Congratulation on your good showing. Is this the start of a dynasty for Robinson Racing.

Last week I chopped up V1 (version 1) in order to start fresh on V2 for the new year. I thought I would share a couple of lessons that might be useful for builders without a lot of experience.

1. Build a decent platform. This platform will be the base for all measurements and fastening jigs. A two foot by eight foot sheet of ½ inch plywood on two sawhorses was not enough. For this iteration I fastened the sheet of plywood to eight foot 2X4s running beneath the plywood like floor joists. This provides a nice solid platform which does not sag that is still light enough to move out of the way if the space is needed.

2. Screw a eight foot measuring tape directly to the middle of the plywood platform. The edge of the tape provides a reliable mid-line and the tape provide a constant frame of reference for measurements along the length.

3. Prepare a bunch of layout blocks. In order to hold things in place for welding you will need fixtures to hold the tubing in place. Rather than scrounge up a suitable piece of scrap while you are thinking about the joint, it is handy to have a bunch of pre-drilled blocks on hand. You will already have enough on your mind when doing the lay out.

4. Set a tolerance. While working is it hard to know what is good enough. Experience must help a lot, but until I have that experience I decide that everything must be within 1/16 of an inch when fitting most parts. Steering and driveline must be a good deal more exact This seems reasonable without being too exacting.

5. Set a margin of error of joint fits. After a bit of experimentation I found that having no more than .035 of an inch gap on joints makes for pretty decent welds for someone of my experience level. Anything bigger and I tended to blowholes

I look forward to hearing more about your season!