cab project

[Dirtnut]

i dont think there should be any flex in the frame it is very rigid steel. the glass is an area i need lots of info on any input from TBN will be greatly appreciated. i saw glass pressed into what looked like black tar clamped & let sit i guess till it cured or someting. the glass had no frame. just sat on some tabs at the bottom. so i am asuming it should work for me. it works on heavy equipment.

as far as my shop/garage it is a P-model 30x50x15- 10ft vertical walls then peeks to 15ft in the middle. yes me and some friends put it up.we did all the work grading,stone,forms,rebar,concrete,building mostly on weekends. i chose this building because the price was great, i could do it with few people,every panel was finished product was up quick,no wood no fire hazard, 100% usable space, and living on top of a mountain with bedrock at 18" i had to pour a floating pad cant get poles in the ground.

[2manyrocks]

You must be talking about urethane windshield adhesive that comes in a caulk tube from any auto supply place. It has to be installed against clean surfaces and once it sets, you would have to cut it apart to get it loose.

Also had the thought that you could make the entire sides out of polycarbonate. Could also make your "glass" out of it. It can be scratched, however.

What does the steel for a building like yours go for these days and how long did it take to build it? Do you screw the sections together with sheet metal screws or how do they attach together?

[Dirtnut]

my kit in the spring of 07 was 10,000 delivered to house + 2,000 for base plate option that way if any panels get damaged i can replace them and my buildings steel gauge was upgraded for snow load to meet code.
with 3 of us it took about a month to put it up just working weekends.

it is bolted together with 5/16 bolts/nuts that have a recess in them to hold a neoprene washer it took 5,000 bolts & as of today not one leak from day one.

i have pictures of the whole build if u are interested i could probably start a thread in projects or something.

[2manyrocks]

I'm interested. I think there have been several metal sided pole barns on TBN, but I can't think of any buildings like yours.

[Dirtnut]

i forgot i did do a thread in projects it is called P-model arch building i think. that should get you to it.

finished the main frame today added the last 5 verticle door & window post. 2 on the back 1 on each side & one short one on right side on bottom to box out for glass. everything is welded up, now i need to grind & clean things up a bit. tomorrow i will start the door & window frames.

[Huskerplowboy]

I'd be a little cautious about gluing in the glass. I recently built a cab for my CUT (there's a thread on here). I made the frame from 2x2x1/8" steel tube. When I start the engine, the little 3 cylinder will shake the cab to the point where you can see things wiggle. I'd recommend mounting the frame on the tractor and driving around with it a while doing different things (idle, wide open, in between, run over bumps, etc) and watch/feel the frame to see if it moves around much or not.

I went plexiglass all around and used the school bus style gaskets to mount the "glass" so it can sort of float in the openning and not be 100% tied to the steel as things wiggle.

[Dirtnut]

thanks for the advice i plan on putting it back on the tractor for more fit & finish of sheet metal. then with the roof,door frame,window frames done i can test it like you said.
i need to have a glass expert look at it when it is done & see what they think before i start buying glass. i dont think plexiglass will work for me, my tractor is always in the dust & the plexiglass will scrach to quickly from cleaning it off.
your cab build was one i checked out that made me decide to do my own build, hope mine turns out as good as yours did.great job on your build.

[PILOON]

Hi, looking good!

Suggestion, (an aviation trick) an old standard to rust proof tubing on the inside is to drill small holes in every closed length of tube and introduce raw linseed oil as a rust inhibitor and turning the frame uipside down to allow the oil to thoroughly coat the inside.
The oil can be heated somewhat to clarify it thus making if flow more easily. Holes are then closed off with selftaping screws or a amall rozette weld.

Not to forget that condensation is enough to rust out tubing from the inside.

I have repaired 50 yr old aircraft treated that way and whitnessed the differance.

.

[Dirtnut]

i thought about using expanding spray foam in the tubes. drill a small hole in the middle to fit the straw nozzel in and a small hole at either end to let the air escape as the foam is injected,this should help insulate & keep the steel from sweating. for the steel flat areas (ceiling,none glass areas) i plan on using R-board insulation cut to fit covered in some kind of fabric to dress it up & then glued or fastened to the panels. the tubing i have already has an oil antirust coating on it,makes it a pain to weld must clean each area before welding.

[2manyrocks]

Will you be using a separate ROPS with this cab? Maybe too late in this thread to toss out one thought and that thought is whether the frame itself could be built to also serve as a ROPS?

The other thought is to weld pieces of angle as tabs on the frame so you can attach your sides to the tabs insert of through the tubing. You could also drill holes and weld nuts to the tabs so you can attach the siding with bolts that can be unscrewed from the outside without holding any nuts on the inside of the cab.