Info on building a rotissery for restoration

[wally409]

Does anyone have any information or blueprints on building a rotissery for my 62?
I have access to a whole bunch of scrap 3/16th 2-inch square tubing at a low price and I wonder if that is thick enough to support a car shell.
Also, will a 110 mig welder have enough power to do the job - if not, what the least amount of amperage I need. (I do have 220 in my garage)
Anything else I need to know - please tell me. Thanks. wally

 

[gearhead409]

Wally

build it safe. i bought a high end one about ten years ago, i think it was about $1300 back then. it almost always has a car body or complete car hanging on it. i have never felt uncomfortable around or under it. your tubing size will be ok if built right. if you can look at one in your area ( a friend or dealer) take some measurements, get some ideas before starting. your 110 mig would be maxed out welding this size tubing ( duty cycle time) but could be done. i think you would do better tack welding it together with the 110 mig and finishing the job with your big welder. good luck!

 

[Tom Kochtanek]

Previous posts

Wally:

Try to do a search of the "archives" with the word "rotisserie" and you'll see some of the previous posts on the subject. Browse around and you might find what you are looking for. Here's an example:

http://www.348-409.com/forum/showthread.php?t=770&highlight=rotisserie

Let us know how it goes. I've seen "kits" for rotisseries from Eastwood and maybe some other vendors, but do not have any experience at this time.

Good luck!

TomK

 

[jim_ss409]

I agree that you should be able to do it mainly with the 2" square tubing as long as you use some common sense and brace or gusset the joints that will have the most stress. I only had a 110 volt mig welder when I built my rotisserie. You can get pretty good penetration with the machine turned right up, but like Gearhead said, it'll kick out on you if you don't keep stoping to give it a rest. You've got to be able to trust the thing though, so if in doubt, add some extra bracing.

 

[wally409]

Great info guys - especially about "doin it right" ,especially regarding the extra bracketing and gussets.
Also, I decided to buy a bigger mig (rather than two small welders - mig and stick)
I do have 220 in my garage so I'll look for something around 120+ amp that should do the job - they're fairly pricey but I'll go back to the 'doin it right' scenario.

By the way, went to take out the headliner out of the car this weekend and there had to be 20 pounds of stuffing from the seats and micesh*t that started to rain down on me. So I got a worn out old piece of plastic tarp, put it on the floorboards then tightly wrapped an old dishtowel around my head, taped a piece of hockey tape around the collar of my coveralls to keep the crap from going down the back of my neck and put on a dust mask and safety glasses and got to work.
When I was done, like a dirty old diaper, I grabbed the four corners of the tarp and jammed it all into a garbage can.
Isn't this restoration thing fun? wally

 

[super sport]

go to your nearest book store like Barnes and noble . I saw a car magazine with a how to build your own car rotisserie at home and it listed every dimensions you would need with correct tube size .. i will try to stop by the book store today and see what the magazine it was .

 

[Brian Thompson]

Here is one that Jeff Lilly put together.

http://macc.chevelles.net/rotator.htm

 

[skipxt4]

Great Article Brian.

 

[super sport]

well guys i went to the two stores i usally look at car magazines wal-mart and barnes & nobles . I could not find the magazine i sam that had the how to build a rotessorie. sorry...

 

[Eotnak]

here's one:

http://www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com/1941buick/Editorial_20.htm

plus a great thread on another forum:

http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35699

a couple things about rotisseries:

you should have an adjustable bar on the bottom that runs the length of the car. It takes a LOT of stress off the car. Also, my impala popped out and hit the ground because I didn't have this bar adjusted properly. I've found that if I jack up the bar before I tighten it, it forces the two ends to squeeze towards the car instead of pulling away when you spin the car.

good luck!