TC1000 Build

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

if you are going to start grinding.. wear gloves, long pants, long sleeves,, and a Face Shield!!



if you are drilling out the screws dont buy cheap drill bits.. get good ones!

Great advice. Angle grinders can be downright dangerous.

I have not injured myself with mine yet.... I did try and kill Asetechrail with one.

I was using a cutoff wheel to remove the lift jacks we used for raising the roof. The grinder hung up and jumped out of my hands, flew 10 feet and nailed Kent in the chest. No injuries but I know that it had to hurt.

I felt terrible.

I did learn to be much more patient and attentive while using the angle grinder.

Good call on the face shield as well. I bought one at Horror Fright. It was junk. I replaced it with one from 3M. Much better! $32 well spent.

[PNW_Steve]

Based on another thread discussing angle grinder injuries, you may want to consider a cup as well

[lebusmagique]

Made some progress. Floor is all painted up with two coats after ospho, primer, and Bondo. All the windows are out and I just took off the flashers. I'm planning on welding a patch of sheet metal on the exterior to cover them then applying Bondo over the whole thing and eventually painting. I don't need to do anything to those screw holes first before welding the patch right? Like Bondo or seal them? I figured the patch itself will be fine.

[Doktari]

Nice job on the floor!! Are bus windows removed from the inside? Thanks

[lebusmagique]

Yeah in that photo they're still there but they're all out. Simple as taking out 2 screws and yanking em out

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by lebusmagique

Yeah in that photo they're still there but they're all out. Simple as taking out 2 screws and yanking em out

For others reading this, it's worth checking to make sure that the bottom of the window has not been glued to the sill in some way before prying the window out. A previous school system owner of my bus at some point took all the windows out and reset them with Dynatron-550 (or similar goop) on the underside. The first window I tried to remove I nearly broke completely since I was bending it backwards but the bottom was remaining firmly affixed to the seal. On my windows at least, the bottom is a separate piece, and even though it didn't actually break off, it was bent away from the frame, opening up a small gap that let in a massive amount of rain after I unknowingly reset the window.

Once I saw what was happening, it was easy to run a painter's tool under the sill with a hammer (from the outside) and cut the sealant before prying the window out. If the windows have never been removed and reset, though, they should be no problem to take out.

[lebusmagique]

Testing out some 1 1/4" 14 gauge tubing for the raise and it seems a little tight? How snug do you want it? I clamped it as much as I can and I still have a gap at the back and a lot of space on the front I'll have to make up with some plate for the skin. Does the tube need touch the back or should I leave it as close to the front as possible so I can use a thinner angle/plate for the skin?

Should I try 16 gauge tube?

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

Based on another thread discussing angle grinder injuries, you may want to consider a cup as well

So far I only have one angle grinder injury: a three-inch long severe burn on my forearm. I cut off the end of a piece of angle steel for my corner and then somehow when moving it I managed to brush the cut end (super hot) across my forearm. It was like a knife through butter.

[EastCoastCB]

YEah its easy to forget that its still hot. Burned myself recently with the foot of a seat I'd just pulled after using a grinder on the bolts.

[2kool4skool]

Huh, what? Who? Never happen to me!

[gs1949]

Good point, and the goggles I have are next to totally useless from steaming up anyway. Time for a face shield before the next angle grinder project. Thanks.

[2kool4skool]

I'm going to preach a bit.

About 9 years ago my right eye suffered a full retinal detachment. This event was triggered by a trauma to the eye. The trauma in this case was surgery to correct a cataract. It could have been any trauma though.

After 6 surgeries I have 20/400 vision in that eye, better than the zero I had after the event.

Cover those eyes, cover those ears. They are important!!

One eye Don who also wears hearing aids.

[gs1949]

You go right ahead and preach. It's a little late for me though. To paraphrase Waylon Jennings, If only I'd known I'd live this long I woulda took better care of my hearing and eyesight.

[lebusmagique]

Well everything came to a halt over the holidays, but I'm back trying to get on schedule to have this thing ready to roll by July. Planning on getting all my underbelly stuff done next. Is it best practice to hang from the floor or use L brackets bolted into the frame? I've got two sets of 2 holes on the side I'll be using for my battery box. Good idea to fab up some L brackets into my box or just go with drilling through and bolting to the floor?