High Roller - VS4-10 Chassis kit build.

[Andy-Roo]

Evening folks.. 

 

This week I’ve been fabricating the cage, a job I’ve been really looking forward to! 
Luckily it’s gone very well and I finished up this evening...just in time for dinner 😃

So lets get into it.. 

 

The materials for the job; x2 1m lengths of mild steel bar - one in 4mm and the other in 3mm.  55% Silver solder, flux, a Mapp gas torch and a bunch of steel tabs from Scaler fab and SMS. 
 

 

Conveniently, there’s a mounting point exactly where I need it..

 

 

My plan was to use the 4mm for the main hoop..and it’s looking like a perfect fit thus far..

 

 

I start off making some measurements and I get right into it..

 

 

With the help of my cheap eBay “helping hands”, the first tab is brazed in place. 
 

 

Now I can fix one side in place and work out where the next bend needs to be..

 

Ive seen people using mini pipe benders for this but I just use a vice and my hands and/or a ring spanner. Seems to work for me..

 

And that’s the main hoop done. 
 

 

Next is the smaller rear hoop, also made in 4mm. 
I start off with two larger tabs mounted to the bumper mount, but then see an opportunity to incorporate a rear bumper into the cage assembly itself. 
If I braze two tabs together I can use some 4mm bar to form a small bumper..

 

 

These helping hands were working out great..

 

The rear hoop is easy to make but brazing this lot together, and keeping it all nice and square could be easier said than done..

 

 

I ground two flat spots on the inside of the hoop to get a good surface to braze to.

The tricky part was getting it all lined up securely enough so it wouldn’t move at the crucial moment. This is were magnets come in really handy..

 

 

The first one went fine, but getting the opposite one lined up in the exact same way and at the correct angle took some time (I may have sworn at it several times). After all the messing about I still got it wrong and had to do it over again. 
I got there in the end, though..

 

 

Nope, a fail..

 

 

All good on the second attempt and with the hoop fitted to the chassis, you can see my bumper plan taking shape..

 

Fluxed ready for brazing..

 

Sorted..

 

 

When I fitted it in place I saw that maybe eyes for towing shackles would look good, but brazing on top of brazing is a bit tricky so gave up on that idea until later on..

 

 

I called it a day at this point...

 

TBC 

[Andy-Roo]

Picking up from where I left off..

 

Next up were the front to rear horizontal braces, made with 3mm bar. 
These were fairly straightforward to make...once I got the shape of the  first one right, I just used that as a template to make a another. 
 

 

A little tweak was needed on the right brace and that squared everything up nicely..

 

Next came the main braces that connect the front and rear hoops..

 

I was running low on silver solder, which was 0.7mm wire that was pretty awkward to use.  I’d ordered 2m of 1.5mm rod in 250mm sections, that was at a good price, and postman had just delivered them. Result.
 

 

This was my first joint using the new rods. They had a much higher melting point so took a little getting used to..

 

Once braced I took it off the chassis for the final pieces to brazed. I’m really happy with how it’s coming together.

 

 

The horizontal cross bar went in without a hitch..

 

 

The diagonal cross brace wasn’t so easy because brazing on top of brazing is tricky.

Not pretty but a good solid joint, and I used the Dremmel to grind back the access later on..

 

 

The finish line is in sight with just four small braces to go..

 

Much neater now I’m getting used to these rods..
 

 

The last brace..

 

And there it is, but still plenty of grinding and sanding to do before it’s ready for paint.

 

Fast forward a couple of hours and it’s looking much better..

 

It was at this point that I decided to have another go at fitting the mounts for the towing shackles.  For some reason I didn’t take any pics of this but if zoomed in you’ll see them on the bumper bar. I even fitted one bent sideways so it looks like it’s taken a good hit and was bent. 
 

 

Painted and fitted. I think it’s looks the dogs danglies, but I would, wouldn’t I 😃

 

Apologies for the pics, I was running out of day light 🙈

The tyres just clear at full flex 💪 

 

 

So not much left to do on the body now - wipers need fitting and windows need dusting along with a coat or two of flat clear. I’ve got a fire extinguisher that I might fit to the bed or possibly the cage..dunno yet.  And then of course I have to paint the interior, and that’s about it.  I’m really looking forward to getting it out and seeing how it performs on the rocks 😃

 

Thats all for now folks 👍

[DartmoorTrails]

That looks terrific mate, really good job.
Considering you only started brazing recently I think you've done yourself really proud there [emoji106]

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[Andy-Roo]

Thank @DartmoorTrails 👍

I’ve kinda got the bug for it and am looking at possible designs for my next build. 
My 10.2 is in line for a cosmetic makeover as well, that will include a new, lighter cage along with a new body.  So plenty more opportunities to sharpen my brazing skills are on the horizon.  

[Stormbringer]

thats looking absolutely fantastic mate well done 

[Andy-Roo]

22 minutes ago, Stormbringer said:

thats looking absolutely fantastic mate well done 

Thanks for the kind words, mate 👍

[Stormbringer]

7 minutes ago, Andy-Roo said:

Thanks for the kind words, mate 👍

Your welcome mate 🍻

[Badcrumble]

It really does look like you’re getting the hang of this brazing lark! Looks really cool.

There must be a good satisfaction level with brazing - proper ‘I made this!’ stuff.

[stimpy]

Mate you've really worked this brazing out. Looking fantastic buddy 👍

[Andy-Roo]

1 hour ago, Badcrumble said:

It really does look like you’re getting the hang of this brazing lark! Looks really cool.

There must be a good satisfaction level with brazing - proper ‘I made this!’ stuff.

Thanks mate.  It is very satisfying seeing it take shape, a bit like the weathering process. Definitely my favourite parts of this build. 
 

30 minutes ago, stimpy said:

Mate you've really worked this brazing out. Looking fantastic buddy 👍

Cheers Seb. It’s a lot of fun mate, you should give it a go yourself...I reckon you’d come up with something special 👍

[stimpy]

I definitely want to have play! Looks a lot of fun. Just couldn't put it on any of the rigs I'm currently building...

 

Perhaps on one of my leafers 👍

[Stormbringer]

credit where credit due   you have done awesome job there the rust did look a bit otp but when the that cage added it looks just right 🍻

[Andy-Roo]

2 hours ago, Stormbringer said:

credit where credit due   you have done awesome job there the rust did look a bit otp but when the that cage added it looks just right 🍻

I thought the same thing. It’s easy to get carried away because the rust, and weathering in general adds so much depth you kinda get sucked into it.  
I’m already thinking about the next build and how I can improve on this one....

 

Oh no...think I’ve become an addict! 🤪 

[Andy-Roo]

Morning all..

 

I took the Yota on a family day out to Frinton-On-Sea. There’s a bunch of granite bolder’s strung out on the beach as part of the sea defences, and are a good spot for some tiny trucking. So I would have been rude not too 😁

 

The cage worked perfectly and took a good few tumbles, with just some paint being scratched off. Those areas have started to rust nicely now, really adding to the overall look. 
 

 

Frinton-On-Sea. The land of the giants! 
 

Unfortunately the fun didn’t last long with the Yota. About halfway through the first pack I lost drive to the front wheels and on inspection I found a UJ on the Punisher shaft and come apart.  
 

I did have my 10.2 with me though, so the fun was resumed.

 

 

The offending driveshaft. 
I couldn’t remember where I’d bought it from but after going through several online accounts I found I’d got it from Modelsport.  MS were brilliant and replaced it under warranty. So a big thank you to MS for sorting it out 👍

 

 

So now the Yota was back in action I took it for a quick run over at Earls Pond, in Epping Forest.  The LSTR guys use the area for their comps, although I’m not sure on the exact spot.  I found some nice features to have a go at though..

 

 

However, about 10 mins into the run the new Punisher shaft gave up again with the exact same problem. 

 

These clearly can’t handle brushless power. The rear driveshaft is an SSD one and is giving me no issues at all, and the only reason I used the Punisher on the front was because they make one in the size I need - and SSD doesn’t. 
So it seems the way forward is to get an SSD one that is too long and cut it down.
I have also considered the Axial HD driveshafts but being plastic I’m don’t if they’d twist with my ‘big block’ power under the hood.

Does anyone have an opinion on that? 

 

Anyways, other the driveshaft issue the Yota runs really well...would just like some more time using it 🙈

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2020 by Andy-Roo

[Stormbringer]

That looked really good on the rocks 

Pity about the shaft breaking tho damm nuisance 

[Andy-Roo]

19 minutes ago, Stormbringer said:

That looked really good on the rocks 

Pity about the shaft breaking tho damm nuisance 

Thanks! 👍

Yeah, the driveshaft issue is a nuisance . Hopefully once it’s sorted I’ll get no other problems 🤞

[Stormbringer]

Here is hoping for you thats case 🍻

[DartmoorTrails]

If you can wait for shipping and stomach the cost a MIP shaft would best mate [emoji106]
The plastic may be ok for a short time, perhaps loosen off the slipper a tad?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[Andy-Roo]

2 hours ago, DartmoorTrails said:

If you can wait for shipping and stomach the cost a MIP shaft would best mate
The plastic may be ok for a short time, perhaps loosen off the slipper a tad?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 

Thanks for the info DT.
I hadn’t considered MIP, but I’ll have a look to see if they do one in the size I need 👍

 

Oh, I forgot to add that the VP transmission doesn’t have a slipper, it’s locked. 

Edited October 21, 2020 by Andy-Roo

[Badcrumble]

That Yota is looking lovely! Hope you get it fixed soon!

[Andy-Roo]

19 minutes ago, Badcrumble said:

That Yota is looking lovely! Hope you get it fixed soon!

Thanks! I hope so, would like to get some time on it before the winter lands. 

[Andy-Roo]

IAfternoon folks..

 

A quick update on the driveshaft issue....it’s fixed! Well, it’s fixed for now, fingers crossed it’ll stay that way 🤞

 

I looked at using an MIP driveshaft/s, as recommended by @DartmoorTrails but for some reason they don’t give sizes in the specs, which meant emailing them to find out if they made one in the size I needed.  But I didn’t do that...like water I followed the path of least resistance and got another SSD one the same size as the rear, and cut it down to fit the front.  

One shiny new driveshaft..

 

With a bit of measuring I figured it needed shortening by about 18mm..

 

I decided to cut off small, 5mm pieces at a time, rather than jump right in and possibly ruin another expensive driveshaft 🙈

 

With 5mm taken off either side it fits but doesn’t allow full compression of the suspension..

 

So I went ahead and cut another 5mm off either side. I could have got away with taking off just 4mm but that would have bottomed the shaft out at full compression of the shocks, and I wanted to leave room for waterproof grease to protect the now bare metal ends. 

20mm shorter.

 

And it fits perfectly with plenty of ‘meat’ left on both sides.

 

I used my bench grinder and a couple of small files too clean both sides up and the job was a good ‘un.  While I was at it I did check both diffs to see if all was well and re-greased them with waterproof grease for the winter.  
 

 

So hopefully this’ll be a permanent fix but only time will tell on that score. 
 

That’s all for now 👍

 

[DartmoorTrails]

Looks a perfectly good job mate [emoji106]

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[Badcrumble]

Quick question - I'm hoping to answer this myself...

Why cut down both sleeve and shaft, rather than just shaft?

Is it so there is the maximum contact between the larger diameter part of the shaft and the sleeve? 

[Andy-Roo]

1 hour ago, Badcrumble said:

Quick question - I'm hoping to answer this myself...

Why cut down both sleeve and shaft, rather than just shaft?

Is it so there is the maximum contact between the larger diameter part of the shaft and the sleeve? 

The shaft has a wider section at UJ end that doesn’t fit into the sleeve section. So I had to reduce both sections to get the right overall length. I hope that makes sense.