Sammies are Metal

There's been tons of progress on the metal of the Sammie Wagon.  Here's some shots...

As Hunter says, when parts don't quite fit, we can just "fix it in post".  Well, here's post.  I'm about to hit this door with a hammer many times to make it the right size.  The wood is to make sure it bends where I want instead of deforming into a lump.

The initial placement of the hinges allowed for a full 270 degree door open, but was a little ugly in how far out it pushed the door when closed.  To fix this, I ground all the hinges off (they were welded onto the frame).

After grinding them off, I mounted them on the doors, and clamped them in their final homes for a bit of welding.

In the end, mission accomplished:

Sheet metal can be pointy, so if spend you enough time abusing it, it will eventually abuse you.

Luckily, I have the tools to repair this construction issue available in the shop.

I need some corner molding to cover the 3-way joint on the top of the wagon, so I gave welding them myself a shot using the 20 guage aluminum the skin is made out of.  Turns out this is one of the hardest things to do in all of welding, and something people show off with to prove their ultimate welding mastery on youtube.  Here's the rig I made to mount the aluminum on for welding, and my failed attempt.  I got points from TechShop attendees for at least having plenty of "ambition".

The skin of the cart is almost fully fabricated, so it's time for powder coating.  The final colors are kitschtastic Ford Light Blue for the sides, and a lovely red for the counter top.  To powder coat parts, you stick the powder on with an electrically charged powder sprayer, then stick them in this huge oven to melt the powder  into a sexy, shiny, protective coat.

Here's the 2 test panels.  The blue includes a layer of clear, with some glow in the dark additive.  No idea if this will actually work on the playa, but I can confirm seeing the panel in the dark of the TechShop bathroom after a few seconds of fluorescent charging.

Finally, victims of the Sammie Wagon need somewhere to sit, and I thought I'd have to fabricate a mount to hold their seat.  Turns out, we are geniuses, and the removable table already accomodates the chair.  This shot also shows the new mounting bars for the grill, and the future home of the grill cheese access top panel.

Soon, final powder coated skin on the cart...