Hillbilly platen V2

[Rick Kirchner]

Well, after looking ar $400K FFs, here's something on the other end of the spectrum.

Several years ago I built some very long ramps for when I had a toyhauler and even with motorcycle rims, getting the FC inside was a challenge of jacks, boards, and scrap lumber. Those ramps proved to be not strong enough for the job, and in cutting them up for other uses found that they nearly perfectly matched the heights I needed in between my scales, and the hillbilly platen was born. They were OSB boxes and weighed a ton, but worked for what I needed.

My new shop has a pretty level floor, and I decided to ditch the scale levelers. I made a water level and figured out how much distance was needed under each scale, and 3D printed spacers which I screwed to the bottom of the scales.

Then I needed a new platen because the old one was too tall for the much lower scales.

So, a sheet of plywood, a couple of 4x4s, a couple of 2x4's , and a 1x2 later I had gen 2 of the hillbilly platen. I might have a hundred bucks in it. It's much lighter than the previous. Hardest part was building a quickie router table so I could cut the blocks for the plywood. Old Rebco scales are almost exactly 3.5" high. The spine down the center of the underside needs to be planed off a bit.

Also on my previous one, I had sheets of metal to lay across the scales to make a ground plane reference for setting ride height. With the 3D printer, I can put a bar across the scales, measure the distance to the ground, and print a little platform I can use to rest the ride ht gauge on.

Also for those that have a dead head unit for their scales, I found this little gem on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It only needs a power supply but it can also be interfaced with Raspberry Pis and Arduinos, which would allow you to make a wireless set out of your old wired ones for a fraction of the price of new ones.

[Rick Iverson]

Kirchner;

Absolutely magnificent.

[Rick Kirchner]

Kirchner;

Absolutely magnificent.

One of these day's I'm going to build on off of your plans.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

The obvious question: Why aren't the spacers orange ?

Cool stuff!

[Rick Kirchner]

Had I built this shop, instead of bought it, the plan was to have two recessed areas in the floor to hold the scales.

[jrh3]

I’m sure it’s been determined but it would be interesting to know the effect of say 3mm out of level on scale readings of our cars.
I think I’ll slide a 3mm vinyl floor tile under a tire next time I scale the car.

[TedV]

So, a sheet of plywood, a couple of 4x4s, a couple of 2x4's , and a 1x2 later I had gen 2 of the hillbilly platen. I might have a hundred bucks in it.

Rick, is that 1/4" or 1/2" plywood?

My hillbilly race ramps to get the F600 in the trailer are made from 2" thick formular 250 (rated for 25psi) cut with a hot wire foam cutter in the shape of ramps then covered by 1/4" sandeply. Sandwiched and glued together with gorilla glue and great stuff pro. The foam is now $65/sheet so I'm not sure if I could do foam core platen for hillbilly pricing.

Thanks!

[Rick Kirchner]

Rick, is that 1/4" or 1/2" plywood?

My hillbilly race ramps to get the F600 in the trailer are made from 2" thick formular 250 (rated for 25psi) cut with a hot wire foam cutter in the shape of ramps then covered by 1/4" sandeply. Sandwiched and glued together with gorilla glue and great stuff pro. The foam is now $65/sheet so I'm not sure if I could do foam core platen for hillbilly pricing.

Thanks!

oh that's cool, never thought about a foam sandwich. Yeah, it's half inch, I decided if I wanted thinner I'd probably need to go with a box, so I went thicker with a "T", less overall weight and cost.

[Rick Kirchner]

I’m sure it’s been determined but it would be interesting to know the effect of say 3mm out of level on scale readings of our cars.
I think I’ll slide a 3mm vinyl floor tile under a tire next time I scale the car.

Well if you are using 1000 lb rear springs every .001 out of level should shift a pound to the opposite front corner. .050 - 50 lbs.... That might be over simplifying it but I believe it's close.

I was down on the floor last night making measurements for the two pieces I need to establish a measuring platform for ride height and to support my gauge. I need to do a bit more work to get one of the individual scales level - the center was level with everything else, but the whole thing had a significant tilt.

When I laid out the scales I had them across 4 slabs of concrete simply because it spaced the car out and would make it easier to move around it and make adjustments - but now you're working with four different reference planes. i might move it over so there's only a front slab and a back one which might simplify things a bit.

[Mike B]

New thread to discuss a wireless scale conversion has been created here: https://www.apexspeed.com/forums/sho...870#post659870

[Rick Iverson]

Kirchner:

Give me a call. I have an interesting project you will want to be a part of.

Merry Christmas, Pal