my dad made me a go kart with a 3 gear bike engine (also ~45cc), when i was about your kid's age . he didnt have all the tools you do but he managed to pull it of. mostly by visiting every scrap yard ever to get the parts he couldnt make. long story short... your kid will NEVER... EVER... forget this. my dad died when i was 11. seeing you do this floods my eyes with tears. thank you for making so many great videos. you are awesome.
OH BTW!!! make sure the rear and front wheels are alinged by their respective centers or the thing will have serious troubles turning. (as in, both front and rear tires' centers should be at the same distance from the center of the chasis)
juan Balsamo I feel ya man. the best thing my father ever did for me was when he'd put tools in my hand and teach me how to work with my hands. if I wanted a bicycle, I had to rebuild one from the dump. if I wanted a 4 wheeler, I had fix one up. he a had a very strict schedule, 1 hour on whatever project a day or I'd lose a toy such as games and what not. he'd buy the parts I needed and showed me how to use the tools to get it done. all those "old man" tricks he showed me helped me soo much over the years, as well as the discipline just to get up off my ass and just spend a little bit of time everyday on a project. now I'm 26 and those tricks and habits have welded themselves in my brain. not one day goes by where something isn't moving forward. No matter how big it small. from 10 minutes to an all night thrash. Something constructive happened that day. I have a step son who just turned 6 and he wants a Go-kart as well. so, guess what he gets to do an hour a day? haha! don't care if he whines, or he doesn't feel like it that day. If he doesn't make progress, he doesn't get youtube. when he finishes his Go-kart, all his friends will ask him "where did you get it?!" to which he'll reply "I made it" can't wait to hear him say that.
in my case i didn't have that luxury. my dad had a job and shop time was very short, so i'd just watch and let the man do his thing. he did take the time to explain his mad plans though. but oh boy did i learned from just watching. my dad was the kind of guy that would tackle ANYTHING. "learn how to, go and do it. just like that". that and he's usual saying "there'll always be problems to solve and for those... the good ol' hammer" lol. but yeah, i got lots from him. mom's stare when im working gives it a way. i guess the old man lives through me.
Everytime I have a job to do and I don't have the tool, I get to buy it. My grandpa had a complete tool collection when he died. I'm slowly making my way.
Oh wow, I just watched for the 3rd time and missed it. Thanks for pointing it out! I'm catching all sorts of jokes on the 2nd or 3rd watch in all his videos.
I was running this saw for about 2 hours at about a 30-50% duty cycle ru-vid.comUgkxfQm1wmg0ItKDLavxj1nXtQY9HP7EF504 and it did a great job. I used the lever for the built in sharpener to clear chip buildup out more than to actually sharpen the chain. It managed to cut some hardwood stumps much larger than it's size without bothering the neighbors with hours of 2 stroke noise.
I always end up re-watching this video series at least bi-yearly. Something about it just knacks my fabrication/engineering/childhood/automotive-enthusiast part of my brain and gives me a lot of inspiration right before I start another project whatever it is...
@@ThisOldTony I am in WNY .. I do have the clutch tools several diff ones .. basic is a plate with 2 pins that stick out and it hooks up to your air inpack some time I will try and post a picture of them on my you tube page ..
I love TOT's videos, he not only drops a mountain of knowledge and has mad skills, but the videos are very funny and he's not afraid to admit his mistakes.... He's the kinda guy you would love to hang out with and shot the sh1t... Thanks TOT for inviting us into your shop👍👍👍
dmr drexel, if I was a kid with a weld-mask, I'd be absolutely horrible about keeping it on. I could imagine my dad trying that with me; it would not have worked. Better to get a shielded welding booth. Good for you for getting a respirator. Developing a wood dust allergy is very effective at preventing her from ever taking up the craft.
Thank you for this video. You are fun to watch, and I find your humor most agreeable to my sensibilities. I am in my middle thirties now, but when I waz in elementary, I was the kid that would be reading books during recess, about how to make go-karts. Thank you for reminding me of the better memories, of my younger self.
I come home from school, and there's this! You made my day, Uncle Tony. And you are one of the 4 channels I don't play on 2 times speed (the other ones are car related and then it looks like they pull 8g's around a corner). This is my type of meditation.
My first vehicle that made me into the speed junkie that I am today was a Bug brand Go kart with twin McCullough (sp?) chain saw engines that were adapted for karts. It would do about 65 mph. Papa took it away from me for a few years because it was way too fast for a 9 year old kid. My point is that chain saw engines have been used in Go Karts and Mini bikes since the beginning of the commercial Go Kart craze in the '60's in SoCal. Watching 'This Old Tony' make a chain saw engine into a bitchin homemade kart for his kid brought back good memories from my childhood. A labor of love, for sure. Good job Tony!
Awesome man. My brother and I did the same when we were kids, but on a skate board. 30mph speed wobbles (sitting down on a 1gal bucket, toes hanging 10, and reaching back to pull throttle) was interesting.
Tony, as I said before, so glad I am breathing when you are, it's a joy to see and hear your work, the joy never ends. Thanks for sharing. Kindest regards. Joe.
Am I the only one that went back to the last video to see what he was talking about with the chainsaw go kart comment. Got an extra view out me Tony. Well played.....well played Tony....
I remember the first go-karts. You had to make one yourself, in metal-shop in school or in your garage. Then they started to manufacture them. You had a choice between a four-stroke lawnmower engine like a "Clinton" (less expensive and not as fast) and a two-stroke McCullough chainsaw engine (I wasn't aware of any other makes back then). The fastest karts had two chainsaw engines, one driving each rear wheel. At first, ordinary McCullough chainsaw engines were used. Then when karting became popular, McCullough started making engines specifically for karts. I remember the Mac 5, Mac 10, and Mac 20. The cheaper karts had brakes that were nothing more than metal paddles that rubbed against the tires. The better ones had mechanical drum brakes.
"Make a blueprint before you do anything." Machinist: "Eyeball everything, it's fine!" My kind of fabricating. Also, had to make sure the frame was set to 'W' for 'Wumbo'?
You have brought back a ton of memories for me, great job and very good welding as well, my dad was a machinist by trade and made my brother and me a kart, it was so over built but we loved it.
Bit of maths for your gear reduction: If you have 10 inch diameter wheels and you want a max speed of ~20mph, that comes out to about 650 rpm (672 to be exact). With a 12k max rpm that means you'll want a 12000/650 ~ 18:1 gear reduction. That of course depends on whether your chainsaw can hit top RPM at top go kart speeds, but if that's a top speed you want then that's the sort of thing you need. For a 25mph top speed you want around a 15:1 reduction. So I'd probably go for two gear reductions unless you want top speed to be at middling RPMs from the motor.
Zak Karimjee he may want to keep top speed at about 75% of the power band with a shortened throttle cable. It would probably be gutless or stalling on the low end if he goes too high in gearing +This Old Tony
It might just hit top rpms.. or close.. I think it's more than the 1 hp he thinks it is.. 50cc Scooter motors are more than 1hp, and scooter motors are ported and tuned for a lot less power and rpms than a chain saw.. He's gonna be surprised at the power, Chain saws should have close to the power of a Dirt Bike of the same displacement.. I know, 50cc dirt bikes are pretty fast with the little guys on em.. that chain saw is gonna be a lot for that small frame.
Zak Karimjee also the the engine may not have enough tq. for take off. even with a gearing that will allow for 20mph. I came across this. when trying a 3 HP engine on my cart. it wouldn't move on its own. but with help taking off. it would do 15-20 mph. but with the 5hp. it would do 45+. so I guess it was a lot more than 5 HP. I would love to build a larger version of this.
That sounds right, except I doubt the old motor will hit 12,000 rpm. New chainsaws only just do that. I'd aim for 10,000 rpm with a 12:1 or 13:1 reduction. And yes, I agree, a secondary reduction is needed. I reckon that engine would put out about 2.5 to 3 hp. My modern 65 cc Husky saw puts out about 5hp.
Gee, I wish you were my Dad. Are you willing to adopt a 72 year old? ;) I used to race Karts back in the day. I think you should have mounted the engine on the right to put the large sprocket close to the right wheel and put the large disk brake close to the left wheel. That way you will have more clearance in the center and less damage when straddling humps, rocks, curbs, and other objects. Congratulations on a very interesting build and a great job on the video. It's entertaining without a lot of blah blah blah. I look forward to part two.
As an adult (chortle) who grew up with a dad who could make anything, I hope your kids appreciate and value how they have a dad who can make anything. Keep up the great work.
hey tony, instead of welding everything to the axle and making it a one shot unserviceable deal, why not just mill in some keyways only in the spots where stuff will be after you have it all laid out (since im assuming you dont want to key the entire shaft)? or even just drill right through the hub and axle to put a nut and bolt through so that it has the entire cross section of the bolt transferring the torque. if you dont mind ordering online you can get little disc brakes made for 50cc scooters and pocket bikes that have mechanical calipers and the discs are only about 4 3/4" across rather than that giant bike brake. i got 2 calipers with pads for $20 and 2 discs for $25 a year ago. also im not exactly sure on how you plan on making that double reduction work with it sitting on the shaft like that seeing as the output of the intermediate would have to go back up to another intermediate or idler and back down to the shaft for the final gear. plus you cant weld it to the shaft or it will just bind up the whole thing and if you let it free spin it will just wear it down and eat up the shaft and hub and probably make some horrible noises. unless you plan on using a bearing and at least 2 more sprockets to make it a triple reduction or have and idler somewhere i would move the intermediate setup you have off the axle and put it elsewhere and make a new hub for the final drive sprocket. also a chain tensioner is a good idea, easily takes up the slack when the chain wears in and makes it far less likely to throw it. finally i know this is for a kids kart and wont be carving up the track at 50 mph, but those type of tires are total garbage and like to roll off the bead when taken sideways so i wouldnt use them for the risk of turning my kid into a tiny harvey dent unless you want to try and bead lock them somehow like they do with offroad tires. if you can find some lower profile tires it would be a much better choice or even some thin solid rubbers at the cost of weight and ride quality. and by the way the 295 engine is a 2 stroke 46cc making ~2 hp and free revs up to 13.5k rpm
the key would be difficult because you'd need the right sized broach to put a keyway into the various parts, and you'd also need to figure out how to keep the parts from sliding down the axle (setscrews or lock collars would work, but both would require parts and/or more work). Drilling a hold for a bolt might be difficult to do through steel, with the big flange on some of the parts might make getting the drill down in there difficult. I'm sure tony probably had his reasons not to go with these strategies.
We had a chainsaw engine go-kart back in the 60s. I think it was a Mccollough. No clutch and had to push start it. 12" slicks on the rear and 10" on the front. It would go like a bat out of hell. We drove it on the local general aviation airport taxi way when no one was around. This project brings back a lot memories...thanks
I can’t believe how well you were able to explain how you messed up on your bend. There’s just no way I’d have been able to even slightly put that into words.
Poulan has always been a reliable tough saw until recently when I bought a 20" on sale at tractor supply. Right off the bat it wouldn't start when it di
Sorry but it wouldn't start after it died when I was dogging it pretty much. I thought it wouldn't cause of my restart proceedure thinking I flooded it. After awhile when it cooled it started right up but still won't start at times when I dog it or the blade is wedged in the log. I'm real careful now of restart procedure after it dies. Also the motor don't excellerated like my wild thing does an although my 20" dies have a few more CC's it bogs down a lot easier. They trying to make it so dummies can cut wood has really made it ineffieciant for someone who needs that power to be efficient cuss I live on a farm. So what y don't I buy a shtil? Cuss I can by three poulans to one sthile but I guess you get what you pay for
Do a double reduction for sure. If you use 12" wheels at 4000 RPM that ends up as about 200 MPH under no load. The weight of the wheels alone would take that down to about 50, and under load with a person it would take a couple years to accelerate. I recommend mounting the mid reduction axle above. Use the 7 speed gear as a coupled gear, and you probably can get a decent reduction. If you need more than that, get smaller wheels. I think 3 reductions is necessary. Might be difficult but it isn't a powerful engine.
Years ago I built my son a go cart out of a riding mower frame. It was driven by a big old David Bradley gear drive saw engine. It was unstoppable. Also took one of those big powerwheels Jeep, an axle out of a self propelled push mower, and added a four stroke weed eater engine. He loved them both.
Am I the only one who noticed Tony said six attachment points for the old drive when there was seven? Knowing Tony I'm guessing that was intentional to see who was watching.
Nice one Tony, really enjoying it so far. Takes me back to the motorized karts I used to build in my teens. One of my builds had a solid back axle driving both wheels (as you are building) and the problem with it is there is no differential so the inner tyres slip and squeal when you turn. Proper karts get around this to a degree by have a high kingpin angle on the front steering hubs. This causes the kart to tilt over/jack up a bit and lift up the inner rear wheel, allowing it to slip when you go around the corner. But it makes the steering heavy as it is also lifting your own weight up to some degree and I think children would object to this. A later build just drove one rear wheel, with the other free wheeling and this was better although pulling away could make the single wheel spin as it was taking all the power. Maybe that is a better compromise? My builds used things like moped engines which including the transmission so I already had all the gearing to get the correct road wheel speed. In your case the double reduction using an intermediate gearset is probably the simplest, as you are planning. You can then have the intermediate gear on a slotted bracket to tension both sets of the chains. You can also experiment with the ratios by changing the intermediate set fairly quickly. Make sure the engine mounting bracket is very rigid - the engine will get pulled down when it applies force to the chain and cause sprocket misalignment and thrown chain. Ask me how I know!Also, I'm sure you will get to it but needs some shielding between the sharp gears and the seat/child. Good luck with it all, it is giving me ideas again . . . !!
that is good info router, thanks! I was actually planning on the steering taking some weight off the inside tire to get around the solid rear axle but you have a good point, steering will be harder, hadn't thought that far ahead. Maybe giant comedy-sized steering wheel? :)
Or power steering :)The other thing at the front end to think about is the principle of Ackermann steering. This is setting up the geometry of the steering arms to allow the front wheels to take slightly different radiuses around the turn. This is achieved by in plan view pointing the steering arms so they are angled inwards to point at the centre of the rear axle. A quick google search will show a picture of the arrangement (e.g. Wikipedia).
You never cease to amaze. I've been shoving soft things in cylinders for years...on bigger saws you can usually get the clutch off with an impact blip though, and the clutch is mounted opposite of the Poulan with a normal bolt.
Having watched this video (& others) over a few reds... I am now an expert go kart builder. You should connect the who's-a-me-bob to the thingy-ma-jig with a what-ya-me-call-it. This ensures the job is done correctly, thus preventing arm-chair experts from making stupid posts. Ops... too late.
7:04 Reminds me of when I needed some schrader valves as a kid and asked a bike shop if they sold them. They grabbed a couple broken tires out of the trash and were like "here ya go kid"
Tyler Hickey don't even modify the saw at all, just glue some cut up old car tire and glue it to the chain. Make a plate to mount the saw on with the bar sticking off the back, add a lever to rock the plate so the chain/bar hits the ground and you are off and runnin!
I wanted to do that as a 14/15yo teenager. I could just never find a decent used chainsaw for sale locally haha. I would have used bike wheels and ran the chainsaw chain straight to the sprocket. make that bitch 1 wheel drive haha
The 75 cc Partner I bought new in about 1977 is the predecessor to the Poulan line, since Swedish made Partner was sold to Poulan. That saw, with a 28" bar, was a killer! In fact, Partner bragged about two of those powering a light aircraft for hours! Sure miss those days . . .
2:16 fire lit. Was shaking my head when you said you upgraded to a Stihl. I swear by Jonsered which is owned by Husqvarna and in 16 years none of the three I've owned has let me down. Not once.
I watch a lot of stuff on RU-vid this was the most entertaining bye in American thank you so much for the video I like to hang around you for a few days
Probably too late for this kind of change, but you could still use the gear setup. Just build a sprague clutch with a one-way bearing. That way the wheels could still rotate even when the engine was running slower than the driveshaft.
I'm 47 years old. My father, an auto mechanic, replacee the engines on a go-kart and minibike using a chainsaw motor about 40 years ago. You've done him proud.
Like the frame design, lots of reasons including that it just looks right. Jackshaft esp after taking a quick look in do it yourself carting forums, an issue other than ratios that seems fairly prevalent is when various styles (diy sources) of clutch fully engage with the idea being some sort of useful balance. IF you find those bike sprockets don't last, where you are at you should be able to find rear gears for track bikes, heavier construction vis a vis effected by the weld (?)
