home-made winchs

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 533

does anyone have any links or good ways to make home-made winchs, because im not paying two grand for a winch.

LAXitives288 · Posted: Oct 19, 2006 5:41 pm Post subject:

www.winchskating.com

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 533

sorry i meant like w/ instructions Confused

winchskating.com is kinda like forums

Jeff_Knox · Backside 180 Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 712 City: J-ville

winches are still very new... there arent any instructions... you have to make it your own... go to winchskating.com to get the basics and then make it your own...

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 533

yay sounds like an adventure Rolling Eyes

any tips?

LAXitives288 · Posted: Oct 19, 2006 7:04 pm Post subject:

read every thread ever posted on winchskating

Jeff_Knox · Backside 180 Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 712 City: J-ville

LAXitives288, Birthday

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx, i have lots of tips including using winchskating.com...
get some specific questions and i will try my best to answer them

S!c · Pop Shuvit Joined: 06 May 2006 Posts: 158 City: São Paulo

I want one too!
Tried to read things there but is hard to find something STEP by STEP //

Can someone ONLY post the list of 'things' that we'll need to built one?
Than I can start to looking for those items and calculate everything..

Thanks! Very Happy

Jeff_Knox · Backside 180 Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 712 City: J-ville

it would be kinda pointless and a whole lot of time to sit here and feed you directions on how to make my winch... you need to make your winch... sit down and come up with a frame design... and then think about what you would need to make the thing work... ill give you a hint... start with looking at prices for and engine, metal, torq a verter, and chain... one more hint... you can buy almost all your materials from northerntool

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 533

thanks TheLeprechaun, ill get on making my winch Very Happy

oh and do you have any recommendations for like engines or like how much horsepower (because ive heard from like 5-9)

Jeff_Knox · Backside 180 Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 712 City: J-ville

5- 9 will work... depends on your gearing and cash flow...i used a 6.5 horse and my grinch has a 7 horse

price.dan · Backside 180 Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 1404 City: Regina

It's not hard to make a winch, it should be fun and you should enjoy it. You won't build it in one day, so do one steps. Take your time and make it look good too. When your making your frame remember your going to have to carry this thing so don't make big and heavy.

From building my own winch i wish i would have put a little more money into the frame and gone with aluminum (lighter but more $$$).

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 533

so aluminum is best frame material?(and yes ill be sure to take my time Birthday

)

LAXitives288 · Posted: Oct 20, 2006 3:38 pm Post subject:

im hoping to go with aluminium, there is a good metal recycling place near where i live and the prices are good Smile

DRAGON88 · Dragoon Joined: 01 May 2004 Posts: 1020 City: Portland

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 533

im going to weld. my dad is going to help me weld because ive never done it before.

and i get to play with the saws-all Birthday

ill try to keep posted w/ pics, but im pretty sure it will take me a while to finish the winch, mainly because of school Mad

LAXitives288 · Posted: Oct 20, 2006 8:11 pm Post subject:

stupid school, ruins everything, lol

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 533

YES IT DOES Razz

Bakes5 · Faceplant Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 26

A little welding primer for y'all thinking of building

Arc/Stick welding = Steel. Very cheap and good results...but you need to have skills, especially if you are using thin walled tubing.

Mig = Steel and Aluminum. While you can do Aluminum via mig you will need a gadget called a spool gun which is $800 for the spool gun alone. The next decision is gas or gasless. Although gasless is a little cheaper the results are uglier with lots of spatter. OK for fixing a fence on the back 40 but uncool for something you are showing your friends. Gas shielding is easier and gives you much better results. Finally 110V vs 220v power. The 110v is cheaper but has a shorter duty cycle (i.e. the time you can weld before you have to wait for it to cool down). Your outlets at home will probably not be rated high enough to use it anyways. Also, you may have weld penetration probs with the lower power 110v as well. The 220V models are a little more expensive but definately worth it. The big problem with them is finding a 220V outlet. You can use a 220V dryer outlet but you will probably need to make an extension cord.

TIG = Steel, aluminum, titanium, magnesium, copper, etc.. TIG is the way to go if you know how. Look at the welds on your mountain bike and on your aluminum tower..those are TIG. Unless you have a lot of experience, I wouldn't even consider it.

If you have to weld, I would go with a gas shielded MIG setup. It is relatively easy to learn and you can rent units fairly easily.

Here is a reasonable equip list for mild steel

160 Amp 220v Mig Welder
Tank of shielding gas Ar/CO2 mix
Hoses and Regulator for tank
Welding wire

Welding gloves
Helmet with autodarkening lens
Magnetic angles

Metal cutting chop saw (the sawzall is not as precise)
Angle grinder (wire brush and disk grinder)
Grinding wheel

Well lit/ventilated shop space (the wind will screw up your welds and you will blind your neighbor's kids and dog if you do it in your driveway)
220V Outlet

Anyways, MIG welding is pretty fun and easy once you have all the equipment and have practiced a bit. If it all seems a little overwhelming design it, buy some steel and take it to a welder. It will probably cost you about the same as if you had to rent everything. To purchase you are starting around $2000. You can do it cheaper but your results won't be as nice.

I bought all that crap 5-6 years ago when I was building jeeps. You can definately learn on your own if you read up and practice.

Also, aluminum comes in a lot of different grades. The stuff on your bike and tower is a lot different than the stuff you buy at home depot and find at a recycling center. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, stick with mild steel.

Bakes

xXxcaliwakeskaterxXx · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 533

Wow, thanks for the info Bakes Very Happy