Help Wanted: Track Groomer Fabrication Project

[gkierst]

Hello,

In order to have a Winter track this year we'll need a new groomer. We'll be building it here in the shop with work beginning on the Oct. 15/16 weekend. We could use some people with basic metal working skills to help out. I certainly don't want anyone hurting themselves at this, so knowing how to use chop saws and grinders safely is really the main requirement. The ability to take ownership of small pieces at a time and work independently is a big asset.

We'll meet every Wednesday night at 6:30pm and plan for one day every weekend (or most weekends anyway). The hope is to have it completed by the end of November. It would be nice to have a team of 8 or 10 people with at least 4 or 5 of us available for each work day.

It should be a fun project and there will be a lot of figuring stuff out as we go, so it should be a good challenge too.

If you are interested in joining the team please email me at: turninonone _at_ hotmail _dot_ com

Thanks,
Greg

[CulRidr]

Where is the shop?

[gkierst]

Oxford Station, 60Km South from the 417/416 interchange.

Greg

[eyemaster]

You need to move your shop closer to Ottawa!!!

[ChuckPayne]

I’ll help out. Not sure about every weekend...and I’m already committed to be at CMP the 15th &16th.

For those of you on the fence:
-it’s not that far a drive, I’m sure we can carpool.
-you’d be helping out the club.
-The shop is very well appointed and you’ll learn a lot about fabrication.

[vwgolf2lwk]

I"m in for Wednesday evenings.

Would we be starting next Wednesday?

[gkierst]

Hi Guy,

The plan is to start the actual fabrication on the 15/16 weekend. I hope to source enough materials, and have a very specific plan for the part that we will work on by that time. It may be helpful to have a meeting to discuss the concept (and as much of the detailed plan as we have finalized) before the first build day. Next Wednesday may be a good time to do that.

Greg

[PMcD]

can't be there on Wednesdays ( online racing club) but on weekends I can when I'm not working. I'm at Calabogie Oct. 15th also

[robinthegower]

I can be of assistance as well. I live in North Gower so am not that far away. I am also busy with the Mortimer team at CMP on the 15th though.

[gkierst]

You need to move your shop closer to Ottawa!!!

No Way! Then people would be showing up all the time to get work done and Jeff wouldn't have any time to keep making my race car faster/running.

FWIW, I drive it every single day. That's why my 1 year old truck has 60,000Km on it. Well, that plus the 3 annual trips home to NB and the 4,000Km of towing to go racing.

Greg

[gkierst]

Sounds like the 16th should be the first work day. Email me to be added to the mailing list.

turninonone _at_ hotmail _dot_ com

Greg

[JGraves]

You need to move your shop closer to Ottawa!!!

No Way! Then people would be showing up all the time to get work done and Jeff wouldn't have any time to keep making my race car faster/running.

Greg

No, if you moved your shop closer to the city, I would be able to work on my car in my shop and eventually get it track worthy.

[John Powell]

[gkierst]

The first of the parts have been purchased. By the first official build day this Sunday we should have 90% of the over the counter parts on hand, as well as enough steel to keep us busy for the day.

Can those who have posted their interest in helping out here, could you please email me at turninonone _at_ hotmail _dot_ com. We'll manage the team via mailing list. There isn't much point in having more than about 4 of us in the shop on any given day, so with a team of 8 we can do this with a 1 day per week (average) commitment. We'll start at 11am this Sunday.

Regards,
Greg

IMG_0756_web.jpg (52.67 KiB) Viewed 1433 times

[gkierst]

Here is Jeff's CAD model of the concept for the groomer:



Some features of note:

- Full width grader blade in 3 sections
- Center blade section raises to allow snow to drop back to the pan for filling in ruts
- Height control front and rear
- Independent left and right height control on the front for blade tilt function (when rear is jacked up so the pan is in the air)
- In-cab controls to adjust height on all three points on the fly
- Rear height adjust capability allows the weight on the pan to be adjusted on the fly so the Jeep will be less likely to get stuck
- Folding wing sections on either side allow for easy loading and transport on a car hauler trailer with a full deck

[karmaboy]

fixed.

[gkierst]

fixed.

Hmmmmm... I like it.

[JGraves]

I like the concept but the wing isn't big enough. I'm thinking an adjustable angle of attack sprint car style wing. With 150 square feet of wing area, a 0.1 psi difference in pressure should be about a ton of downforce. If the track is compacted enough just apply the racers' universal solution, drive faster

Who's taking on the wing sub-project?

[John Powell]

Looks pretty good. The only thing I would suggest would be that the bottom of the grader blades should be serrated like road graders in order to scarify any sheet ice.

[gkierst]

Looks pretty good. The only thing I would suggest would be that the bottom of the grader blades should be serrated like road graders in order to scarify any sheet ice.

The blades will each have a replaceable cutting edge for serviceability, so we can optionally replace them with a serrated edge to try it out. I'd prefer to start out with flat blades to mimic what we are used to. I'd be a little concerned that, in situations where we want to spread fresh snow across the track, we would chew up a nice hard packed snow surface that can be hard to get back.

Greg

[John Powell]

OK. Different cutting edges for differing surfaces is a good idea.

[terrydale]

The design looks very impressive. Any idea as to the total weight on the unit?

Also, John makes a valid point in that we need to have the ability to 'rough up' the ice surface whenever it becomes so slick and shiny so as to create difficulty in even getting underway let alone being able to demonstrate techniques in a training environment. The idea of having interchangeable blades has considerable merit however I can see that as being problematic at night and/or in minus 30 degree weather. Possibly something that could slip over the blade or be clipped on to the blade structure without undoing and reattaching bolts etc?

Looks great!

[JGraves]

The design looks very impressive. Any idea as to the total weight on the unit?

Based on where the CAD model currently is, I'm expecting 2000 +/- 150 pounds total weight.

[John Powell]

Plus some downforce with the rear wing?

[gkierst]

We've got a good crew and we've made good progress. Anyone else care to join us?

The second official work day is tomorrow and we've got our crew lined up, but I could use one or two people on Sunday.

Follow the project on our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/mcofb

Regards,
Greg