What tools are folks using for setting up suspensions/chassi

[Piledriver]

What tools are folks using for setting up suspensions/chassis building?

I'm looking at various digital levels and protractors to aid fab, but its a good general question.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 1&t=145875

[Getrdone]

Well, carpenters square, speed square, digital level, string line, tape measure, 1/2" conduit and said bender, 1x2.5x36,48,24" aluminum bar. Home Depot spring clams by the dozen. And one of these


http://www.stronghandtools.com/strongha ... oangle.php

[Leatherneck]

I used some plywood, cut holes for lug studs and center so I could bolt it to my brakes instead of rim and tire. Was able to see more movement as well as I attached a metal strip for attaching magnet tools.

Getrdone covered a bunch of it.

[Bruce.m]

iPhone

Plenty of free apps allow you to use it as reasonably good digital spirit level.

[DesertGuy]

I like that magnet square doo-hicky....how much do those set you back?

[Piledriver]

I like that magnet square doo-hicky....how much do those set you back?

The square dookickeys run ~$35.
The protractor runs about $15-18, depending on size (length of the ruler bits)

Still trying to find a good price on the trick adjustable magnetic angle clamp rig Getrdone posted, looks like da bomb.
(Ouch, should be for ~$250) Search for "Adjust-O angle clamp"

[helowrench]

Pile, you are a downright bastard.
I have avoided buying this stuff, and have stuck with string, rulers, and one of those angle gauges for decades.
Now that I see the digital crap is sub $50 I am going to have to go buy them.

Unfortunately this will mean a trip to a tool store of some kind, since I am very picky about the tactile side of things with tools. When I am in a tool store, I usually emulate a woman in a shoe store.......

So, therefore, you are a bastard, and just cost me roughly $500.

Which tool store are we going to?

[DesertGuy]

250.00 for that magnet thing? Man, I would want at least 4 of them....not worth the 1,000, for me

Of all the whiz bang fabrication stuff, my digital angle finder I enjoy the most...comes in handy in a lot of circumstances. Most of the "check this tool out" stuff ends up in the bottom of a drawer or given away...stick with quality 'tried and true' tools and you won't go wrong.

[GDRBORETIRED]

Still using the old Craftsman angle finder! I could afford it then and it still works! Don't see any reason to spend more when it works!

[Piledriver]

Which tool store are we going to?

You can try the ones I'm picking up, free, if all goes well on ebay.
You know I usually avoid junk.

I just spent the last ~45 min hacking a 2" tubular axle out of a slightly damaged sprint car spindle (busted off /badly repaired steering tie point just the internally threaded tube at the end) that basically cost me the price of shipping it. Only cost one 1mm cutoff wheel and the already used sawzall blade is still sharp, thankfully most of the cutting was through mild steel. The surgery also revealed how they fabbed it and will be borrowing some ideas for grafting the spindle onto 914 struts.
(that's the current project, or at least the front half)

As for the expensive but lovely magnetic jig, Home Depot etc sell a somewhat similar Rigid magnetic welding jig for ~$130.


Desertguy:
A pair of Chinese switchable magnetic V blocks attached to that custom DIY tubing notcher I posted above would, ummmm... get'rdone , and be able to do off-axis work as well.
You could conceivably cut a fishmouth and use the same jig to weld the tubes, without moving it.
I bet you could build dozens of them with scraps lying around your shop.

Just picked up a very low mileage Bosch DWM-40L for $65 shipped, with everything and a spare battery.
(digital protractor) It's ~similar to the $15 General unit, just cost a lot more new.
May also pick up one of the Generals as they are much smaller.

[fusername]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-9-in-D ... /100653598

I finally bought one of those, after getting fed up for hte last time trying to do angle finder math in my head. when bending tube being able to re-zero on the stock and just let the tool do the work saves me an hour or two on a long day easy. often I can't remember if I needed to add or less those 2 degrees from the final number lol. THe husky one is nice becasue it is short and the magnet on it is surprisingly powerfull, infact slightly over powered for most things I have used it for casually like welding setup, but when bending tube which is 90% of its life, it is awesome. also the magnets are set back in a groove on the body of the thingy, which accidently acts as a V block to help align it on the tube. it only shows one decimal, which is more accurate than I can bend or weld so its perfect.

as for notchers I recommend the HF cheapo special, spend 1-2 hours making some test cuts and just align the whole thing and it actually works quite well until the bushings get loose in the body lol. I am probably going to put needle bearings w/ some kind of wiper in there soon, its made a full roll cage and several sets of bumpers, so I will say it surely paid for itself, I have no reservations about spending a few bucks on mcnugget to beef it up when the time comes.

As for working with round tube, I suggest making a measuring tool out of a piece of pipe. basically just weld a flat piece of stock at a right angle to the tube so you can set a piece against it.... oh man I am racking my brain but I don't remember what that tool was for lol. When I made my cage I realized I needed it, built it and got good use out of it, but heck I can't remember how or why...

I also made a few really finicky clamps that did not pan out. They were intended to be clamped crosswise on a piece of tube, so I could measure rotation angle by putting the protractor/level across them. they never really stayed put too well despite designing them a few times, I ended out tacking them in place on important pieces.

Pile: pics of the parts you cutup? inquiring minds....

[Piledriver]

I'll have to snap some in the AM of the dissected one

Here is a weld on 2" tubular wide5 spindle snout, I will probably just buy one of these to complete the set.
http://www.colemanracing.com/Spindle-Sn ... P4238.aspx

Here's the ebay photo of the "set" I picked up, the base of the spindle is ~2.5" and ~1/4" thick, so everything is welded to/around it. I don't dig the caliper mounts so I'll be making some new ones.
They backbone is the hub of the spindle and a ~1 1/4" thick wall ~vertical tube welded to the back of it at an angle, everything else is welded/gusseted/boxed into those two primary structures.

The fronts in good shape are a non-staggered matched pair,were bought with the thought of putting them on an A-armed TOW'D.

I'll take some better pics to show how they are built, may need to bead blast them first as gloss black doesn't show much detail. I have No Idea why these have two caliper mounts.

For the off-road guys, there exists a large bearing king pin setup used on dirt modifieds, very short + huge tubular spindle, the complete spindles can be had for ~$150 ea... Usually have a 10 degree kingpin inclination but might be usable on a modified KP VW front end?

[zancat]

To make measuring absolute CV angle easy:



and because it does no good to use a level if the chassis isn't



Zancat

[Piledriver]

Just picked up two magswitch style angle holders:
Each looks to have similar but slightly different capabilities.
$79 for the sexy one (free priority mail shipping)
The company has more than 10 available, last years model, new.
May pick up another.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251615642131?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT
~identical to the sexy one getrdone posted, list price is about the same.

Magswicth-pivot-angle-200.JPG

and a slightly different style with a fixed frame and pivoting/locking magnets:

forney-magswitch.JPG

$63 shipped for the Forney one. (fedex)

[Getrdone]

Mine was a acquired tool. Don't know what it cost. It's very strong. It will hold a main hoop