My DIY windscreen frame. (pics)

[Zedn]

With money a bit tight at the moment due becoming a father last week (yay!), i decided to have a go at making my own windscreen frame from stainless. I had half a sheet of 1.5mm stainless left over from my fuel tank so thought it cant hurt to give it a try.

I started out by buying the glass from o'brien for $140 to use for the mock up. I used some cardboard to make up templates for each of the pieces. I then cut these out and traced onto the stainless sheet.



I dont have a plasma cutter so i had to cut out each piece with a 4" angle grinder. It took some time but worked ok. I then clamped each matching piece together and smoothed out with the grinder.



Pieces were then clamped to the glass to hold the curves for tacking.







After tacking, the fram was removed from the glass so that i could finish weld it without heating the glass and melting the rubber. The welding was all fused except for a little bit of mig wire used as filler where any gaps were. Im glad i didnt use to much filler because it is a different colour when polished.

I was very careful with the finish welding because i was worried about warping. I just did small runs at a time leaving gaps in between and then going back and filling in. It still warped but i was able to get it back by bending it.




After welding came the slow part. I ground the welds down with the grinder using a 60grit flap wheel. I then used a hand file to file the whole thing flat then sanded with 120, 240, 320, 400, 600 and polished it up.








I am happy with the finished product, just need to finish making the side posts and its ready to install.

Unfortunatly i did crack the glass. Stupid it wasnt from the frame but my careless placement of my knee

[sjelby]

You are unbelievable Liam.
looks very nice.
well done.
Stan.

[Outwest34au]

Absolutely wicked work. That looks extremely professional.
You have more patience and talent than me.

Congrats on the rug rat too.

[Tenrocca]

When I first read you were doing this I thought you were kidding. The finished product looks amazing and you should be very proud of your work. Some of the best from scratch fabrication Ive seen. Awesome!!!!

PS. Congrats on the new Bub.

[Zedn]

Thanks for the comments guys.

We had a baby girl. Everything went smoothly (except for the 2:30am start).

Stan i havnt forgotten about the side vents either. They are on the list but i need a break from polishing!

[sjelby]

I am going to pull the jag diff down this week.
Any pointers on polishing the outer hubs?
And congrats on the birth of your baby girl.
My baby girl was a bit sick today, but she is 20 and it was self inflicted. lol

[Zedn]

Pointers on polishing the hubs.. Not really, its a filthy job and you will have no finger tips left when you finish. It does look good though.

I used 80 grit and 120 grit flap wheels from bunnings. Followed by hand wet sanding with 120 up to 1200 wet and dry then polished with the polishing kits they also sell in bunnings. Look for a kit that comes with a sisal wheel and a loose cloth wheel with a bar of grey and a bar of white compound. I used them on the drill. If you have a dremel or similar that will help also.

To be honest i would probably paint them in hindsight. The POR15 i used has not sealed them properly. I think this was because there were pin holes in the casting. These pin holes have caused oxidation to form in some spots under the clear. Im not too concerned at the moment but will eventually strip the clear off and consider anodizing.

[sjelby]

That sounds a lot easier. Maybe even just paint them in 2pak..
On a different note: What type of seats did you use?

[Krait]

Impressive work Liam, well done.

Congrats to you and yours on the arrival of your daughter.

Cheers

[Zedn]

I used RX7 series 5. They are quite narrow so fit well and were only $50. The MX5 seats are similar but thinner on the upright.

You need to be very carefull with what seats you get though because its hard to find something that complies (see Baz's post).

The RX7 seats are a bit short but are slightly talller than MX5. I am working on a way to modify them without comprimising the performance or appearance. Also waiting to see if Baz's method is acceptable with the RTA.

There are a few clubbie manufacturers that have ADR approved seat frames that you then have to pad and cover.

[Mando]

Fu@k me, I thought I could fabricate some nice things but they don't compare to your work. Couple of thoughts; how are you going to attach the bottom rubber and have you tapped any holes for the wind wings and the sun visors?

Regards.

[Zedn]

I have got some rubber that i plan glue along the bottom. Making a channel for the rubber was just too much work. It should look the same when finished.

I have left a 5mm gap all around to allow room for screws for mounting sunvisors and attaching the side bars. I havnt yet tapped these because i dont have any brackets yet for the hole locations.

[Beejay]

Nice work mate!

Cangrats on the new bub too!

Ben

[john chesnut]

Congratulations on becoming a father!! And, great work on the frame. Very impressive.

[Merv and Sharon]

Well done Liam - on both counts. The earlier Thread from Istanbul shows another scratch built windscreen frame, but the edges are much thicker and solid. Yours looks great.

[leroy17]

Thats just awesome work.

Makes me wish I spent more time in metal work rather that wood work and tech drawing at school.

A credit to you and congrats on the new arrival....... our little one should be here in 12 weeks and counting down.

[OZCOBRA]

First of all Liam congrats to you both on the birth of your little girl, I hope mum and bubs are both well!!!

.....Now that frame is a piece of work my friend and done without the aid of a Plasma Cutter!!! ... terrific job and looks amazing, you guys that tackle these scratch build items are the envy of all on here..
Thanks for sharing the process with us.

OZ

[albanycobra]

Nice work Liam
Oh and congrats on the birth.

Can I ask what grade stainless sheet you used?
and How hard is it to polish stainless compared to alloy ?

Cheers Dave

[boxhead]

Congrates on the new family addition.

And holy cow Liam, when you said you where going to have a go at making your own I was thinking how half arsed will this look (bulky or chunky) but mate you have done a fantastic job.

[David Kirkham]

Seriously sweet work on your windshield.

Congrats on your new daughter!

David