Fabricated go-kart steering upright- progress
nick205 - 25/6/13 at 11:52 AM
Still trying to finish my go kart for the race on Sunday.
I'm fabricating the steering uprights as per the pictures, done the U brackets and pivots, but not sure how to tackle the spindles.
They need to be M12 bolts to attached the wheel chair wheels I'm using. The sleeves on the uprights are 3mm wall ERW tube with an M14 bolt
through the middle.
Will it be strong enough to just weld the bolt head to the sleeve or would it be better to try and brace it with some angle or other arrangement?
The wheel chair wheels are 24" dia. and the overall kart weight with me in is likely to be ~110-115kg, racing down a cow field 
[Edited on 26/6/13 by nick205]
coozer - 25/6/13 at 12:02 PM
I would be tempted to make a little triangle from the ends of the pivot to just where the threads start on the bolt. Do you need the full length of
the bolt?
nick205 - 25/6/13 at 12:07 PM
I need 90% of the length, but could triangle brace to about 12mm past the bolt head.
mark chandler - 25/6/13 at 12:08 PM
Add a gusset here as well, the bracket will need a lot of support as well
nick205 - 25/6/13 at 12:23 PM
quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Add a gusset here as well, the bracket will need a lot of support as well
The U bracket will be welded to the end of a 25x25x3 box section and triangle braced top and bottom.
v8kid - 25/6/13 at 03:07 PM
Let us know how you get on in the race - good luck!
Fred W B - 25/6/13 at 07:17 PM
If your welding is up to scratch I think you will not need any gusseting between bolt and sleeve.
Cheers
Fred w B
nick205 - 25/6/13 at 07:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Fred W B
If your welding is up to scratch I think you will not need any gusseting between bolt and sleeve.
Cheers
Fred w B
That's partly the worry is my welding is improving fast, but it's not perfect and this part will be quite highly loaded.
I do have a local guy who's very good, so may have him do it and see how it looks.
jacko - 25/6/13 at 07:49 PM
Weld the bolt to the tube then get some flat bar 30mm x 6mm drill a hole 12mm in the middle and slide it on the bolt then bend the bar to touch the
top and bottom of the tube and weld the ends to the tube
I hope that makes sense
jacko
nick205 - 26/6/13 at 08:02 AM
Got on and welded the bolts on last night. It went better than expected and I think it should be OK without additional bracing. The wheel hub fits
snug against the bolt shoulder and the wheel spokes clear the U bracket by 2-3mm through the steering travel.
I should add that the welding is better than it looks. The bolt head is well and truly penetrated and inspection down the inside of the sleeve tube
shows good penetration as well. Welding with the sleeves clamped in place also kept them straight.
Tonights task is to fabricate and attach the steering arms with Ackerman geometry 
[Edited on 26/6/13 by nick205]
[Edited on 26/6/13 by nick205]