Our friend Bill from South Glen Falls, NY was kind enough to send us the story of his 12 year old grandson building his own MINI-BEEP ORT! Below is Bills version of the story. Also, please see the link at the bottom of the page to the article that his grandson was in. Copyright 2012 The Glen Falls Chronicle, author: David Cederstrom.
"When I arrived home from Florida last June (2011), my twelve
year old” grandson Jeffrey met me at the door with an instruction book and a
big grin."
"When I asked him what he had, he replied “I have the plans
to make an 80% scale working jeep” When
I asked him where those came from, he told me that he had found this website
“Struck” on line and thought that the mini beep was “cool” He then worked on his parents and they gave
him the instruction book for his twelfth birthday. They told him that when his
grand father returned from Florida that he would be probably be happy to help
with the project and then the saga began."
"After reading the book carefully cover to cover the
adventure started. I explained to Jeff
how to interpret the drawings and how to accurately read the various rulers and
measuring devices. I then went over the
details and explained how to interpret the angles and arcs and had him draw out
each diagram. Then, before cutting
anything, I had him check his work once or twice more. He was then shown how to use a saber saw and,
after just a little practice, began to cut out the pieces. Where critical
shapes were involved, I suggested that he stay just to the outside edge of the
pencil marks so that he could touch up the final shape with a sander."
"Jeff is a kid that has had an intense interest in tools for
some time. He started a collection of
basic battery operated power tools such as drills, sanders, etc since the time
he was nine. After about two weeks, he had all of the parts cut out and
started sanding and filling the pieces.
It seemed like the sanding and filling was going to take an eternity,
but he progressed at it very diligently."
"In the meantime, the rest of the family and some of the
neighbors started to take an interest just to see what he was doing. His grand mother made he and I shop aprons and embroidered
them with “Jeff’s” Beep works, and later made he and his father “T” shirts that
said “Jeff’s Beep works. Jeff’s said
Jeff “CEO” and his father’s said
Bill “CFO”."
"After the sanding and filling exercise, Jeff drilled all of
the pilot holes where the various pieces would go together. Then he went over these holes again with a
countersink. At that point, we set up a couple of saw horses and cut a
couple of two by four stringers to fasten the floor to. In this was, the assembly could be made at
table height and there would be a relatively easy way to move it to the bed of
a pick up truck when the body was assembled. Per the instructions, each piece was clamped, glued and
screwed with stainless steel screws."
"It was hot that summer, and we left the garage door open
while we were working. Many people that
walked by stopped to see what on earth he was building. In fact, when the body was nearing
completion, one day a school bus stopped out in front and several of the school
maintenance men got out to see what we were doing. It seems that they had heard rumors of this
project and stopped to see for themselves."
"After the body assembly was finished, all of the screw holes
and all of the seams were filled with epoxy filler. Then more sanding took place. Jeff is getting pretty adept with numerous
types of sanders. Next, one coat of epoxy resin was put on and, again sanded
smooth."
"By now, Summer was pretty well over and grandpa was looking
forward to going back to Florida, so the body was moved to Jeff’s house in
Gansevoort. He and his father applied
several more coats of epoxy resin and sanded, sanded, and sanded. The body was then painted with an automobile paint in a
green color similar to the original jeep colors."
"The hardware kit was purchased from Struck and his father painted
it to match the body. (Epoxy resin and painting were not Jeff’s specialty.) After the painting was finished Jeff assembled the pieces
over the winter of 2011-2012. By
January, it was starting to look like a real jeep."
"In February of 2012, the headlights were installed and an
electric start engine was purchased. The
engine was installed and the key turn start switch and throttle were relocated in the cab.
By the end of February, Jeff was taking people for a ride in his
do-it-yourself vehicle. A current estimate is that Jeff accomplished about 80%
of the work that went into this over a period of about eight month’s."
"At this point in time, many of the finishing details have
been completed, a trailer hitch has been installed and the float box is under
construction. He has had so much fun constructing and customizing this
“Beep” that I am not sure that it will ever be completely finished. He is working on details to install brake
lights and directional signals."
"All in all, this has been a great experience for Jeff and
his whole family. It has taught him a great deal about mechanical drawing,
carpentry, finishing, mechanical assembly, electrical wiring, etc, etc. In addition, he has become
adept in using numerous types of tools."
"It has been a wonderful bonding experience for Jeff and his
father as well as his grandfather. We have all commented that gee, it is too bad that more
young boys do not have an opportunity for this type of experience."
--Bill, South Glen Falls, NY
Here is a link to the newspaper article that was written about Bill's grandson. Copyright 2012, The Glen Falls Chronicle - Author: David Cederstrom.
Here is a link to the newspaper article that was written about Bill's grandson. Copyright 2012, The Glen Falls Chronicle - Author: David Cederstrom.
