the cross members are 3". The side wall thickness is indeed 3/16", with the exception of the tongue tube, which is 1/16th thick by 3 inches square. For the welds on C channel, I have the welder set 110-115, and for welding the C channel to the tongue, I turned down to around 95. (and I still had to watch out for burn through! )

Now that's the kind of detailed info we like around here, thanks NM. Carry on. eep:

 

[nurseman]

You got that right of your work and your clamps

Don't sell yourself short there buddy, you've done some fine work on your boat too!!:thumb:

 

[rlb81]

Nurse Clamped! Why hasn't anyone come up with this one yet?? I just read through the entire post (well, started yesterday I think) and I must say I am 1000% impressed with your work. From the the carpentry, glass laying, painting (and re-paining!!) down to the jigs, cradles, tents, and all of the other temporary "throw away" work (which, BTW is still 100% better than any permanent work I do on my best day) you are a true craftsman. Then you go and start welding on us...

Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see what the finished boat looks like. I think I might go out and buy some clamps today, just because. I only own 3.

 

[nurseman]

Welcome aboard rib81! Thank you for the kind words! :yo: I don't mind saying that I would not have gotten the project to where it is now without the absolutely fantastic help and support of the fellas here on the forum!!!

I would have to agree that 3 is just not enough clamps.

 

[nurseman]

Just checking in to let everyone know that I am still here and plugging away at things. Just about got the trailer fab done. I ordered new keel rollers, and am waiting for the delivery truck to show up. So I will pick up where I left off with my progress pictures.

Ordered some brakes and wheels/tires.





And got them put together and temporarily under the trailer. The axle assemble will be bolted to the frame when I have the boat and motor setting on it, because I'm pretty sure that I will have to move the axle around a bit to achieve the proper tongue weight. For the time being, the clamps will hold things together enough for me to move it around the shop/yard.



I died a little bit inside...:Cry: :emptiness:



I think that I may have heated it up one too many times when I was bending these bracing pieces.



The short ones are fish plates for the outside corner of the trailer, and the longer ones are for inside of the channels at the same corner. I didn't want to have the entire weight of the boat on just the butt weld of that corner. There was a fair amount of flex in the joint when I first got the tongue attached, but the extra plating has taken all of the flex out of it.

The outside plate.

 

[nurseman]

And the inside of the channel



Plates after being dressed up a bit.





I also added some gusset plates at the tongue-trailer joints