I love this project! it's unfortunate that your original idea of four wheels got struck down by frivolous bureaucracy, but it is coming along great

@tomslastname5560

8 ай бұрын

if I lived out on a farm somewhere I'd probably still attempt the four-wheeled car idea. But I understand it's a different story when you're documenting your projects on youtube, lol. And he's also building something that could potentially be sold as a kit, which probably also wouldn't fly if it's not in accordance with vehicle safety regulations. But yeah, I agree that in this case the specific regulation that forces pedal cars to have 3 wheels is pretty dumb and arbitrary. Pedal-driven cars (with 3, 4, or sometimes more wheels) have a long history that predates the internal combustion engine.

This is how people make a difference.

Something better than car wrap I know of: Fiberglass. Will give it a nice smooth appearance, and even commercially sold cars use fiberglass bodies. But the fact it'd have a wood backing would make it stronger.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

much heavier though..

You put a lot of work into this project. May you be pleased with the end result. Regards. Marek.

I'm crossing my fingers for "go faster flames" on the car wrap ;-)

Anyone else throw a like as soon as the ads start because you know Tim has another awesome video out?

CAD modelling and FEA analysis doesn’t eliminate physical iterations. But it can reduce the number required.

Hey Tim, you are not the only one speaking about the huge delays and inconveniences of Brexit. I like how the wooden car is going through iterations, well done! 👍💪✌

Car wrap doesn't like sharp corners, you will have to round off every edge. I once wrapped an upright piano, it was an experiment in the piano shop I worked in. It worked great, until I got to the corners.......after about a month it started to crack along the edges.

@benholroyd5221

8 ай бұрын

So it doesn't work on old Volvo's either then?

@queeg6473

8 ай бұрын

Dunno, are old Volvos made of wood?

@benholroyd5221

8 ай бұрын

@@queeg6473 no, that's Morris travellers. Old Volvo's have the same aerodynamic properties as a piano.

Leave the ply wood you have a put speed holes in your design. Then you could wrap over holes. Or maybe it looks good. And cut your wrap to go around holes. I think you need to varnishl for wrap to stick to. Looking good. I would fit stabiliser skids to the back stop roll over. They would look ok in the design. It needs moon discs for the wheels. Good luck. Reduce your speed hole size. Incorporate design on top of your wrap with another wrap.

That long, straight, steering column has the possibility of becoming a lovely screwer for anyone unfortunate enough to come to a sudden, crashing, stop.

@samvalentine3206

8 ай бұрын

Like the early Corvairs - "Unsafe at Any Speed" by Ralph Nader... 🤕

@martinoamello3017

8 ай бұрын

It's why older steering columns had a flexible knuckle built into them. I know there's a name for it, but my internal dictionary is currently not working. I think it may involves being older than I used to be..

Hi Tim, Don't worry home builders without a welder. That entire back triangle complete with spring can be cut off any suspension mountain bike frame in a range of wheel sizes. Please, please sell your plans! Finally, I'm in England. If I can buy the parts to repair your metal cutting machine I can post them to you. I will use the chinese bay sellers customs form. The parts will be labelled "gift" and the vakue will be " one dollah". I'm sure the EU customs man will be happy with such an honest document!!

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the offer Mr SM. We're still trying to work out what's wrong with it first though.

Apart from worn out tips, there are three main things that go wrong with plasma cutters: 1. Moisture is very bad for them. Check the compressor has been properly drained and that water hasn't got into the plasma cutter air line. 2. The current is insufficient or the current supply circuitry is faulty. 3. The air pressure from the compressor is too low. If your compressor is getting old, the piston rings might be worn out and it might not be able to keep the pressure up during the cut. Keep an eye on the compressor gauges while the cutter is running a long cut. If the tank pressure is dropping below the line pressure, you might need to look at a new compressor. If the current is fluctuating or falling off during the cut, you might need a new controller circuitboard or transformer. Check to see if there are any burnt or smoky marks, if any board components are swollen, or blackening on the transformer. Also check if any of the components have that distinctive burnt electrical smell. Check to see if any components are getting too hot in use as this can affect the current supply as well. As a last resort, check to see if your house supply is atill supplying the correct voltage to your property. With the growing dependency on unreliable energy sources, power levels can vary wildly. If your voltage has dropped significantly below your 230 volt standard it can damage all kinds of electrical equipment including fridges, washing machines, TVs and work equipment.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

Thanks - of course the water and the air are the first thing I checked - I've had this machine for years and I've learned a lot over the years (and bought a bigger compressor and a refrigerator-dryer). Waiting to borrow a clamp meter to check the power flow..

@andymanaus1077

8 ай бұрын

@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 Hi Tim. I figured you would have already tried some remedies. I was surprised to discover the reason we lost several appliances and blew over 20 lights a few years back. It turned out it was due to improper voltage levels to our brand new house. We were at the end of the local transformer's supply area and when the electrician finally measured our supply, it was 190V at the house circuit box and as low as 170V at the other end of the house. Here in Australia, it's supposed to be 240V. I'm afraid these problems are going to only get worse as they diversify the power supply grid with unreliable sources.

The way youre doing it makes so much sense, yes you can test many things in software's to see what it thinks should happen; but the real world means that each piece of this & that material ends up being imperfect & downright unlike the simulations. Real world tests like this are just plain better. Coming from someone who used to test in software just to ditch that method due to its unreliability & its lack of realism in material imperfections.

Nice, well designed "boat-on-wheels" car.

The tabs on the metal parts is ingenious. Good luck with the plasma cutter.

Car wrap is a good idea plus it's waterproof and dirt resistant

Did you ever see the Lotus Elise documentary? It’s a very good two parter about design and testing.

ive found that chopping up tiny pieces of various plastics or perspex,or foams or polystyrenes then putting in little jar with equal parts of acetone for 24 hrs turns into some great liquid plastic for many different uses ,even glueing wood together or pouring into a mold ,for repairing cracks in plastic though ,its awesome,

Tim, As much as i love this brilliant project, I worry that this car won’t tolerate any sort of collision at all. The world is full of absent minded, preoccupied and distracted people who will be on the road with you. Be safe Best wishes Frank

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

You could be right, Frank. It is surprisingly strong, but nothing compared to a lorry or a tree. But then nor is a bicycle, or a pram, or a wheelchair, or a tricycle..

Sure making great headway here bro, be interesting to see what it looks like with the wrap on it. Safe travels. Ken.

Don’t recommend wrap films, they are designed to be re-applied multiple times,… on a backing like plywood the adhesive will pick up wood fibre and it’ll never be close to flat. As this is a prototype why not just hand apply a water-based filler/primer and sand between coats with a nice finish on top when it gets warmer/drier? I knew a guy that worked on the Afri-car project back in the 80s. So this has been a fascinating adventure.

After the car, can we look forward to an electric assisted petal powered locomotive?

Hi Tim. I can CNC laser cut steel parts. (Even spring steel!) Give me a shout if I can help!

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

Thank you! That sounds great - but whereabouts are you?

Nice.............. You could paint it yellow and add wings . Now wouldn't that be a sight !!!

The car IS beautiful! I loved the parting shot. Anyway, if anyone were uncomfortable about the car being wood, can't they just use a sealant on all of the parts? That might keep the falling apart to a minimum.

It's all coming together.

you could also use realy thin plywood and do a single th9in layer of fibreglass over it so its see through

I’ll have some metal pieces please thank you❤ when your ready with the blueprint too❤

Definitely styled on the Link Trainer..

It's coming along nicely.

Hi Tim - I'm up and down between Millstreet and Dublin in my van every few weeks and could fetch some thin plywood sheets if you need. I could drop down Bantry way sometime - would love to see the railway and various projects.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

Sounds great! If you're serious then I might just take you up on that. (I could always come to Millstreet, though) Thank you! Can you give me your number or would you email me? (in description)

@stanlanning3704

8 ай бұрын

Yes, happy to help out - just sent you email

Simply the best (hmm, maybe the only) wooden car I have ever seen built!

@tomslastname5560

8 ай бұрын

I've seen a few wooden cars, but they were all one-off hobby projects, usually made by people with spare money and a nice garage. This is the only one I've seen that probably costs about the same amount to build as a garden shed (not including the cost of the electric wheel and batteries).

Properly maintained, WOODEN AIRFRAME AIRCRAFT can last for decades at least...👍 BTW, this is the first KZread comment I have made after coming off a 24-hour comment ban...🙄

Those weight reduction holes int the central beam could benefit from being "boxed in". I don't know if that's an American term that crosses the pond very well. If it does then you know, if not ill try to explain. lets use a simple U shape. this shape has been used on car frames for a long time in their frames. "boxing in" was done to strengthen this U shape. A person would weld on some metal to fully enclose the U shape so that it isn't open on one side. making it more of a D shape. I think if you where to put a tube or pipe maybe out of bent plywood through those holes it would still keep them lick but massively stiffen the bean shape. A simple test would be to just stick a straight piece in between the hole and see if my theory works before putting in lots of time making or fining tubes of wood.

I have made some quite rigid structures from one millimetre plywood as we tended to have a lot of it knocking about. Its surprising just how rigid plywood can be.

Yes, for example Airbus can design and simulate new aircraft on the computer. In some cases, they sold new aircraft before the first prototypes were built. Some computer-aided design (CAD) programs have also made computer simulations much easier. However, a deep dive into mechanical computer simulation is beyond the funding and capabilities of most companies. Eventually , there is no substitute for the physical testing and reality of when the rubber hits the road

Clever way to make that metal frame. I think that center box beam needs one or two vertical struts to make it proper stiff. There are plans for a diy velomobile available, the Agilo. Definitely not a car, so not your cup of tea, but it has a self-supporting body and it's mostly made from 3mm plywood. It does have quite a few similarities to your design and I have read a claimed weight of 15kg for a version built with extra attention for weight. Worth checking out some of the photos on its website.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

Thanks, I will.

The metal parts as part of a kit is a great idea for the welding-ly-challenged, such as myself ... "what could go wrong?" - Heh, famous last words, those. 🤣🤣🤣

5:57 Wooden pieces wooden't stand up to the work... 👏 brilliantly said! 😉

Contact precious plastics and see if you can piggy back off them for distribution of the steel components. They crowdsource fabrication for their plastic recycling setup. As for wooden cars rotting away. There are still 100 year old wooden cars occasionally driven.

When my plasma table does that, assuming consumables are good, it's always been ground from plasma power supply to table.

When you cover me it, don't forget the go fast stripes, are you thinking of adding an aerofoil aswell it would help with balance especially when your traveling at high speeds.m😂😎👍

You can try to fill volumes in box version with low pressure mounting foam

i know it's too late, but, next time perhaps, instead of a crank, one way clutches like on a single speed coaster brake bike, push the pedal, spring pushes it back, mounting that style is SO much simpler and if there's an injury, it can be propelled with a single working leg. it can, if taken to extremes connect to a crank at the wheel.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

You mean like in the children's pedal cars?

@felderup

8 ай бұрын

@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 there were adult sized versions in the late 60's for housewives to do the shopping in that used swinging pedal. you might be able to fit them over a wider spine. also, you might not need as much space under the bonnet if you use them, no need to swing feet all the way up, i think driving them with chain or cable would be better than cranks, i've seen accidents with crank driven ones.

So happy that you are moving on and on the second new prototype, hoping to see the bear it's fruits in the near future

Hi Tim. For the rear wheel assembly, perhaps you could use the back half of an old bicycle frame. After all, it's ready made to take a bike wheel and old bicycles can be picked up very cheap or free. All you then would need to do is make brackets to hold it to the wooden frame. Then you wouldn't need to make new parts at all, even for design plans. Instead, people just need to get a hold of an old bike and break it into the parts they need.

@IvoTichelaar

8 ай бұрын

The rear end of a bicycle is surprisingly heavy, and fixing round pipes to wood is not as straightforward as I thought it would be. I started out with a very traditional steel bicycle, after that I salvaged a piece from an aluminium frame (actually a separate, hinged fork with a damper, so after dismantling it had neat bolt holes and everything and it was designed to be strong by itself) but it turned out almost as heavy. Wood is better.

Glad the car is now less wobbly, looks awesome!

oh no! the plasma cutter!

Not sure you could incorporate a full unibody frame if si you might be able to get away from thick would using the thin stuff and fiber glassing it. That would provide a ton of rigidity. Nasty stuff though.

There are full suspension bikes that have a rear frame that looks almost identical to what you built. Cheap cheap bikes in usa. The place I used to volunteer at scrapped at least one of them a weak. They're typically aluminum. But due to design not really light weight. They are under 200 new and people just throw them away because it's cheaper to buy a new one than it is to fix and of them. I'm not suggesting you go buy a $170 bike but there might be ones in scrap piles near you.

It's looking good Tim. I enjoy watching you and the boys working through the issues that arise when starting a new car company! If DeLorean had you tube maybe he wouldn't have gone to drug smuggling to fund his ambitions. All in fun lads. Cheers to all. 🇨🇦

You could always build a pusher trailer for big battery and power wheel and to carry your shopping.

Good job

I would consider adding epoxy bonded in balsa wood between the panels of the central beam to stiffen it. This is what was used on WW2 Mosquito planes to stiffen their plywood panels. Balsa wood is very light.

As for the back wheel assembly have you looked at mk 3 Moulton bicycle? It has an interesting arrangement not unlike the metal one you came up with. Some of these old designs may show the way forward. Just a thought

Always interesting! Weight shouldn't be a problem unless there's lots of hills.

So cool! What an inspiration

Love it!

The centre spine needs some intermediate 44mm verticals adding and solid panel sides _glued_ as well as screwed. Alternatively those lightening holes might be better suited to the original solid spine (maybe not quite so big though).

If you wanted a stiff beam going down the center... it should be triangular in shape as the triangle is the strongest design. A triangular hollow beam with one flat side facing upwards. You could reroute shifter and brake cables going to the back through it as well.

Great video thanks

Amazing

Very good coming along very nicely

Cool!

The speed holes might increase rigidity if it had tubing glued through the holes. Just having the holes means less supporting material. In metal, holes through sheet usually get a dimple die pressed around the hole to add strength but on tubing welding the second tube around the openings in the first tube is necessary.

I want one!

I am watching an 80s series called Africar where a wood car reinforced with epoxy is made for African production. Interesting. Episode 2 shows construction

Brings a whole new meaning to carpentry... Nice job, haha!

@michaelduggan991

4 ай бұрын

I'm retired after 45 years in the trade. This looks like great fun, and I'm all for fun. But carpentry it's not.

@guhsher1851

4 ай бұрын

@@michaelduggan991 Hahah! Absolutely, definitely still a nice DIY for those who need it though. 🪚

Maybe try a series of interlocking ply diagonals in the void of the spine beam to stiffen it up? Vinyl wrap isn't so great on timber in my experience. I've seen videos of people making micro campers using external paint (latex based house paint maybe?) and old bed sheets as a finish.... gotta seal those end grains!

There is software that calculates streeses and loads. Look for something that does Finite Element Modelling. Unfortunately I'm a Weights Engineer, not a Stress Engineer so I can't help any more.

use a good quality primer in multy coats first and flat betwine coats

Will vinyl wrap stick to the wood? It may need PVA first.

"Won't the wooden bike rot?" Well how's your house faring?

Hey wow

I have recently been taking apart some packing crates from a local factory and the 3mm ply they use on the sides is remarkably tough and bendy. Perhaps you can try some of that for the bodywork perhaps with a couple of layers of criss crossed fibreglass?

Great episode! I love your idea of using the curve of the plywood to define the shape of the car, as well as your re-engineering of the central beam! I think the rigidity of the central beam can be significantly improved just by adding more screws to force the plywood and 2x2 beams (I'm assuming those are about 2"x2") to act as a single solid beam.

I got other way around trike build in progress, but back and how to connect rear wheels and springs is mid thinking. perhaps i use your idea, or part of it. Looks working enought.

It just appears that any chassis built around a single plank "spine" will suffer from twisting motion. Be it metal or a wooden one. A a built-up box section might provide more rigidity. The glued and screwed shell should mitigate much of the twist.. I'm no engineer - just an observer. Its a great project all along. I look forward to each episode. Thank you allowing us into your workshop.

@robinbennett5994

8 ай бұрын

You're right. Resistance to torque is related to the enclosed cross sectional area. A piece of cardboard is easy to twist, but a cardboard tube isn't. Ideally you want a tube the size of the car body. BTW, if you're interested in learning this sort of thing without the maths of a formal course, I highly recommend JE Gordon's book "Structures, or why things don't fall down"

@felderup

8 ай бұрын

square section is the big issue, even a section of pvc pipe would fix a lot of that. weaker overall cause there'd need to be space for the legs, but far more resistant to torsion.

In the same way an 'V' shape bit of metal is stronger than a flat bar, curving the plywood in one axis should prevent it from bending in a perpendicular axis.

i think doing a prototype first and then going to the computer was the right move! we spend so much time in the digital word where all the material is made of CAD and not the real thing! how would you know where the mistakes were without first building one, and how would you know you weren't pre-maturely optimizing?

I find an angle grinder to be a scary tool to use.

As you were working on the body I realized that by being forced to go for a three-wheeled design you ended up with a near perfect raindrop shape. The creme-de-la-creme of aerodynamics!

New body looking really good! I think you would solve lots of stability problems with a lower seating position tho.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

Yes, but then it would be much less comfortable, I think. And the chain is in the way, so it would need another sprocket at least..

@Oldsmobile69

8 ай бұрын

Oh, I get it, you're limited by the "spine". But an extra sprocket under the seat probably wouldn't mess things up too much. That's how a lot of velomobiles seem to do it too 🤔@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

The central spine needs to resist twisting, and i'm sure the current design does not. The solid wood beam was definitely better, and probably had less side-to-side bend.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

The central spine is only there now to support the bottom bracket, the battery and the seat - the outer shell keeps it all rigid now

@PaulSpades

8 ай бұрын

@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 Granted it's a small body, but without a solid under chassis or solid floor, twist is going to be a problem, heck it's a problem in some production cars that have those things and in steel. Twisting is mostly not a problem in boat building because the whole hull slides in the water with weight and other forces distributed evenly. Also, not a problem in two wheel vehicles. In 3 and 4 wheel vehicles you have a small number of set pivot points that transfer all of the forces into the frame. All I'm saying is that I'd add a few more triangles if that's the spine design you're going with. And that the natural wood fibers in the initial spine (I think ) worked better by a large margin to resist bend and twist.

Waahoo!

It would be kinda cool if you fibreglassed it

A vinyl wrap should help with repelling water ! Do you have a small generating system on it for lights and such ? I,m thinking I’d buy plans if and when you offered them for sale ! Will it have a cargo area ?

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

Thanks, Dave. There is more cargo space now under the seat - I'll show you in the next video..

I just watched a woodworker build a boat from a stock tank, using that same epoxy. His was in a tube gun tho. Amazes me what people can build. Thanks Tim

Not only did you save the trees, you also cut the trees.

Sadly I don't think car wrap would be the best on plywood, since the plywood can abrosb some moisture, and also expands quite a bit if it freezes with some moisture in it. I think the best product for that application would probably be outdoors wood paint, like you would put on a house.

Have you taken a look at the Morgan 3s from early 1900s?

Hi Tim. Have you ever heard of "send cut send"? they and other companies like them will take your cad designs and cut the sheet metal for you and send it to you.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

My problem is that all my parts are still in development - I cut something and see that an edge needs to move half a mil, or something needs to be fatter. But you're right, it could work if there's one in Ireland..

@thedave7760

8 ай бұрын

@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 My suggestion was really for people who don't have cnc plasma cutters, they could send your design files to "send cut send" and get them to cut the metal pieces for them. I think they ship all over the world. Loving the build, your slow methodical iterations each one better than the last is what keeps us all coming back to watch. Shame about the garlic rot what a waste.

Vinyl wrap will look awesome. Hot rod flames? Hay stack print? Custom Way Out West logos? Rain drops? field of garlic print? Here's some wood worker based tips and tricks for Vinyl wrap from SquareSplinter kzread.info/dash/bejne/qW2HrqSGc9HahdI.html I am sure you have already had a good look for resources. Sand smooth and blow clean, and press down firmly, make sure use edge Sealers. 🍀

As ever a fantastic way to spend 10 mins. Your epoxying of the edges/joints, is this just tape and resin, or are you stitch and taping?

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

I was stitching in some places, Martin - but others the edges are screwed into timber fillets. Then tape over the joins.

No no. What could go right?

Plz build a Narrow Gauge Neilson 0-4-0 box tank engine.

@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299

8 ай бұрын

plz send money!

Stitch and glue method. It takes me back to the sixties when I made a Mirror Dinghy for the kids. Very strong and didn't need framing to carry it as I remember. It's all looking very professional, Tim.

Dear inventor Tim. 😱 Oh no, Murphy's law kicked in again. I really hope that your plasma cutting device will be fixable in an inexpensive way. 2) I wonder what colour(s) your pedal car will be. As always: Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and especially health to all involved people.

It's got to be Kelly green..