cisco said...

You can't complain about the price of those wheels, even in US Dollars.

How 'bout this then
www.alibaba.com/trade/search?SearchText=azusa+Wheels&Country=&CatId=0&IndexArea=product_en&ssk=y

The bearings were very low quality.
Before ordering all new wheels, I'm going to check with one of the suppliers in my area to see if I can get good bearings to fit my current wheels.

Good idea Cisco. I'll shoot them an email and see what they say.

For now, I found some bearings that look pretty good. We'll see how well they hold up.
---------------------------------
On a different note...
I thought it would be interesting to see what my total cost was for my Mini, so here's the list in USD:

Bicycle parts: free
salvaged steel: $20
salvaged Mast/boom: $10
wheels: $45
bearings: $50
Rope/ pulleys: $20
Sail (canvas): $50
Bolts/fasteners $15
welding supplies: $10

Total: $220

So far; Alot of fun for not much money. Just the way I like it.

The tube used for the mini in some of the original drawings mention did "Drill tube" but most yachts are using the alternative 60x2 Galv tube as used for fence posts etc which is VERY commonly avaliable.

Gal isn't that bad to weld. If you weld in and open area with a breeze you shouldn't choke to death on the fumes. You can sand / grind off the coating on the area to weld, then use cold gal paint to fix it up.
Brett

according to the website of steelandtube.co.nz the have a bigger range of Galtube plus than we do in Kalgoorlie do! some 4 or 5 outlets in a town called Auckland , think I went there once , had nice beer and a harbour, i Think , and one of those big Harbour bridge things

Exhaust tubing would get the right sizes, but you need to keep in mind that it is engineered to bend tightly over small lengths The club 88 is built from the stuff and requires lots of bracing,and internal stiffeners.
I suspect that a mini could be built of the stuff , but if you had a big knockdown and it bent ,dont be dissapointed.
Pirrad and Agamackay have managed to build minis from trampoline tube which is probably the same stuff

landyacht said...

Exhaust tubing would get the right sizes, but you need to keep in mind that it is engineered to bend tightly over small lengths The club 88 is built from the stuff and requires lots of bracing,and internal stiffeners.
I suspect that a mini could be built of the stuff , but if you had a big knockdown and it bent ,dont be dissapointed.
Pirrad and Agamackay have managed to build minis from trampoline tube which is probably the same stuff

cant agree with you paul as my mini is made exhaust pipe tube ,and it has been bashed over all types of surfaces ,also has no internal stiffening what so ever that is with small wheels and large ones .It has been sailed in heavy and light winds with the only sail i have which is 4.5 sq mtrs, tube size is 46 mm

Tailshafts out of motor vehicles would seem to be one of the ultimate materials to build a torsional land yacht frame from. Apparently they are seamless, of higher grade steel and are apparently designed for far greater torsional stress than our application on a land yacht. This could be debatable though when a mast step is welded on. (Research Engineer Gizmo to the fore.)

Given the trend towards front wheel drive vehicles (in the US, many V8 cars are front wheel drive), maybe we should rush out to our local wrecking yards and buy up all the tailshafts they have?? (panic, panic, get 'em before the price goes up, good conservation policy)

For those of us that miss that rush and get stuck with using seamed, low grade steel galvanised ex street sign posts, the question becomes, should the seam of the pipe be arranged in compression or stretch in the construction of the yacht to achieve the lowest probability of failure of the material during the attempts of most land yachters to stretch their yacht beyond it's expected capabilities.

I can hardly think of anybody around here who would do that. We will leave that to the extremists.

landyacht said...

according to the website of steelandtube.co.nz the have a bigger range of Galtube plus than we do in Kalgoorlie do! some 4 or 5 outlets in a town called Auckland , think I went there once , had nice beer and a harbour, i Think , and one of those big Harbour bridge things

Hi Paul, the sad thing with Steel and Tube (and others) is that what their catalogues, both online and paper, show as being available, does not reflect what they have.
I simply offered driveshaft tube as an option, cos I have tried it, it works, did not fail and is damned near free at the U Pull it etc, especially if you pick one with knackered unis.

Was it this thread that talks about bearings?
Years ago I went to a major bearing supplier and asked if we got everyone to buy their bearings could we get a discount. It ended up that showing a membership card got a 70% discount! Yes seventy per cent.
When we first intro'd the FEd 5 we had coupons to get a number of discounts which we had organised. Is this a possibility to help some of the LL Mini builders?

kiwi307 said...

Was it this thread that talks about bearings?
Years ago I went to a major bearing supplier and asked if we got everyone to buy their bearings could we get a discount. It ended up that showing a membership card got a 70% discount! Yes seventy per cent.
When we first intro'd the FEd 5 we had coupons to get a number of discounts which we had organised. Is this a possibility to help some of the LL Mini builders?

I wish!on wheels and bearings the prices are all over the place.
The manufactuers want you to use a local distributer, the distributer want massive markups or dont seem to want your tiny order.
The fallshaw wheels weve been using are made in brisbane . Lots of minis being built in QLD so it should be easy for them , but the prices are all over the place.
In WA , I gave up using the local agents , and the state distributer and only buy from the manufacturer, copping the freight myself, so I can get the stuff in a reasonable time frame. fortunately the support network were building up seems to be getting better, dont forget we're often dealing with places and often countries where weve never even been!
Could you try getting that galtube from Chile, theve got it.
When i googled for the galtube in Auckland, many of the hits were from fencing suppliers.
They all seem to use the 50mm stock .the 60mm stock is usually used at gate post and corner posts so that could be another avenue.
most certainly , if you can find sources of near free suitable tube , thats the path I would take as well. Ive never been a big fan of paying too much.In fact Ive kind of made it a religion to build for almost nothing another source would be the cross tubes on car chassis's as well

landyacht said...
...Lots of minis being built in QLD...

Who's building them? Any pics?

QUOTE
Ian said-Take note people Landyacht is getting worried and is trying to side track me.
If I did would it get me my diploma Paul-so I can start construction on my new lefroy mini FUBAR (I decided to call #1 SNAFU and #2 KISS) or maybe a class5.

Landyacht said-When can I expect you to submit the rollerblade yacht for marking

Ian replied-www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=49908

Waiting for landyacht to mark last project before starting a new one. Dan(Aggro) sailed his new lefroy on Saturday for the first time.
Sorry hills you know how I have to toy/bait the big dog (Landyacht)

Come on landyacht. This is like pulling teeth.