Jacob Kamradt Portfolio Final Kart Plans

Building a Go Kart
Senior Project 2013

By: Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project Mentors

In school Mentor: Mr. McGory
Out of school Mentor: Terry Schulze
Senior Project
Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project
Contents
5 Required Documents
12 Blog/Journal
37 E-mail
55 Pictures
67 Receipts
77 Written documents
79 Pictures
88 Important Things
95 Reaserch
111 THANK YOU
Jacob Kamradt
Required Documents
Time Line
Month Week Days PrioritiesoftheWeek
August 1 2631Aug.,Sep.1 DetermanWhattodoforSeniorProject
September 2 28 Writeletterofintent
3 915 Finishletterofintent
4 1622 Beginresearchintogokarts
5 2329 Submitletterofintentandbuyplansforgokart
October 6 30Sep.,16Oct. Beginsearchingforparts
713 Workontimeline,beginworkonportfolio,andsearch
7 forparts
8 1420 Workonportfolio,finishtimeline
9 2127 Finishupdatingportfolio,searchforparts
2831Oct.,13Nov, Finalizetimeline(due30th)Searchforparts/meetwith
10 mentorsaboutparts
November 11 410 Getparts
1117 Firstportfoliocheck(due15th)Updateportfolio,Get
12 plansfornewkart,Getparts
13 1824 Searchfornewparts
14 2530Nov.,1Dec. Continuesearchfornewparts
December 15 28 Finishsearchingfornewparts
16 915 Beginworkonmainframe
17 1622 Continueworkonmainframe
18 2329 Finishworkonmainframe
January 19 3031Dec.,15Jan. Poster
20 612 Workon5minutepresentation,andposter
21 1319 Posterand5minutepresentationdue(due18th)
22 2026 Attachallextramounts,etc.
23 2731Jan.,12Feb. Beginattachmentofallotherparts
February 24 39 Continueattachmentofallotherparts
25 1016 Finishattachmentofallotherparts
26 1723 Testandtweak
27 2428Feb.,12March Workonanyfinalproblems
March 28 39 Updateportfolio
29 1016 Workonanythingthatneedstobedone
30 1723 Finishportfolio
31 2430 Finalportfoliocheck(28th)
April 32 31March,16April Finishportfolio
33 713 Finalizeportfolio
34 1420 Portfoliodue(20th)
35 2127 Beginworkonpresentation
May 36 2830April,14May Finishpresentation
37 511 Projectpresentation(6th)
Senior Project
Poaster
Building a Go Kart
Senior Project 2013
By: Jacob Kamradt
For my senior project I wanted to do something

that would give me a preview of my future career
in Mechanical Engineering. I decided that building
a go kart would be best.
This is my current design plan.
I came to this design by taking the

parts from one design and the basic
frame layout from another.
This is the kart that provided

This is the kart that I took the
my parts list.
basic frame layout from.
I chose to build a go kart because I wanted

something that I could use, and have fun with
for several year. I also wanted something that I
could improve upon and modify in the future.
Senior Project Mentors

In school Mentor: Mr. McGory
Out of school Mentor: Terry Schulze
Jacob Kamradt
Mentors Evaluation
Senior Project
Self Evaluation
Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project
10 Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project 11
Blog/Journal
8/22 first actual blog
So far this week I havent bloged at all but this blog will be a recap. Monday we talked
about upcoming assignments and about Photoshop. Tuesday we talked about the quiz for
Google search and worked on the Photoshop project. Today we fished up the Photoshop
project and
Talked about another project we have to do in Photoshop. This project will be easy for me
because last year I took a graphic arts class and learned all about Photoshop.
However in regards to senior projects brother Chuck has talked very little. This concerns
me because I dont know when any of the deadlines are.
8/23
Today was fairly uneventful all I was able to do in class today was cut the background out
of a picture of an apple. But I do have to say I am glad that I kept the binder I made last
year for Mr. Raneys class.
In regards to my senior project I do know what I want to do. Originally I wanted to turn a
lawn mower engine into a go kart but now I am thinking I might restore my grandpas old
Lincoln town car. But that would require a lot of legal work and I would need my grandpas
permission. So I dont know.
8/30
Today I tried to Photoshop in an ipad to replace the ipod from the picture brother chuck
provided us. But I was cut short because I had to go to mass.
In regards to my senior project my Dad has told me that I am not going to restore my
Grandpas car. So that means that I will be making a go-cart, provided the senior project
board will let me. I am starting to think about all the people I will need for this project.
Terry- car friend

Mr. McGory- teacher/ sponsor
Mr. St. Germain- mechanical/ Robotics mentor
These are the people I have thought of so far. I just wish that someone would tell me some-
thing about when request letters, and stuff like that needs to be done. I feel like I am falling
behind.
12 Jacob Kamradt
9/4
I didnt do much today, because as it turns out on Thursday while I was alter serving broth-
er chuck had everyone download something. So it wasnt until 5 minutes before class ended
that I started on the project. Also brother chucks idea to isolate us was bad because we
dont know what we are supposed to be doing.
9/6
Today was a lot more eventful. I found out what the time line for the project is. I got the ru-
bric for the three different parts. And I begun to write my letter of intent. In addition I was
able to talk to Mr. Mcgory and he said he would be my in school mentor.
9/7
Today was similarly eventful as yesterday. I was able to write more of my letter of intent.
Brother chuck also showed Robie and I rubrics for other schools senior projects. Unfortu-
nately all the ones I saw were along the same lines as mine, but were in a different order or
other things like that. So I have decided not to in fact change mine but continue.
This weekend I am planing on asking terry to be my out of school mentor. Likewise on
Tuesday I will ask Mr.Hand.
9/10
Today I began to rap up my letter of intent. It has come along well and I think I will me
done by tomorrow. All I need is to ask Mr. Hand and Terry to be my mentor. I am really
excited to get started
Unfortunately the reason I didnt finish was because we spent half the class trying to sign
up for some school voting thing.
9/11
Today I was able to finish up my letter and after school I plan on asking Mr. Hand if he will
be my mentor. But other than that not much happened.
9/14
Today I mostly just did research. I looked at a variety of different go karts, engines, and the
legal stipulations on the engine size. I found the law for Missouri but I didnt understand it.
Also I found a good kind of go kart that I like. But the problem with all of the go kats that
I have seen is that they all require welding, and I dont know how to weld so that should be
fun to learn. The name of the cart that I like is the arachnid.
Senior Project 13
9/17
Today I read and looked up as much of the legal stipulations that I could. I learned what all
reflector and lights I need on my cart as well I need a muffler. I learned where I cant drive
and that I might need to register and licence the kart. The frustrating thing is that I set out to
find how big of an engine I can put on my kart but I cant find anything on it. On another
note I need to find a place to store it.
9/21
I have made a lot of progress yesterday and today. Yesterday I figured out that you dont
need or have to get a go kart registered, titled, or licensed if you dont want to, but you do
need to put on headlights a tail light, a caution triangle, a working breaking system, and a
muffler. Today I decided on the kart that I want. It is from spidercarts and it is called the
arachnid. Also today I compared the parts that I need that I can buy on their site to other
sites and there prices were generally the same. But I still need to figure out where I will
store it. On another note I dont know how to weld so I hope my mentors can teach me.
9/21
Today and yesterday were not all that productive. Yesterday I did some research about parts
and what I might need and compared prices on parts from spidercarts to others. I had some
luck but nothing to get exited about. During advisory all of the seniors went to the theater
and learned about what senior projects are, but since I already knew all of that I just sat and
lessened. Last knight I measured the height of the loft to be 19 but sealing as the kart will
be roughly 50 tall that wont work. For the time being my dad has told me not to worry
about it. Today I was able to fix up my letter of intent, I needed to add a space for my men-
tors to sign. My plan for this weekend is to talk to my out of school mentor Terry and dis-
cuss different things about the kart.
14 Jacob Kamradt
9/24
This weekend I went over to Terrys house and we talked about different parts on the kart.
A little background of Terry I learned is that he and his brother used to race their own go
carts, and had several different kinds of go carts and even their own shop. So he knew the
answers to all of my questions. The first thing I asked him about was if the design of the
kart was OK and he said that it was but that it might be more expensive than I thought
it would be. My next question was how I was going to weld the frame together. He said
that his brother had a wire welder and that, was the best way to learn how to weld. He
also explained what arch welding and gas welding is and that wire welding was the fast-
est and what I should do. Then we talked about what metal I should use. I was thinking
that I would use stainless steel so the kart didnt rust. But Terry said that normal steal was
cheaper and easier to weld, and that if I put the right paint on that the kart wouldnt rust for
a long time. Next we talked about were to get the metal, I was thinking metal by the foot
and he agreed. After that we talked about the issue of cutting steel and how much harder it
was than wood or aluminum. I told him that I had access to two different chop saws, one at
school, and one at home. He told me that, was OK but what I should really use is a horizon-
tal band saw. He said that his brother used to have one and that he would see if I could bar-
row it. The last thing that I asked him about was what engine I should use. He
suggested a four cycle engine which gives more power as apposed to a two cycle engine
which gives more speed. After two hours I thanked him for his time and being my mentor.
Today I looked for different saw blades for a chop saw that I will use to cut the steel.
I did a search on what kind of blade I need and found I need a blade that is carbide and has
24-48 teeth. I searched on amizon.com, Westlake Ace Hardware, and Dewalt. I have not yet
found one that I like but I have my eye on several different ones. Today I plan on asking
Mr. McGory if I can use the chop saw here at school. I dont want to use the one at home
because it is in my dads work shop. He does a lot of wood cutting so there is a lot of saw
dust that could catch a spark and burn the house down and that would not be good.
9/26
Today I purchased and downloaded the pdf file that is the instructions for the kart. The first
thing I did was go to the parts list and look at the cost of everything. The total cost of the
project not including inflation was 1,616 dollars. WOW, this is a lot but not too far out of
my price range but a little more than I thought. I am hoping I can get it down to around
1,300 dollars, that way if I mess something up I have extra funds to fix it.
9/28
Today I looked at the parts list and tried to find different parts at cheaper prices. I found that
the tires were budgeted to be 50$ but they were 65$ on the suggested site but then I found
them for 55$ on amazon so in total it was a 5$ increase from the budget but not as bad as
it could be. I also found out that I can get a saw blade for the miter saw at Westlake so Ill
check that out. Yesterday I found the brake set that I will need so that is taken care of.
Senior Project 15
10/2
Yesterday and today I have been going down the list of parts and finding where I can get
them. Yesterday I found out that the tires I was going to buy through amazon were only
tires they didnt include the rims, so that wont work. I found them on Bmi Karts for 65$. I
have a feeling I will be using that site a lot for part.
10/3
Today I began on my Project time line. I went through about three different formats and
made one that I liked. Brother Chuck told me I could use Google but I had already made
one on Excel so even though I cant edit from my ipad I think Ill be ok. Yesterday I got Mr.
McGorys OK to use the robotics miter saw to cut the steel frame.
10/4
Today I worked some more on my time line. I was able to get all the weeks and days
linked, I think it looks good and that it will be easy to fill in. When I finished I put in all of
the events and dead lines in up to today. So now comes the hard part where I allocate time
to work on things.
10/8
Today I did more research on what kind of saw blade I need to cut through steel. But it all
just confused me so I have decided that I am going to go into my work and ask some of the
people there or ask terry what I need. In regards to the time line I kind of blew it off be-
cause I am scared to make the schedule.
During my free period seventh hour I went and talked with Mr. McGory about my project
and how it was going. I told him that to cut I was looking into getting a miter saw blade, to
which he replied that, that would not work and that I needed to use a band saw. I told him
that my other mentor had also suggested that and that his brother might have one. Mr. Mc-
Gory said that I should look around at other places in the area that I might be able to cut the
steel. He also told me that I should get some kind of form made up that he could sign every
time I go to him to show that I talked with my mentor.
10/9
Today I worked some more on getting all of the deadlines done on my time line. I got all
of the deadlines that the school requires for stuff like the poster put in. Also brother Chuck
showed me how to use InDesign so I wouldnt be stressed about using it. I that using it
wont be as hard as I thought it might be. I will be working on that after my time line.
16 Jacob Kamradt
10/11
Today and yesterday werent that productive. Yesterday it was a super short class, so I
wasnt able to do much. I did put in the days that I think that I might do the actual building
of the cart.
I feel like I am falling behind. I feel like I have too much on my plate and that for now the
only time I get to work on my project is during class. Even then I feel distracted and unfo-
cused. I am stressed that I wont be able to do the project, make a poster, and do a portfolio
all at the same time. All I want to do is just get all the parts and just put it together. This Fri-
day we have a half day and I dont have to work so what I would like to do is to go out buy
all the metal and start cutting but I know that cant happen, because I dont have a proper
schedule worked out so I feel like it will just be wasted.
Another thing is that I will be building this during winter so weather will be an issue. But
swimming does end Nov. 1st so I can work on the kart after school. That is until robotics
picks up in January. Just an afterthought.
10/15
Today I was able to finish my time line. I didnt know that I was supposed to do a mini pre-
sentation on January 18th. In the presentation I have to give a five minute update on where
I am in my project and make a poster. I knew about the poster but I am worried because I
dont know how to a poster and havent even started on it so.... that will be fun.
10/17
Today was completely uneventful as far as my senior project goes. In class brother Chuck
talked to the class about the next project we are doing. We are making our own web site. I
plan on using this as an online database for all my information, links, recites, and the like.
Also I can put my portfolio on there or something like that.
This is just a side comment about my time line. All the stuff on there is the main priori-
ties for the week and will for the most part be done outside of class. I will still work on my
portfolio, and I think the main thing I will be doing in class is working on my web site.
10/18
Today was similarly uneventful as yesterday especially considering that it was a half day.
But I now know just a little bit about how to type stuff out on a web page.
Senior Project 17
10/23
Today and yesterday all I did was work on my web site. I think for a while in class I will
just be working on my web page so I will have to be working on getting parts outside of
class. But also need to update my portfolio. So I think I will need to work on my web page
at home.
I am just afraid I will begin to fall behind and wont be able to catch back up.
10/25
Today and yesterday all I did was work on the web site. I learned different formatted fonts
like bold and italics, line brakes, different heading sizes, and sub text.
10/26
Today I applied what I learned yesterday to my web page.

10/29
Today I decided that I should start looking for parts instead of working on the web page. I
will however update my web page as a place to store all of my parts sites. I was able to find
a sprocket and a steering wheel.
10/31
Today and yesterday were bad for my senior project. I e-mailed my parts list and schedule
to my out of school mentor. He pointed out that there were a lot of very complicated cuts
and welds at odd angles. He then suggested that I pick a simpler cart. So since then I have
been looking at some other karts, I have also considered getting a kit. The only difference
between getting a kit and getting just the plans is that the kit comes with most of the parts
and the frame pre-made. This would save me time in doing all of the hunting down of parts,
(experience I already have from the previous kart). I dont know for sure but I have asked
my out of school mentor to look through a few karts that I like, so Ill have to wait to see
what he says.
On another note I need to make a sheet about our meetings

11/2
I have not herd back from my out of school mentor yet so I have just been doing the html
tutorials.
18 Jacob Kamradt
11/5
Today I heard back from my out of school mentor. He said that a kit would defiantly be
easier but that it would take away the true kart building experience. As for the tarantula and
black widow, he said that the tarantula would be easier than the arachnid but still hard. But
he did like the black widow.
11/8
So I kind of put my senior project on the back burner during school to get cot up on my
web page. I took all of the tests and tried to get caught up. I am still pretty far behind.
11/9
Today I decided that I was going to get the black widow. I got through the rest of the tuto-
rial but now I have to redo my web page, because I am switching carts.
11/12
Today I made the layout of my new web page. But then I saw that I have to use to use css
and connect my web page to it so thats what I will be doing tomorrow.
11/14
Today and yesterday I worked on getting my css connected. Yesterday I tried to copy code
from a site that brother chuck suggested but for some reason it wasnt working for me. So
then today I asked Robbie if he could send me his code. I went in and changed the code
so that I looked more like I want it, I will make more changes. Also today I purchased and
downloaded the plans for the black widow. The parts list says that it will cost about 700
dollars but that doesnt include metal. But still the budget is much more reasonable than the
arachnid Kart. Also there is still complicated welding but not nearly as much.
11/16
Today I mainly just looked for parts for the black widow. I have found that I am having a
lot more luck. I also e-mailed Terry the parts list so that he could find some parts cheaper.
I also asked him where we were on getting a wire welder and a saw to cut the steel, so Ill
what he says. Unfortunately I am falling behind on my progress. I have not updated my
portfolio and next week I am supposed to begin work on building my Kart. On a class re-
lated note I need to work on that at home.
11/26
Today I finally e-mailed Terry about the black widow and sent him the parts list. He still
hasnt told me if he has a wire welder or a band saw. I also began to search for parts, but the
two that I looked for are not in stock at the suggested store.
Senior Project 19
11/29
Today and Tuesday I made a lot of work done on my web site. I got the blog page linked to
the graphic organizer and title page and am working on getting the blog on the page. I am
also working on a cmap for my graphic organizer page.
11/30
Today I worked all day on getting my blog to show up on my web page. I tried three dif-
ferent types of code and the last one worked. It was iframe. Then I went back to the HTML
tutorials and found out that the one tutorial that I skipped was the iframe tutorial. I wasnt
to happy about that.
12/3
Today I resized the window (live view of my blog) in my blog page so that it looked like it
belonged on the page. Then I went back into cmap and did a few more cells. Then I tried to
upload it but it wasnt working so that is something to do tomorrow.
12/5
Yesterday I was able to get the cmap come up and display right. I moved some of the cells
around to make it look better and added a little text to them. Then I began working on get-
ting all of the parts of my web page to link to one another. I also added the few remaining
parts to the page and made sure everything was in the right order. Today I tried to get my
calendar to show up on my web page. Unfortunately I used excel so I had do save it as a
web page and then copy all of that pages code onto my web page. I then had to go back and
add lines to break the lines and columns apart. Then copy that code and update the calen-
dar.
12/7
Today I updated my calendar so that it had all of my plans from today on. Which includes
updated (shortened) dates for my build and project times. I now see that I have a lot more
time than I thought I did. But I still need to be sure I get parts.
This week I finally e-mailed terry back. I sent him the design plans and I think that if I start
in on getting the metal this week end I should be able to get started on building the frame
this week.
After school today I talked to Mr. MacGory. I got him updated on where I am on the proj-
ect. I showed him the black widow kart and the parts list, as well as the budget. We talked
about parts, such as steering, and drive systems. He advised me that the shipping for parts
that I buy online will be a lot slower around the holidays. He also reminded me that I
should create an official form for when I meet with my mentors. I am thinking that I should
just use my blog, and then later on put all of them together in a more formal matter.
20 Jacob Kamradt
12/10
This week end was good for my senior project. I got with Terry and we talked about the
design for the kart. First we met from 1:25-1:45 then he had to go to a basket ball game.
Then we met again from 7:00-9:00 in this time we talked about the overall design of the
kart. He found a kart that was less complicated, thereby having easier welds. Then we
talked about wheels. I found out that most wheels that I was looking up were in fact just
rider lawn mower tires. So we searched for a good wheel for a while, then he showed me
some of his old kart parts that he had and how everything would fit together. Eventually
I went back to bmi karting and found a front wheel that had a drive keyway already in it,
so it wouldnt need a hub. And then corresponding front wheels. Throughout this process
Terry was explaining different parts as we went along. He explained that you can buy two
different kinds of wheels, one has the wheel hub in two peace and you bolt them together,
and the other has the wheel as one peace. The one I am getting has the wheel as one peace,
Terry said that it is hard to change the tire on it but I dont think I will be doing that any
time soon. He also expanded (but I wont go into detail about) live axles, different wheel
hubs, steering systems, drive systems, frame material, and how wheels attach to the drive
shaft.
We decided to merge the two karts, the diy and black widow. We took the width and
most of the parts of the black widow and the overall body of the diy cart. On the diy kart
we brought the wheel supports down to be on the same level as the rest of the kart. Then
in the back we added a support bar and we will mount the rear axle somewhere in between
there and the back seat, below the main frame. Then we widened the overall width of the
kart. The last modification we made was adding supports for the motor mount.
There were several unknowns in the parts that bmi had. We ran into a problem with the
spindle bracket, because we didnt know what its width was so we didnt know how big
to make the front axle. Also the mounting plate for the motor looked like it was a different
size but we could only find two in the style we needed so that will be something that I will
need to work on.
12/10 continued
Also I could not find a drive shaft that we need, but with the new width that might change.
The last thing we talked about was the metal required for building the frame. We needed
13 feet of the 1-1/4 11 gage steel square tubing, 11 feet of the 1 11 gage steel square tub-
ing, and 8 feet of the 1 x 1 x 1/8 angle iron. I plan on getting all of this metal tomorrow
and then hopefully get started cutting this week.
Senior Project 21
12/14
Today I will be recapping what all I have done this week. I will start by finishing my
previous blog. I left off by describing all of the metal I needed for the frame. That changed
when I called bmi carting and found out that the spindle I was looking at was 1-1/4 inches
wide. I adjusted the metal I needed accordingly, went to metal by the foot, and got the
metal I needed.
Tuesday I attempted to get the pod-cast embedded, Wednesday I was able to get the
pod-cast embedded, Thursday I made a video and got it embedded, and today I was going
to do my five pod-casts with Robie but I updated my conclusion page instead. I hope to get
my five pod-cast done at home over the week end.
Also some time this week end I will be getting the tools that I need to build the main
frame, as well I hope to begin working on it then.
1/3
This is a long overdue blog/journal. In this I will go over everything that I did over the
brake and shortly after. This will be a long journal entry, mainly because I built approxi-
mately 1/4 of my kart. I will start with what Dec. 14. This is when Terry and I talked about
when we were going to pick up the horizontal band saw and the welder. The plan was to
get the saw and welder on the 15th using his trailer and hauled it with my dads CRV, but I
didnt have access to the car, my sister took it.
So then on the 16th I got to Terrys house around 9:00 am. We got the trailer hitched up
to the CRV and went to his friend with the welder. He was not home so we loaded up the
welder and headed over to his friend with the saws house. Once there we loaded up the
welder, talked for a while. Then we went inside a small warehouse where he had a bunch
of old stuff. We went in and found an old motor and clutch, he said we could have them.
But he warned us that they might not be any good. We thanked him and headed back to my
house. We didnt do anything that day because I had to go to work at 11:00 am.
On the 17th Terry and I talked about and finalized where we wanted to get my parts
from. I got rear axle mounts front spindle brackets, and the motor mounting plate. I got all
of the part from BMI karting. Terry was concerned that the motor would not fit on the plate.
He thought this both about the motor we got from his friend, and the motor we looked at
from Harbor Freight. But every time I searched for any kind of motor mount plate for a go
kart I got that plate and another one. Terry also wanted me to get a foot of tubing for the
pedal mounts.
Then on the 18th I place the order for the mounting plate, front spindles, and the rear
axle mounts. But after I placed my order I realised that somehow my order had been dou-
bled. Then on the 19th at 9:00 am, I had already finished my final for this period, I e-mailed
BMI and asked for them to cancel it. After e-mailing back and forth a few times they asked
me to call. So I went into the hall over by the brothers residence and called them. After
waiting a few minuets I was able to talk to somebody and got my order canceled. Then I
reordered everything and it was all good. Then after school I went to metal by the foot and
bought the.
22 Jacob Kamradt
Christmas Break
Ok so after the 19th I cant remember much. I will be going off of receipts pictures,
e-mails, calls, and texts. The welder was returned sometime from the 21st to the 23rd, then
we picked up the welder again on the 26th. This time my dad wasnt there so Terry drove
with the trailer.
As far as the frame. Based on pictures on the 22nd and the 23rd Terry and I laid out the
frame on my garage floor to see where we wanted everything to be.
The last time I edited this blog was the 10th, today is the 16th. Now I realize how important
this blog is, and the dates that I did things. But as it is right now I cant remember dates.
So everything that happens in the rest of this blog took place from December 21st to Janu-
ary 6th. Also when I say we that means Terry and I, with terry advising and assisting when
needed and me doing whatever it is. When I refer to the main frame, that is the rectangle
that everything is bolted and welded to.
First we laid out the metal for the outside frame, to get an idea about where everything
would go. Then we cut the frame to the size we wanted. Then we made a design for the seat
(adapted from both kart designs) and cut, bent that so it would fit. I later cut the angles out
of the bottoms of the seat so that it was flush to the frame.
On another day (I think the next) we found out that the wheels might actually rub up
against the main frame when turned all the way either direction. So all of the peaces that
ran width wise had to be cut down by 2 inches (an extra inch on each side). So it went form
the original 20 inch wide main frame to an 18 inch wide main frame. The seat was actually
easy to adjust, because we had cut the angle out extra large so we could bend it. And the cut
was big enough so that we could actually bend it to fit the new side. We did however re-cut
the bottom so that it was flush again.
On latter day, presumably the 26th after we got the welder, I practiced welding. Once
we were done with that we went on to tack the main frame together. This includes the front
axle to the side frame rail, then that to the back. We also tacked the steering hoop sup-
port 16 inches back from the inside of the front axle, as well as the seat hoop support at 31
inches back from the inside of the front axle. After that was done we tacked on the seat.
After that day things get fuzzy and every day kind of blurs together. I do know that soon
we did end up welding the seat hoop on. I can remember going to Metal by the Foot a few
times, to get more metal that we needed. According to receipts I have I went to Harbor
freight and got my motor on the 26th and receipts from Metal by the foot say that I went
in on the 26th and 27th. Then over a short 2 day brake for new years I got the rear axle
mounts into position and chucked up.
Then we took a brake for new years, when we got back to work again we laid out where
we thought the motor mount needed to go. The same day we got the rear axle mounts
tacked on. (this next section will take place from the second to the sixth). In this time I got
the metal for the motor mount plate supports. We got that tacked up. The measurements for
this were very tricky for this just because of the orientation of the metal, long sorry short
we got it figured out and it is square with the rear axle. This is important because if it is not
Senior Project 23
then the chain will not line up right and will not be able to drive. But it is square so no wor-
ries. Then some time in there we finished making the front porch, this is where the pedals
and your feat go. We cut all of the metal for this when we cut the main frame. Then welded
it together with the main frame. It did not actually go on the main frame until this week. In
this week we (mostly me) welded the support tabs for the foot support plate in place. These
were 1.5 inches long one inch wide with a hole in the center for either a pop-rivet or a nut,
bolt, washer, gasket assembly. It is on the bottom of the front porch framing. We also weld-
ed the pedal mounts on. They are just metal tubing that we cut and welded on, 6.5 inches
back from the main frame.
The final things we did in this week was tack on the rear axle mounts. And the final
thing we did in this time was get the steering column mounts in place and welded on. For
the upper steering mount (this is what holds the steering wheel mount block) we decided
that it would be easier and equally as strong for the mounts to not be bent to create a steer-
ing hoop but instead to make them strait up and down. We got that tacked and wedded on
no problem. The mounts at offset at an angle tilted away from the driver, so that the steer-
ing wheel will not be in the drivers face. For this we had to cut the bottoms at an angle.
We also had to drill holes in the mounts so that the upper steering block could bolt on.
We drilled three sets so that the steering wheel could adjust up or down depending on the
height of the person. We also cut and welded on the lower steering block mounts. All this
was, was a 1 inch by 1.5 inch peace of flat strap that we drilled a hole in. This was welded
to the middle of the front axle.
This has been a long and painful blog but that is everything that I have done over the
Christmas Brake!!!!!
Senior project meating
Topics discussed
* frame progress
* parts ordered
* record keeping
* portfolio organization
1/4/13
24 Jacob Kamradt
1/7
Even though at this point I have not yet finished my Christmas recap I am working on new
blogs so I dont get too far behind. So what happened over this weekend was that on Fri-
day I got my tires and upper steering block in the mail. The total cost of these parts was
$177.11. Ya I know that that is a lot. But the total cost of the kart is estimated to be around
$700. The next group of parts came in today. In this grouping it was the sprocket(attached
to chain, drives rear axle), sprocket hub (attaches the sprocket to the axle), and the clutch
(this connects the drive shaft on the motor to the sprocket, via a chain). The total cost of
this was $97.08. The final group of parts I ordered which was the tie rods(connects the
spindle <what the front wheel attaches too> to the steering shaft). The total cost of this was
only $29.15. I expect the brake to come in tomorrow, and I shipped it to Northern tool to
save costs. The total cost of that was $32.66. Then the last thing that I ordered, the steering
assembly, is expected to arrive at there warehouse on the 13th. Unfortunately they were out
of stock when I ordered(I was not made aware of this at the time). I expect to get it any-
where from the 14th to the 19th. The cost of this was $26.95. So right now I estimate that
I have spent $550 on all of my parts so far. About $360 was mentioned in this blog, a little
more than $100 for the motor, and $90 for metal an miscellaneous parts. I expect the rear
axle to cost about $30, paint $15, the my mom, dad, and I will all work on the seat, so I es-
timate that to cost $50. Which brings the total to somewhere around $650, but I dont know
there could be some unforeseen costs that drive the total to around $700 putting it right on
target with my initial estimate.
1/11
Todays blog will just recap all that I did this weak. Monday was the first real day of class
so brother chuck took the time to go through and explain what we would be doing. I al-
ready knew all of this but he still mad e me listen, to refresh my memory. Tuesday I spent
the entire time in class blogging, recapping the weak end. Wednesday I was sick so I did
nothing. Thursday I did the Christmas Break blog. And today I began work on my poster. I
got an image for the background of the poster, resided it, and added some filters to make it
look cool.
1/14
Today I worked on getting pictures for my poster. I only got three. The reason that I was
only able to get three was because I had to go through a process to get the images to go into
in design. The process was to first e-mail the image then save( this took the longest) then I
had to go in and crop them in Photoshop to look good. From there I re-saved it and opened
it up in in-design. Then I had to figure out how to manipulate it so that the positioning was
good. I ended up doing this three times.
The problem is that I dont actually want those pictures so now I need some better ones.
I am going to set up the go kart with all of the stuff I have now and take a picture and use
that. I also have a picture of me grinding some steel so I will use that as well. I am thinking
I will take a picture of the motor and other stuff just to see what will work.
Senior Project 25
1/16
Monday night I finally went out and got the brake from Northern Tool, it had been there
since the 12th. Remember the cost was $32.66, but when I opened the box all that was
inside was the disc itself. I was very irritated to say the least. So I went back and reviewed
my order and I had actually ordered only the disc. So I am holding off buying the actual
break for now but I will be looking around.
Tuesday in class I put all of the text in and got it all to look good. The required text was
the title, my name, my mentors, and a paragraph about my project.
Today I since I havent taken any pictures yet I had to work on my portfolio. Brother
Chuck helped me get all of the font styles set, so it will be easy and consistent to make
headings, like title and paragraph. Then when I got home my steering shaft kit came in the
mail. The cost of this was $35.90 and I got it from Jacks Small Engines. That means all that
I have left is the brake cable system, the brake itself, the steering wheel, the rear axle, the
seat, chain, and assorted nuts and bolts.
1/18
Yesterday I worked on getting the title page and my letter of intent done for my portfolio. I
got the front page done but I could not figure out how to get my letter of intent in. I needed
to scan it in but all of Brother Chucks scanners were broken. I went home and my scanner
didnt work so I dont know what I am going to do. Today I decided it would be good to put
the design of my kart on my poster so I began drawing it out on Photoshop.
1/23
Today and yesterday I worked on drawing out my kart in Photoshop. I decided that I would
show all of the designs that I have gone through. First would be the arachnid, then I would
have the black widow, then the diy, and finally a top view and a side view of the kart frame.
So I started Tuesday by setting up a grid in Photoshop that each line would represent one
inch. Then I continued drawing it out. I started with the front, then the sides, the back
after that. Then I had to stop because I did not have all of the measurements, I was missing
them for the front porch and the motor mount . The next day I made the grid a little bigger
so that I could fit the whole kart on the page. Then I added in the front porch, and the motor
mount. Then I started on the side view, I added in the main frame but then class ended.
26 Jacob Kamradt
1/25
Yesterday I worked on getting my poster to look they way I want it to. It went through
a few revisions. First I changed the way the text was, instead of having it all in one boring
paragraph I split it up among several different text boxes. Originally I had the arachnid pic.
In, but I decided that I didnt need it. Then Brother showed me that to make the text pop
a little more I could create a box to put in the back round, this also made the text easier to
read. At the end of the day I had decide that I wanted to show my current design idea and
how I came to it. Then after school I talked to Mr. McGory about my poster. He suggested
that I go with the steps that I have gone through with building the frame. I thought about
this and decided that I should not have the process I am going through be the main aspect,
but instead have the design of it be that focus. Yesterday I worked on getting the text more
centered around how I designed the kart. Then after school I showed Mr. McGory what I
had done. He said that instead of using Photoshop to create my kart that I should just take a
picture of it. So Brother told me that I could barrow a drop cloth that he had so I could take
a picture. I went home and took several different pictures at different angles of the kart and
the parts. Then when I went to school for robotics I went into the computer room. Then in
Photoshop I cut out the back ground of the kart frame.
Then at school the next day I worked on getting the poster together
1/27
This blog is going to be all about the troubles I had with getting my web page to work so
I could edit it and use it as a temporary portfolio for my presentation. I started about 2 and
didnt finish until 10 so ya. First I downloaded Microsoft Expression so I could easily edit
my code. Once I got that set up I opened all of my web pages in Expression (me), Google
Chrome (gc) , and Internet Explorer (ie). For some reason a few of the pages would not
open in ie so I switched to gc. But since I used quick time it didnt work with gc. So after
about an hour I figured out that only my video would not work but if I uploaded it to you-
tube form my I pad it would work. My pod-casts were not working because they were using
quick time to run, and they might have been saved in the wrong place. So I got everything
to work but I noticed something else. For some reason I could not scroll down. After an-
other hour, I figured out that in the css file for the body the position was fixed. This is good
for the navigation bar so you can always see it. But not for text in the body that you need to
see and scroll down. Then i decided that instead of resizing the text box for gc I would just
use ie. I still have not figured out what was wrong with it. But I figured out that if I opened
a page in me then saved it, then opened the same page in ie it would work. So after I got
all of the technical problems done I started adding stuff onto different pages and mainly just
updating stuff over all. Then I needed to scan in all of my receipts from all of my purchases
so far. For about an hour I tried to get on of my scanners at home to work. It is a new print-
er scanner faxer coppier, so I didnt know how to work it. After about 45 minutes I gave up
and moved on to my scanner an old hp scanjet 2400. This was made in 2005 it has two but-
tons, scan and print, two ports a usb out and power in. All I had to do to get this old scanner
to work was plug it in and download the driver and I was up and running. It did take about
30 minutes to do this but still better than a brand new printer. I digress, so I scanned in all
of my receipts and put them on my web page. I added in a little more text and was done.
Senior Project 27
1/28
Today first I made sure my web page worked. Then I spent the rest of class blogging. The
reason it took so long was because I was blogging for all of last week and was confused
by the dates. So this blog is to clear all of that up. Monday was Martin Luther King Junior
day so I didnt do anything then. Tuesday I worked on my poster, and talked to Mr.McGory
about it. Wednesday I rearranged the poster lay out, then after school I took the pictures.
I cut out the pictures at robotics and was done. Then on Thursday I put the picture in and
finalized it. Thursday after school I had the poster printed up and got it. Friday morning my
mom found an error with form and from so at school I fixed that. Then after school I up-
loaded it to Costco and asked both of my parents if they could pick it up. Neither one could
so I had to wait until Saturday and my mom got it for me.
1/30
I will start by talking about what happened on Monday night. After school came in and
finished a couple of blogs. Then Brother told me that for our presentation I had to have an
updated calendar. So I worked a while on that, pretty much until 4. Then I saved everything
got my poster and got ready to present. The presentation went we. I had fun. I was actually
surprised at how little they asked me. I think that because Brother was there Mrs. Seitz and
Mrs. Schaffer knew that if I didnt get my project finished I would fail his class and that he
would keep me on track. Then on Tuesday I started working on my portfolio. I got all of the
blogs to the correct text. I also set a text box style, it sets the height and width of the box
and the text inside of it. Then today I just blogged for the week end and today.
2/11
Last week we only had class Monday and Tuesday. Brother was gone both days, and on
Tuesday brother chuck was not here so I had to go to the library. On Monday I looked for
some parts. On Tuesday I did nothing.
Today I got the rest of my blogs into my portfolio and moved them to where they need to
be. By this meant I finished inserting all of the blogs into my portfolio, then made them all
the same text, then spaces them to fit nicely onto one page.
2/13
Yesterday and today I have been talking to Terry about the rest of the parts that I need. I
gave him links to all of the sites that I thought would be the best for the parts. These parts
were the brake, axle, and the steering wheel.
Terry said that I need to get new wheels, he thinks that I need new wheels so that I can
use another axle. Even though he thought that the wheels and axle would work. He sug-
usted that I return the wheels and get new ones. I told him that they did not do returns, and
even if they did I would have to pay for all of the shipping and handling, and I would have
to buy a new hub. In the end I reminded him that we had talked about this and he had said
that I could use a spacer and that would work. He replied and said that they should give me
in store credit, and they should understand that I ordered the wrong parts. I then reminded
him that they dont do returns and that I ordered the rite parts. I also made it a point to ask
him how he thought I should set up my brakes.
28 Jacob Kamradt
2/14
Today in class I was looking at different brake assemblies. I was trying to figure out how I
was going to set up mine. I found a lot of different ways of doing it but nothing that I found
showed all of the parts that I needed except for one. http://www.gokartgalaxy.com/kart_
control_hardware.htm was the only site that I could find that looked like it could offer the
entire brake line kit.
In an e-mail reply Terry said that since I could not return the wheels that we would have to
go with that axle and that we would have to use a spacer (perfectly machined) or a collar.
He also said that he would have to see the kart and take measurements to crate a braking
system. He also said that he sent an e-mail to bmi to see if they would take returns.
2/19
Today I worked on updating my blog. I had to blog for all of last week.
I got another e-mail from Terry. He said that nobody ever responded to his e-mail, so he
called them. The person at bmi told him that they do in-fact do refunds. So I read the terms
and conditions. The return has a 30% restocking fee. So that would be about 30$ then add
on the money for new tires and a hub to go with it, it comes out to about 250$. That doesnt
include the cost of the axle. The alterative is a steel lock collar. And Terry says he has some
that I can have.
Side note if I bought the wheel with the hub, the hub just attaches to the wheel, the axle
via key way, and the axle again via a built in lock collar. So I would esentaly pay 250$ for
the same thing.
Needless to say I am going with the lock collar.
3/1
So there were a lot of snow days in the past couple of weeks. We were out 2/21-2/27 ( I
was on a college visit on Monday). Today and yesterday I was looking at how I was going
to make my seat. I plan on using a half or three quarter inch peace of plywood, that will
bolt to the frame, then foam and vinyl on top of that, same for the backing. I also finaly
ordered what I hope to be the group of parts.
3/4
Today I worked on looking up what I need for the seat cover. I have found that I need ply-
wood, vinyl, foam, and some way to bracket it on. I have found where I can get vinyl from.
I plan to get a yard or two from Jonans, I will also get the vinyl at joans. I will have to
check on the kart to see how big of a peace of plywood I need and how thick it will have to
be.
Senior Project 29
3/6
Tuesday I began to work some more on my portfolio. I tried 3 different ways of translat-
ing it in but copying and pasting was the only way that worked. Even then none of the text
properties or styles copied over. Today I worked on getting the text to work right but It
would not cooperate, I waited around half the class on brother chuck but he never ended up
helping me. so I asked Robie to help me and he suggested that I just Highlight what I say in
one color and what Terry says in another. So o plan on doing that.
3/8
Yesterday I finished getting the first e-mail chain put into my portfolio and get it format-
ted and look nice. Today I hope to get the second e-mail chain in, also brother wants me to
write a blog about what grade I deserve and why.
3/11
Today I got the second and third blog chains put into my portfolio.
On Thursday I got in the final group of parts that I need. It included the brake, lock collar,
steering wheel, and rear axle. Then on Friday I mocked up everything. This means that I
took all the parts that go to the rear axle: wheels, axle mount, axle, lock collar, brake disk,
drive sprocket, and the sprocket hub. I then found out that there are a lot of nuts and bolts. I
am missing the bolt that holds the clutch to the motor axle. All of the nuts and bolts for the
sprocket hub. The nuts that go on the end of the axle to hold the wheel on.
3/13
Today and yesterday I got the rest of the e-mail chains in so I am done with that. Brother
said that I need to focus on putting in pictures. I also need to scan and put in all of the re-
ceipts and my text messages.
Tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday I will be doing robotics so I will not be doing anything
with my go kart.
30 Jacob Kamradt
3/17
I would like this blog to count for both this week and next. I did it Monday but I dated it
Sunday so Brother would grade it as last week
On Monday I met with Terry to talk about, and prep for my spring break. Now my spring
break starts on the 28th and will go to the 8th, this is different from every other school, but
still it is longer so that is good for me. I started by showing him the rear axle assembly. He
set up the sprocket and hub different from any other one I had seen but it saves space, so
that is good. After that Terry took apart the brake (I didnt know he could do that) anyway
he flipped the brake handle and showed me all of the parts. I put it back together so we
could begin building a bracket. Terry showed me what we needed and I cut out the bracket.
Then we mounted it and began to think about how I would set up a brake system. The chal-
lenge was to have some way for the brake to keep tension thought the kart. We decided
that it would be best to use a cable instead of a rod, because the rod would tend to want to
unbend ( there would be a series of bends in a rod because it is not a strait shot from the
pedal to the brake). Then the challenge wold be to figure out how it would all mount to the
go kart. Then we talked about the steering. I bought a plastic steering wheel that did not
fit quite right with the steering shaft kit that I bought. So I needed to go out and buy new
nuts and bolt s for that. Then we set up the tie rods and found out that they were as special
raised thread ( normally tread is cut out of the rod. Raised thread pushes some of the tread
up as it cuts so the od of the thread is bigger than that of the shaft). So that means that I can
not use my die set to lengthen the thread. So we have to work with what we got. Then we
went over all of my homework.
3/20
Yesterday I spent a good portion of the class writing my blog for Monday and then when I
was done with that I updated my blog in my portfolio.
Today I have been working on prettying my portfolio, this means that I am adding color
to pages and over all just making it look nicer. I also started the picture section of my port-
folio. So far I set up the chapter and got some of the parts pages made.
3/21-3/24
In this time I attended the funeral of my cousin once removed. So I wasnt thinking very
much about my senior project.
I did fail to mention on my blog two blogs ago that I did do some of my homework. I got
some nuts and bolts.
3/25
Today I finished putting in all of the chapter names and their sub and sub sub sections.
After I finished that I begun to find photos. I realized that all of the pictures of the parts
that I bought would be on the sight that I bought them from. So I begun to take the pictures
form the web pages and saving them to a folder and I began to bring some of them into my
portfolio.
Senior Project 31
3/26
Ok so the reason I am doing two blogs back to back is because this is a short week and I am
coming in during 7th hour and getting stuff done.
3/31
Ok so this is the first of a few blogs for spring break. On Sunday the 24th I met again with
Terry. We had talked for a couple of days before trying to figure out when we could get
together and initaly I was thinking we could work all week but he turned out to busy all
week. So on Sunday we got together at 8:30. We packed all of the parts and the kart into
my dads van and went to Terrys friends house. We got down to work around 9:30. We
started at the front and worked our way back. I started by tacking on a couple of brackets
for the foot pan. Then Terry finish welded it, I needed to kind of relearn how to weld. Then
we moved on to the main frame. Welding on the front end, the front axle, the steering wheel
mount, the seat braces, all of the rear end framing, the motor mount, and the rear axle
brackets. Then right before we left I chucked up and welded on the front spindle brackets.
For some reason the weld on the spindle brackets didnt take well and ran down, drying
kind of like candle wax.
3/30
Today I finished doing the homework Terry gave me. I had to get a spring that would return
the brake, cut and ground a mount for the brake return spring, get nuts for the rear axle, find
the angle at which the front spindle brackets should be welded at, and get some 1/4 28 tpi
all thread.
Terry also had homework. His homework was to make one of the parts for the brake line
housing, and create a few other parts.
4/1-4/5
I am writing this blog on 4/8 so this is what I remember of this week. I know that in this
time, I think Tuesday I got a new spring, because Terry said that the one I got was too long.
I also got new nuts for my axle. I got one from true value, and two from Westlake. For
some reason the nuts I got from Westlake wouldnt screw onto my axle. So I went back and
got a new one that did fit, while I was there I bought the new spring.
On another day, I think Thursday I mocked up my what I had so far of the kart. I started
on the front end. I ground down the two spots where the new brackets go on the foot pan.
Then I mocked up the steering wheel and the seat. I needed to find out how far up the steer-
ing wheel needed to be. I tried to put the engine on but I realized that I still needed to grind
down the bad welds. After I was done grinding down the welds I decided to take a picture
of them to show what a bad weld v.s. a good weld looks like. Then I mocked up the brake. I
used a series of clamps to attach the rear spring mount, and used a pair of vice grips to hold
the brake in place.
It was at this point that I realized that I didnt have nilock nuts for the rear baring hanger.
And that the bolts I used on the motor were much to long.
32 Jacob Kamradt
4/6
Today I went to Westlake and got the nuts I needed for the bearing bracket, bolts for the
motor, and nuts and bolts for the final brake assembly. When I got home I remoked it up
and got it to work well. Then a little while later I cut down the steering shaft so that it
would be ready to be welded the next day. After that I set up the front end steering. I got
really concerned because the tie rods kept on getting in a bind. But as I worked I realized
that it would be fine because the amount of travel on one side equaled the amount of travel
on the other. But the reason I was concerned was because one wheel when all the way to
one side was three inches away and on the other it took some persuading to get it to go to
the same three inches. I figured out that the tie rods can only be off on one plane. By this
I mean that relative to the tie rods they had to be level on either the y or the axes because
they always move on the x. So it can only move on one other plane. After I realized this
I calmed down and realized that it was no big deal and that I would figure something out.
Once I was finished with that I realized that I had forgotten to grind down the bad weld on
the bottom of the kart. By this time it was late at night and I didnt have the time to grind so
I flipped the kart over so I could work on it the next day.
4/7
I started the morning at 7 in the morning and got right to grinding. It surprisingly only took
me about five minutes. After I was done with that I began to pack. I to some time to orga-
nise all the spare parts into little bags. Once Terry got to my house we loaded everything
up and left. When we got to his friends house be began by going over all of the bad welds.
But Terry said that some of them were ok and didnt need more weld. After that we mocked
up the front end and cut the tie rods, and Terry freaked out. He realised the same thing that I
had the night before. But he didnt accept it and started to get mad. I had to slow him down
and show him what I had found out and that there was a solution. He calmed down and I
suggested that we work on something else. He agreed and we began welding in the brak-
ing system we started with the at the end of the kart and welded in the bracket that holds in
the farrel that is at the end of the cable housing. Once that was done I welded in the bracket
that holds the brake return spring in place. Then we weled in the brakets for the cable hous-
ing on both the brake and accelorator. After that we bent the accelerator rod so that it went
over the tie rod. By the time we were done with that it was 12:00 so we packed up and left.
4/8
Today I tiped out the blogs for my spring break.

4/10
Today and yesterday I created the page that describes how my drive and break systems
work. I decided to go through step by step.
4/12
Today and yesterday I created the pages for my steering assembly and all of my welded
parts.
Senior Project 33
4/15
This week end I hoped to get together with Terry to talk about finishing up the rest of the
kart. Unfortunatly I had forgoten to do a few things that I needed to and then was to lazy to
do them. I just hope I can get everything done.
4/17
Today and yesterday I didnt do much. Yesterday I worked on the engien page and also fin-
ished up and made all of my other pages look nice. Today I started playing with prezi and
creating my own presentation.
4/18
UUUGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!
I am sooooo stressed. I have so much going on. I have to finsh my go kart, write an enire
paper, finish my portfolio ( add receips, web pages, parts list, update bolgs & email, put in
texts that I will have to type out) and create a prezi.
I have to write the paper tonight before 9:30 because that is when I am leaving for Missouri
S&T for my pro day. So I cant work on my go kart at all.
I did work a little (foolishly, I should have been writing my paper). I fixed my spindle prob-
lem. The part of the spindle that the tie rod attaches to was at an odd andgle causing the tie
rod to bind. So I bent that part and it worked. This took me about 1.5 hours ( that I should
have use to write).
As far as my portfolio I have three weaks left so I think I can get it done but I dont know.
4/22
Today and Tuesday I scanned in all of my receipts, and other documents. I tryed to scan
them in at home but for some reason my scanner didnt work. So I had to bring them in and
have brother chuck scan them in.
4/23
Today I finished all of the welding. I talked with Terry on Monday and he said that he was
available today after three. So I tried to figure out how to transport the go kart. It didnt fit
in my Subaru and it wouldnt fit in Terrys Honda. So I had to drive out to where my dad
was and get the van from him and drive back. By that time it was about five o-clock. Then
I waited a while for Terry, then we loaded up and went to his friends house. We welded on
the seat brackets and the pitman arm on the steering shaft. Terry was anoyed with the fact
that the tie rods were so high so he adjusted it so that it was much shorter and out of the
way.
34 Jacob Kamradt
4/25
Today and yesterday I was putting in my recipts. I worked almost exclusivley on the digi-
tal ones. It took so long because I was lineing them up and resizing all of them. So that it
looked like they were one picture for each. Then for some reason at the end of the day on
wednesday all of the pictures became low resolution and even changing the resolution of
the file didnt help so I had to delete them all and start over.
4/26
Today and yesterday I worked on the go kart some more. Yesterday I got the break hooked
up. This took about 2.5 hours. I had to cut both the housing and the cable to length. Then on
the cable I had put a hook protector, and crimped the ends. After doing that I shortens the
steering shaft, it needed to be shortened because it was rubbing the foot pan. I also replaced
the long bolts and spacers on the tie rods with ones the appropriate size. Then I finally put
all of the nuts and bolts on the break to see if it would all work, and it did.
Today I have been working on the backing of the seat It has proved to be a little difficult
and defective Making this took me I want to say like four hours. I had to cut out the wood,
then the foam. Then I cut out notches where the welds are so the backing could mount flush
to the go kart base. After that I lined up where the holes for mounting needed to be, and
drilled them. Then I began to cover. I started with the sides, getting them nice and tight,
finally I did bottom. The bottom was tricky, mainly because getting the vinyl to stay tight
was becoming a problem. But soon after I was done.
4/29
I spent the whole of the day after school working on my go kart. I started by getting my
chain and chain breaker from Russell karting. The when I got home I got the chain down to
the proper length. Then I still needed a few more things before I could the kart up and run-
ning. I had to get new collars for a few things. First was the drive shaft, to prevent the key
from falling out. The second was the throttle, it just needed a nicer looking one. The third is
the steering wheel collars that prevent the axle from flying off the kart. The next thing that
I did was to set up the chain, I cut it and got it adjusted into place. After that I realised that I
had not yet set up the kill switch, so I got started on that. I then realised that my dad didnt
have the kind of wire connectors that I needed so I had to go back to Westlake. An hour
later it was all wired up and ready to go.
Now that all of the running parts where done and in place, I took the kart, now very
heavy, up stairs and into the garage. Then I tightned everything down tight. Now it was
time to put oil and gas into the engine. I started with the oil. Initially I was just going to
poor the oil in and periodically check the dip stick. My dad sugusted that I measure out the
required amount. So I did, the engine needed .5 Quarts of oil. After showing me what mea-
suring up I would need he gave me another one. The cup he first showed me had 4 cups and
1quart. So somehow I got the idea that I would need 4 cups, when I really needed 2. Needl-
sess to say I over filled the engine and had to let it sit. But first I drained it.
Senior Project 35
4/30
Today I got home from school and imidatly tride to get the engine started. After about 2
hours I got it started. I started by putting in gas and filled the oil until the dipstick was full.
But it didnt start. So I read online that sometime the engine is on an incline because the
back end is higher than the frond because of the back tires. This was the case with mine.
I moved the dip stick to the rear oil filling hole and it read that it had hardly any oil, so I
put some more in. But it still didnt start. I looked online for a while longer. After messing
with all of the switches and wire nothing. Then I put more gas in and and it fired right up. I
took it around the neighborhood for a little while. I was making sure that it worked. Then I
packed it up and called it a day.
5/1
Today I finished the seat. I got the bottom part put together and bolted on. After that I took
it for another test run. And the set preformed well.
5/4
Today I spent almost the whole day preparing the gokart to be painted. I started the morn-
ing off with a short drive in the kart (even though it was rainy and the roads were wet).
I still wanted to take it out one last time before I stripped it down. So then I did strip it
down, I started with the rear axle. I had some trouble with getting the axle hanger bearings
to come loose but after a little persuasion with a hammer they came off. They were stuck
because there were burs on the axle. Then I disconnected the kill switch and the throttle
cable. Naturally I then took off the engine, after which came the whole steering assembly,
and finally the break. Once this was all done I began to grind down the welds. The point
of this is not to make bad welds go away, but instead make the kart look like it is all one
piece of metal. This took me well into the night. I did not end up getting to bed until around
midnight.
5/5
Today I got the kart prepped and get the primer painted on. But instead I am doing that
tomorrow. Today I did however get the whole kart cleaned and all of the rust knocked off. I
also drilled the bolt holes for the foot pan. This all took me about three hours.
36 Jacob Kamradt
E-mail
E-mail Chain 1
From: Jacob kamradt [mailto:jacobkamradt@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 10:38 AM
To: z-06nut@kc.rr.com
Subject: Jacob Kamradt Seinor project parts list/ timeline
Dear Terry,
I know it has been a while since we have talked. I did end up going with the arachnid
kart (the one I showed you). The pdf for it is attached. I have a request of you on the parts
list (also attached, word doc.). I was wondering if you would see if you could search for
some of the parts. What I would like you to do is to search around places where you can get
the lowest prices on things, every penny counts. But you do not need to look up all of the
parts just the ones you think you can get a reduced price on. I will similarly be looking for
parts on the suggested sites and other places on-line. Then my plan is to compare the two
and we will hopefully end up with the least expensive option for all the parts.
The second thing I would like to talk to you about is the time line. I made one bases off
of the schools deadlines for the project. I would just like to know if you have anything to
add and if it looks good to you.
Thank you again for being my mentor
Sincerely,
Jacob Kamradt
On Oct. 30, 2012, at 2:05 PM, Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> wrote:

Jacob,
I will be happy to help with the parts search. I do have a few parts here that you can use.
Dont want to be a wet blanket but here are my thoughts for what they may or may not be
worth. After looking at the plans this kart is very complicated particularly for a first time
builder. The race karts I have built in the past (with the exception of our need to bend tub-
ing) were much simpler to build. This kart has lots of different tubes and quite a few of
them have oddball angles that need to be cut. Just cutting all the pieces will be very time
consuming and there is a ton of welding needed. My guess is that when we get real pricing
on all these parts we may well find it to be even more expensive that what he shows.
As far as the time line Im pretty bad at that. It seems like things always take twice as long
as I think it should. Just the welding of so many different parts will take many hours. My
biggest concern is how to cut all the pieces. It will take either a good power horizontal
Senior Project 37
band saw or a power cut off saw might work but that will throw sparks and grinding type
dust everywhere. Will need a drill press for drilling holes. Not only will cutting tubing at
oddball angles be difficult but jigging (holding in place to be welded) will be a challenge.
Fixtures can be bought to jig 90 and 45 degree angles but nothing I know of is available for
the unusual angles. You can just put them together by hand and weld but distortion from
welding will drive you crazy. For all this welding a wire (mig) welder will be a must have.
As we discussed I think Metal by the Foot will be cheapest on tubing.
These guys have been around for years and deal in race karts. But it might be worth a call
to see if they have any of the parts you need and see how their prices are. They might have
stuff they want to get rid of. Fairfield Motor Sports Independence Mo. 816-836-6800
Let me know what you think. Whatever you decide I will help as best I can.
Terry
From: Jacob Kamradt [mailto:jacobkamradt@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 10:47 AM
To: Terry Schulze
Subject: Re: Jacob Kamradt Senior project parts list/ time line
I agree that this kart is going to be hard. I would like to do a kart that isnt as hard but I
also dont want it to me easy. I want an upper medium difficulty kart. So I was wondering if
you had any suggestions.
On Oct. 31, 2012, at 12:24 PM, Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> wrote:
Can you send me links to any others you have looked at? I would be happy to look them
over and give you my thoughts.
Terry
From: Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com>
Date: November 1, 2012 10:10:21 AM CDT
To: Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com>
Ok so I think I have found a few more that might be a little easier. I was also wondering if
it would be easier to buy a kit, it would basically be the same as anything else but the frame
is already made and it has almost all the parts. If I would build based off of plans I would
end up ordering all the parts and basically just have a kit but I would have to weld the
frame together.
http://www.spidercarts.com/go-kart-kit.html
http://www.spidercarts.com/go-kart-plans/tarantula-go-kart-plans.html
http://www.spidercarts.com/go-kart-plans/blackwidow-go-kart-plans.html
http://www.spidercarts.com/go-kart-plans/blackwidow-go-kart-plans.html
let me know what you think.
38 Jacob Kamradt
On Nov. 5, 2012, at 12:18 PM, Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> wrote:
Jacob, Im sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Yes it would be much easier to buy a kit
with the frame already welded together. Of course that takes the true building it out of the
project. You are then just assembling a kit. I have seen this same kit at several sites includ-
ing Northern Tools. I think it comes from Azuza. One person complained that the motor
mount was too flimsy and the slots were not long enough for proper chain adjustment. They
welded reinforcement and lengthened the slots. Lengthening the slots would not be easy. I
wish there was someplace where we could see this kit. It comes with a drum brake which
is not my first choice but better than a band brake in my opinion. Hydraulic disc brakes are
best but more expensive and usually only on race karts due to the speed.
The Tarantula would be easier to make because the front end is simpler with no front sus-
pension. However it is still pretty complicated to fabricate the rest of it. Still a very high
level of difficulty. The Black Widow design looks very strange to me. However it would be
much easier to build. It says hydraulic brakes in one place and band brake in another place.
However if you are buying parts you can put any type brake you want.
I have looked without much success. I was hoping to find a kart that is more conventional,
meaning a simple rectangular frame.
You have 2 choices for a drive system. You can use a centrifugal clutch which is the cheap-
est. Or a torque converter (often goes by the name of Comet) which is more expensive and
may not be quite as trouble free. The dis advantage of the centrifugal is you have to pick
one gear ratio. If you want to go faster on top speed the takeoff will be slow because it is
like starting from a stop in high gear of a manual transmission car. If you want a better take
off and more pulling power than top speed will be reduced.
A torque converter uses a belt and variable pulleys. It is automatic but it start out as a lower
gear ratio and as speed increases it raises the gear ratio to allow more speed. It will not be a
rocket ship but it is defiantly a noticeable difference from a centrifugal clutch.
You can see centrifugal and torque converter here.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&N=0&Ntk=
All&Ntt=comet go kart clutches&Nty=1&D=comet go kart clutches&Ntx=mode
matchallpartial&Dx=mode matchallpartial&cmnosearch=PPC&cm_ven=bing_PPC&cm_
cat=GoKartsGolfCarts&cm_pla=generic&cm_ite=comet go kart clutches&mkwid=bJJFGa
84G&pcrid=1432518725&mt=b
However there is much more to the torque converter set up than shown here and this price
is too high. It takes a motor mount plate and a jack shaft assembly. The belt goes from the
engine to the rear and a jack shaft runs behind the engine to the other side of the engine to a
sprocket that drives a chain to a sprocket on the axle.
Here is a grasshopper kart we used to have. The red (2nd one down) kart. Very simple
frame layout. They were made by Bobs Kart Shop but they went out of business. It was a
very rugged kart. http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10587 Also this kart is
long enough for an adult. Be careful as many are made for kids and you have your knees up
to your chin when riding. GRRRRRRRRRR
I hope this helps a little. Let me know if you have questions.
Senior Project 39
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2012 10:10 AM
To: Terry Schulze
After looking at what you have suggested and research I have done I believe that the black
widow would be a good kart to do. I it is small simple not many cuts and welds. Also I
believe that it will be much more inexpensive than the arachnid. I just want your ok that we
can do it.
Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 11/9/12 to me
Im sure we can do the Black Widow. Yes, it will be much less expensive.
40 Jacob Kamradt
E-mail Chain 2
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 10:19 AM
To: z-06nut@kc.rr.com
Subject: Senior project
Ok so it has been a while since we talked, and in that time all I have done is get the pdf for
the black widow cart. I realize that I am very far behind and need to catch up. This week I
hope to get all of the parts ordered and possibly delivered, also I will hopefully get all of
the metal. I would like to see if you can find any reduced prices for any of the parts. I will
link the pdf so you can see the list, prices, and everything else. I was also wondering what
the status on the band saw and wire welder was. I hope to begin building this weekend.
From: Terry Schulze [mailto:z-06nut@kc.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 9:20 AM
To: Jacob kamradt
Subject: RE: Senior project
Jacob, I have located a welder I can borrow. I believe it will run on 110v but will need a 20
amp circuit. Where do you plan to set up shop to do the welding? I am checking on a band
saw. I will see what I can find on the parts.
On Dec. 3, 2012, at 3:15 PM, Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> wrote:
I have also located a band saw we can borrow. I need to know when you want to get the
saw and welder so I can make arrangements. The welder is at 127 & Nall and the saw is in
Belton.
Where do you want to set up shop? Welding will need a good 20 amp circuit.
I might be able to come up with some used 2-piece collars. Check to see how thick the
motor mount is and how long the slots are. Some mounts are flimsy and the slots are not
long enough to allow easy chain adjustment. The parts list calls for #41 chain and sprock-
ets. We used #35 chain on our race karts. #41 is bigger but I dont think it is necessary. You
can check the price differences. I can get a couple of used spindles but not sure if they will
work.
Harbor Freight has a 6.5 hp motor for $99.99. Not sure if you can use a 20% off coupon but
you could try. It is a cheap import motor but it would probably be ok. I think it is standard
shaft and probably a std. mounting bolt pattern but we would need to verify that it fits
the motor mount plate. The sale it good to the end of Dec. You could buy it and return it if
it does not fit. You need to ask and see how long you have to return it.
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2012 2:13 PM
To: Terry Schulze
Senior Project 41
Subject: Re: Senior project
Sorry for the last e-mail, I got interrupted and sent it by accident. But I would like to meet
this Sunday to discuss the game plan for building the kart. We will need to talk about parts,
tools, scheduling and when you will be available. Also to cover anything else we need to
talk about.
Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/8/12 to me
Your dad is coming over about 1:30 today to install a door. If you want to come also that
would be fine. Otherwise it looks like Sunday morning is open.
42 Jacob Kamradt
E-mail Chain 3
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2012 9:49 AM
To: Terry Schulze
Subject: Re: Senior project
Ok so this morning my mom told me that we are going to mass around 5. So can
I come over around 12 or 1.=
Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/9/12 to me:

That will be fine.

It is 1:10 now. I have to leave for my granddaughters basketball game no
later than 1:40. I will be beck after that as far as I know
Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> 12/13/12 to Terry:

When do you think that we can get the welder and the saw to my house? My dad said it
was ok for us to work at my house.

Let me know when you are available to go after them and I will if I can
match that to when they are home so we can get them. I dont recommend the
truck in its present condition. Do you have anything with a 2 ball that
will pull a trailer or will I need to find out when my sons truck might be
available?

I have to check my schedule to see when I can get them, I thing I can tonight or tomorrow
night. As far as a vehicle, could my moms van work, also my sister has an old crv that I
know that it has a ball on it but I dont know how much it can pull. She is coming home
this week end I think so that should be available.
Senior Project 43
It is a 5 x 10 open trailer and not real heavy so about any vehicle with a
2 ball will work. The trailer light connector is a standard flat 4-wire
connector.

Yes the crv has a 2 ball hitch. I am thinking we should do it tomorrow. I have to work till
six but any time after that is OK.

I have e-mailed the 2 people to see if that will work. Im going to be
pretty busy tomorrow morning and afternoon.
44 Jacob Kamradt
E-mail Chain 4

I CANT GET ACCESS TO THE SAW TONIGHT. How about the middle of the day to-
morrow?

Sounds good. My sister to her crv to my cousins to night so that worked out ok. What time
do you want to meet tomorrow.

Call me about 10:00 and I will see if I can contact the 2 different people we need to get the
welder and saw from.
Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/15/12 to me :

913-341-2288 or if no answer 913-396-1604

I have church from 9:30 to 10:30
Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com>12/16/12 to Terry:

Ok never mind. I can call at 10:00. My dad wants to know how long we have these tools
for
Senior Project 45
E-mail Chain 5
When you need to get information to me remember that I only have access to e-mail when
I am at the PC. I try to check it at least once a day. So if you have something that is time
sensitive be sure to call me.

Ok, so seeing as I should return the welder this weekend I figure I need to order the parts
that needed to be welded on. This would include the spindle bracket, motor mount, rear
axle mount, steering blocks, and the pedal mounts.
These are the links for the fallowing
Spindle brackets
http://www.bmikarts.com/item/Complete-Spindle-Set---58-421400-3173
Motor mount(assuming the motor we have now fits)

http://www.bmikarts.com/item/12-x-5-Motor-Mount-Plate-400367-6041
Rear axle mount

http://www.bmikarts.com/item/1-Bearing-Kit-3-hole-400400-711 OR
http://www.bmikarts.com/item/1-Bearing-Kit-2-hole-400405-712
whichever you think is best.
steering block(upper then lower)

http://www.bmikarts.com/item/Upper-Steering-Block---3-hole-660401-7938
http://www.bmikarts.com/item/Lower-Steering-Block-660009-5975
Pedal mounts, you said you would take care of so I dont know what you want to do about
that.
So basically what I am asking is if I can buy these parts

The standard 5 horse power Briggs & Stratton engine uses a 3-1/8 x 6-3/8 mount. These
dimensions are center to center of the mounting bolts. These are as close as I could mea-
sure on the engine I have. Their mount # 400368 below closer but not right based on my
measurements.
46 Jacob Kamradt
9 x 5 Motor Mount Plate (400368)
Flat Engine Mounting Plate
9 x 5 x 3/16
Heavy Gauge Steel
Slotted Mounting Holes: Center to Center Distance: 3-1/4 x 6-1/8
Location: Machine Shop, Bldg. 2, ; 1-B
SKU Number: 400368
Price:
$7.95
Call them and make sure the mounting plate will fit a standard 5 horse power Briggs &
Stratton
I suggest the 3 hole rear bearing mounts. I have bearings you can have if you can find a set
without bearings for less money.Spindles and steering mounts look fine.
I believe the arm the tie rods mount to on the steering shaft will have to be welded to the
steering shaft. If you have a choice get the longest steering shaft as we can cut off any ex-
tra.
Terry

You wont need the black plastic steering shaft mount. I have one you can have.
Get 6 inches of this for pedal mounts.
Type of Material
Material Shape
Material Specific
Thickness
Available Size

I copied from Metal By The Foot web site, not sure why all of it did not copy.
Material steel
Shape round tube
Material specific DOM (seamless)
Thickness .120 wall
Available size .625 (5/8)
Senior Project 47
E-mail Chain 6
Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Feb. 12 to Terry:
It has been a while since we last talked, and in that time I have found the remaining parts
that I will need. But I do not know what I need for the braking system, ie the cable. What I
did find was the brake, the rear axle, and the steering wheel.
Axle( as suggested by bmi)
http://www.bmikarts.com/1-Steel-Live-Axle_p_517.html
Brake( When I ordered the brake from northern tool it was just the disk)
http://www.bmikarts.com/Mechanical-Brake-Caliper-_p_552.html
Steering wheel
http://www.bmikarts.com/13-Steering-Wheel-_p_1438.html
Also can you tell me what all parts are needed to mount the brake and brake cable.
Thank you
Terry Schulze Feb. 12 to me:

We will need to make and weld some brackets to the frame to hold the caliper. Im not sure
how we will connect the caliper to the pedal. I will need to see what I can come up with
when I come over.
As I recall you have rear wheels with a 1 hole all the way through. I thought you were
going to trade them for the type that has a 1 hole part way and hole the rest of the way.
This would use a 1 axle that had a stub on both ends. Then when you tighten the nut it
will push the wheel against the step on the axle and the wheel wont move. With the wheel
and axle that are only 1 I dont know what will keep the wheel from sliding inward???
Terry

If I were to get new wheels I would have to buy all new wheels and I would not be able to
return the others. So an extra 100 or more. If you remember we thought about putting in
a spacer that would go around the shaft, and be cut to a length so that it would go from the
mounting bracket to the wheel.
48 Jacob Kamradt
Why wont they let you return the others for credit as long as you are getting replacements
from them??? They should understand that you ordered the wrong parts. I suppose we
could rig up some type of spacers but that would be a pretty rinky dink way to do it and
the spacers would have to be cut perfectly to keep the wheels from moving around. I have
never seen a set up like you have with that wheel and axle combination.

The problem is that they dont do returns. When I asked for a replacement for the spindle,
they said they had never done anything like that before.
I think that the spacer is the only thing that will work. I thought about using a die to length-
en the tread so that I could put a nut on the other side of the wheel. I talked to one of my
robotics mentors and he said that in doing that it would weaken the axle and and weaken
the key way. I think that the only option is to use spacers. And my robotics mentor said that
to cut to the correct perfect length I would have to use a lathe.
Also do know what parts we might for the braking system as a whole.

I sent an e-mail to BMI to see if they will change their mind. I suppose you could put a 2
piece steel collar behind each wheel. That might keep them from sliding in on the axle. We
could cut spacers on my lathe but would need to find the correct material.Im not sure how
we will connect the brake. I will need to look at the brake and the kart to figure something
out.
jacob kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Feb. 14 to Terry:

I have been looking online for different brake parts. I found this site http://www.gokartgal-
axy.com/kart_control_hardware.htm It has a list of what I think we need.

What did bmi say?

They did not reply so I called them. I talked to a lady named Page. She did not see a record
of you calling them about the return. I thought you said you bought the axle but she does
not show that you bought one.
She said you can return them. However they do not have one piece wheels with the step
that have the same size tires that you have. You would have to go to separate 4-bolt hubs
and 2 piece wheels. You would need the following:
Hubs part # 260053 $14.49 ea.
Senior Project 49
Rim & tire combinationsPart # 260118 8-1/2 wide or Part # 260112 9-1/2 wide $60.00
each I believe these are 18 tires.
Since you may want to stay with the same tire size you have we could use 2-piece steel
locking collars with a keyway. They are $4.00 each part # 400110K. I might have some and
if not Tractor Supply may have them if the hardware store does not.
Do you have an axle? We need to be sure it is the correct length for whichever wheel/tire
combination you use.
Let me know what you think.

Ok she was right in that I did not call or place an order. I looked at the terms and conditions
online for the return policy. (I thought it was no return, in fact it was that you have to pay
for a 30% restocking fee, and I assume shipping.) I purposely did not place an order until I
knew for sure what I was going to be buying.
That being said I think that I know all of the parts that I need for the rest of the kart.
The axle
http://www.bmikarts.com/1-Steel-Live-Axle_p_517.html at 36
The brake
http://www.bmikarts.com/Mechanical-Brake-Caliper-_p_552.html
Brake assembly ( I think this is what I will need)

http://www.gokartgalaxy.com/kart_control_hardware.htm
steering wheel
http://www.bmikarts.com/13-Steering-Wheel-_p_1438.html
Collar (1 with 1/4 key way)

http://www.bmikarts.com/2-Piece-Steel-Locking-Collar-34-1-or-1-14_p_1101.html
The reason I chose to go with bmi for the collar, steering, brake, and axle was to reduce the
cost of shipping.
Let me know your thoughts on the brake kit.
50 Jacob Kamradt
When measuring for the axle if you have not already done so place the wheels on both
sides of the kart leaving a little room between the frame and tires. Then run a tape measure
through the wheels where the axle fits and see what your dimension is. The worst thing
you can do is have the axle so short that the tires hit the frame. But you dont want the tires
sticking way out either. I suggest having the outside of the rear tires the same width as the
front or a little wider.
I have some used 1 2-piece collars you can have for $2.00 each if you want them.
I dont think you need the brake assembly kit. Im not really sure how all that stuff con-
nects. After we get the caliper mount welded on we can figure out how to connect the pedal
to the caliper.

Sounds good. I will buy the steering wheel, axle, and brake.
Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Mar 7 to Terry:

Ok so I got the axle, steering wheel, brake, and lock collars.
I think it would be a good idea for us to work on the go kart before spring brake. spring
brake is March 28 to April 8. I have robotics competition on the 14-16 of March. I also
work the 10th & 17th from 1-7 in March. let me know what times will work for you.
My goal with doing this is that I hope we can have everything set up and done except the
welding. Also if there are any parts that we need I can order them and have them by spring
brake.
Terry Schulze Mar 7 to me:

I can be flexible. Let me know what days & times would work for you and I will see if they
work for me. Dont tell your spelling teacher but you put a brake in a car or go kart and you
take spring break!!!!
Terry

Ok so since I have robotics this week end we can not work then. But the week end after
(22-24) I am free. I should also be able to work on it some time in the week before (18-22)
but that will all depend on homework, so we will have to talk daily.
The plan is to do all of the welding during my spring break, my break is from March 28-
April 8. My goal is to be done with everything by the 8th. That means running and drive-
able.
Senior Project 51
Ok let me know when you can work it in. The sooner the better because it seems like some-
thing always comes up and things take longer than we think.
Jacob kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Mar 17 to Terry:

I was thinking sometime around noon

Ok I will be over. Next time please let me know sooner so I can plan my day.What do you
want me to bring?
52 Jacob Kamradt
E-mail Chain 7

So what time would be good for you to come over tomorrow?

Cant come tomorrow. Sorry.

OK then what time Saturday. Also Sunday I work and Sunday plus it is Easter so we cant
work then.

I can come over Sat. morning.

Sorry for getting back to you so late, e-mail got messed up. Tomorrow morning works, how
about 10:30 or 11. Just give me a call when you are on your way.
Senior Project 53
E-mail Chain 8
Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Apr. 22 to Terry:

OK so I am getting into crunch time on the kart. It needs to be completely finished in two
weeks. So I was thinking that we could meet all this week and get it all done on Friday.
Saturday I have prom and Sunday I work. Then in the fallowing week I hope to get it all
painted.
I need to know when you will be available. I can work any day from to day until friday any
time after 3.
Terry Schulze Apr. 22 AM to me:

Did you get the steering figured out? Did you get the chain?
My week is kind of busy. I can come tomorrow (Tues.) morning but have to be
back here by noon.
Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Apr. 22 to Terry:

I did figure out the steering. I am getting the chain today, as well I am getting all of the stuff
and making the seat tonight.
I cant work tomorrow until after three.
Terry Schulze Apr. 22 to me:

Call me tomorrow. I might be able to come after 3.
54 Jacob Kamradt
Pictures
Parts
engine
Senior Project 55
Drive System at the Engine
The engine drives a shaft that then

drives a centripetal force clutch.
The way a centripetal clutch works is the

axle that the clutch is attached to turns.
That also turns the clutch shaft (2.2.1).
When the axle rotates fast enough causes
the clutch springs (2.2.2) to expand. That
then causes the clutchs brake pads (2.2.3)
to engage the clutch housing (2.1.1). Then 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3
the housing which is attached to clutch
sprocket (2.1.2) that then drives the chain.
56 Jacob Kamradt
Drive System at the Axle
2a
The sprocket (A) is then bolted to its
hub (B).
1
The chain that is driven by the
clutch then drives the sprocket.
From there the hub uses set screws

(2.2.1) to hold itself onto the axle.
3 And turns the axle using the key stock 2b
(2.2.2).
2.2.2
2.2.1
4
Then the wheel
rides on the axle
and uses the
keyway to drive.
Senior Project 57
Break and Brake Disk
1.2 1.1 1
The break that I chose is a mechanical

disc break. To operate the break you pull
on the lever (1.1) which on my kart is
attached to the brake system (p 52). Once
the lever is operated it forces a brake
caliper (like on your car)(1.2) to squeeze
down on the brake disk.
The break disk is rides feely

side to side on the axle but just
like on the sprocket hub it uses
key stock to turn with the axle.
58 Jacob Kamradt
Throttle and Brake System
This is the brake assembly. The peal is connected to a rod that is

used to adjust the pedal angle. It then is connected to a cable which
is fed into a housing. At the other end of the housing is the brake.
The cable attaches to the brake lever, which is what operates the
brake. There is a spring on the other side of the lever, this is what
returns the brake to its idle position.
This is the throttle assembly. The pedal is connected

to an adjustment rod, just like the brake. The rod is
then connected to a spring, this is what returns it to
its idle position. From there a cable is attached to a
peace of metal that is also attached to the spring. It
then feeds into the housing and goes to the engine.
The housing is cut off at a hose clamp, and the cable
feeds into a nut that is connected to the throttle con-
trol on the engine.
Senior Project 59
Wheels
This is the rear wheel. It is 6 wide by 15

tall. They have a turf saver tread, which
has good traction but is easy on all surf-
faces.
60 Jacob Kamradt
Steering at the Wheel
1
The front tires are mounted onto the
front spindles. The use barring to move
freely on the spindle axle.
3
The tie rods connect at the tie
rod ends to the spindle using
nuts and bolts.
On the other end of the tie rod there is

another tie rod end that is connected to
the Pitman arm. That is then welded
onto the steering shaft.
Senior Project 61
Steering Column
1
The steering wheel is attached
to the steering shaft using a
series of nuts and bolts.
3.2
3.1
The shaft is held in place on
the frame by upper (3.2) and
lower steering (3.1) blocks.
62 Jacob Kamradt
Seat
This is the frame work for the back

of the seat.
This is the
foam that I
used for the
seat bottom.
I did not use the same kind

of foam as above for the seat
back, instead I used a thinner
foam. I did this because the
seat back did not get enough
pressure on it.
I did have a little problem with the

seat backing. I cut the wood at the bot-
tom so that it would go over the welds,
then I put in the t-nuts. But after I put
the faberic on the nuts did not line up
with the holes. So I ended up reaming
out the holes, but even then they did
not line up quite right. I was still able
to bolt on the seat, so I did. but when I
did bolt it on the t-nuts started to come
out, so I used a hammer and some
clamps to get them to stay in.
I used finished the seats and I

am proud of them.
Senior Project 63
Frame
Main Frame
This is my fraime after Christmas brake.
This is the frame just before being painted.
64 Jacob Kamradt
Welded Parts
Axle Bearing
The rear bearings are

what holds the axle
onto the kart. They are
welded on the top.
Spindle
The spindles are welded on at the brackets.
Motor Mount
The motor mount

was welded on along
three of the edges;
front back and one of
the sides.
Senior Project 65
Receipts
Physical
66 Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project 67
68 Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project 69
70 Jacob Kamradt
Digital
Senior Project 71
72 Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project 73
Final Cost Analysis
Main Frame
Steel- $84.75
Tires- $170.16
Engine- $107.71
Steering
Jacks small engines, steering assembly- $35.90
Steering wheel- $18.61
Steering blocks- donated+ $6.95
Collar- $2.71
Spindle- $48.12
Tie rods- $29.15
Drive Axle
Axle- $25.66
Brake+Disk- $33.61+$32.66
Clutch- $44.36
Chain- $6.91
Axle collars- $20.85
Sprocket- $32.36
Unihub, sprocket hub- $20.36
Seat
Foam
1x15x17- $9.78
2x15x17- donated
Wood-donated
T-nuts+bolts- $4.46
vinyl- donated
Assorted nuts, bolts, and washers
$32.10
Pedals, gas, break
All but break housing donated+$.75
Paint- $31.14
Gas- $42.94
Parts paid in cash from metal by the foot- $8.00
Chain break-$36.77
Total-$850.00
74 Jacob Kamradt
Written documents
This is everything that was written down through the course of my project
Senior Project 75
76 Jacob Kamradt
Pictures
This is the frame cut to its appropriate

size.
These are the raw matte-

rials of the main frame.
This is me trying to figure

out where the motor, and its
mounting plate would go.
This is the frame after being welded.
Senior Project 77
This is his break. This is his drive sys-
tem.
These are pictures of my friends go kart. I took these

to get an idea of what I might need.
This is his whole front

This is his whole rear as- end.
sembly.
78 Jacob Kamradt
This is the main fram after all of the add ons, ie
motor mount plate and rear bearing brackets.
These are all of my parts as

of the end of January.
This is a good weld that has

weld burn and spatter (little bits
of weld that fly off and form
little balls of weld).
This is an exaple of an overall good weld.
This is a bad weld, it

has perosity. Perocity is
when air bubbles form
in the weld as it goes
down.
Senior Project 79
This is the foot pan, it is where you rest This was the first time that I mocked up
your feet while you drive. the steering.
This is the
frame support
for the seat
back.
This is the kind of foam that I
used to make my seats out of.
This is the motor mount after it

was finish welded into place.
80 Jacob Kamradt
This is the pedal
mount. The pedal has This is the spindle finish welded.
a peg on it that goes
through the hole.
This is the entierty of the rear end

mocked up, minus the engine.
Senior Project 81
This is a Mock up of how the tie
rods would attach to the spindles.
This is the Steering column mocked up.
This is the rear bearing bracket after the

break mount was welded on and the spat-
ter was ground off.
This was my work area for when I was

making my seats. It was the floor.
This is the back of the seat compleated

and the sitting part not.
82 Jacob Kamradt
This is the where the brake cable
enters the housing.
This is where the break cable comes out of
the housing.
This is the finished break

pedal assembly.
This is the finished

break caliper as-
sembly.
Senior Project 83
This is me Filling the engine with oil. This is my finished seat.
This is the finished kart before being painted.
84 Jacob Kamradt
These are pictures of the kart as it is being painted.
The kart ground down.
The kart primed.
The kart with the first coat

of paint.
Senior Project 85
Important Things
Important People
Brother Chuck Special thanks to
Brother Chuck was not of-
ficialy one of my mentors, Mom- For putting up
I consider him one. Brother with the late night sawing
was there for me every step and drilling.
of the way and showed me
how to use sever different Dad- For letting me use his
programs that I could us to tools and garage.
create every part of the paper
work side of my project. Aaron Pfeffer- For letting
me barrow his welder.
Terry Schultz Joe Scovill- For letting me

barrow his band saw.
Terry was my out of

school mentor. He is
the one with all of the
go kart knowledge. He
helped me to design
and build my go kart.
Mr. McGory
Mr. McGory was my
in school mentor.
He was my mentor
so that I could have
someone to get a sec-
ond oppinion on my
paper work and my
go kart
86 Jacob Kamradt
Important Tools
Drill Press
This is my dads
drill press. If I
needed to drill
a hole into any
steel I used this.
Grinder
This is my dads grinder. If I needed to debur,
which is to remove sharp edges, or take off a six-
teenth of an inch on a peace of steel, I used this.
Scroll Saw
Table Saw
I used this to cut a peace of wood that

needed to be strait and square, specifi-
cally the seat bottom.
I used this to Cut any wood that

I could not fit on the table saw. Chop Saw
I used this to cut
wood in a strait line
at an odd angel,
specifically the seat
backing.
Portable Grinder
I used this to grind the steel when ether I
could not fit a peace of metal into the grind-
er or when the kart needed to be ground.
Senior Project 87
Hammer
The hammer was probably one

of my favorite tools. I used it on
almost every part of the kart, liter-
ally. I used the hammer and chisel Chain Break
to knock spatter off of almost
every peace of steel on the kart. I used this to break a chain link
away so it was the appropriate
length.
I used these when I was wiring up

my kill switch.
Wire Striper
Allen Wrenches Vice Grip
I used these I used these in
to tighten several different
different ways. Any time
parts on the that I needed to
kart. All of hold a part that I
the wrenches was grinding or
you see here drilling. I also used
are all of the them to hold some
ones that I parts to the frame
did not use, while welding.
because I
was using the
other ones.
Wrenches
Screw Drivers
As would Also to be expected I
be expected used several different
I used sev- kinds of wrenches. I
eral different used a crescent, socket,
screw drivers. open ended, monkey,
A couple are ratchet, and others.
shown here
88 Jacob Kamradt
WD - 40 Needle Nose Players
I used WD -
40 as a cool- I used these when I
ant for when needed to manipulate
I was drilling small things in tight
into the steel. spaces.
Angle Finder
Square
This is a square. I used it when
I needed to make a precise mea- I used an angle finder to find the angles
surement. that the spindle brackets needed to be
mounted at and the angle of the seat
back.
Tap and Die Set
Drill and Drill Bits
This is my tap and die set. Taps and

dies are used to add tread to rods, cre-
ating screws and putting thread in tubs,
creating nuts. I used these a couple of
times, on the brake bolts, and anything
else that was striped, which is when
I used these to drill holes in differ- threads have been removed.
ent parts of the kart. I used it on the
frame, seat, and many other parts.
Stapler Staples
I used this only on
the seats. I used it These are the
to hold the vinyl on kind of staples
to the wood. It is I used in the
designed basically stapler.
as a supper stapler
Senior Project 89
Scissors
Sharpie I used these primarily
This was my writing when I was making the
implement of choice for seats to cut out foam
marking on steel. and vinyl.
Head Phones
When ever I would Chisel
grind or drill or I used this to knock off all of
chisel, I needed the spatter, from the welds.
ear protection so I
used these.
File
I used the file to deburr thin sheets of
metal, and remove small burrs from
various other places.
Tape Measurer
I used this and a
couple other rulers
Safety Glasses to measure.
When I was grinding or chiseling
off spatter I used these to protect
my eyes.
Clamps
Monkey Wrench Clamps were very important

in setting up different parts of
This was a very important the frame to be welded and
wrench. It was the only wrench when I was drilling holes.
that could fit around my axle nuts.
Gloves
These are the
gloves that I
used all through-
out my project.
As you can see
they are well
worn because of
it.
90 Jacob Kamradt
Importan Places
Workshop
My dads work shop.
This is where a majority
of my time was spent.
Fortunatly my dad is a
big home repair guy so
he already had a lot of
tools. As well as raw
matterials.
My Garage
I do not have any pictures of my garage but it is just a normal 2 car garage.
It was where Terry and I welded when I had the welder at my house. It is
also where the horizontal band saw is.
Aaron Pfeffers Garage

Aaron Pfeffers garage is where we had to weld after we brought Aarons
welder back. So this was then the place where we did all of the welding from
then on.
Computer Work Station at OHara
This is where I spent all of

my time doing all of the paper
work. At this computer I made
my poster, wrote my blogs, cre-
ated my web page, and made
my portfolio. I would say that
half my time spent on this proj-
ect was spent at this computer.
Senior Project 91
Reaserch
Legal Stipulations
92 Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project 93
94 Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project 95
96 Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project 97
98 Jacob Kamradt
Senior Project 99
100 Jacob Kamradt
Go Kart Designs
Option 1
This was the first kart that I thought might build.
Senior Project 101

Option 2
After finding out that the arachnid kart

was too complicated, and expensive, I
decided to go with this design.
102 Jacob Kamradt

Option 3
This is the last kart design that I looked at. After seeing this I decided
that the internet was not going to give me any better. So I decided that I
would create my own frame but that I could use this one as a base.
Senior Project 103

General reaserch
Web Sites
Mxk racing- How to wire a kill switch to an engine.

www.mxk.com/engines/lifankill.htm
Harbor Freight- Engine Manuel
104 Jacob Kamradt

Challenges
Challenges Solutions
1. My first challenge was to find a go kart 1. After some searching Terry found a site,
design that I liked, and could make. diygokarts.com and on it were several dif-
ferent designs. I found one that was simple
enough to do but was somewhat of a chal-
lenge. Then I took that and modified it to
my liking.
2. I needed to find a place to ether barrow 2. Fortunately my out of school mentor
a welder and saw or buy one, and along knew some people that I could barrow
with that was how I was going to transport those tools from. Also Terry had a trailer
them. that I could use and hook up to my dads
CRV to transport the tools aroune.
3. This was the root of several other prob-
3. Time. lems. But in the end they were all my fault
just because I always had more time. If
parts did not come in, in time it was my
fault because I did not order them early
enough. I was always fighting time in all of
my dead lines. It all came down to the last
minute because I procrastinated my time
away.
Senior Project 105

THANK YOU
106 Jacob Kamradt

Jacob Kamradt Portfolio Final Kart Plans

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Building a Go Kart

Senior Project 2013

Senior Project Mentors

For my senior project I wanted to do something

This is my current design plan.

I came to this design by taking the

This is the kart that provided

I chose to build a go kart because I wanted

Senior Project Mentors

Terry- car friend

Today I applied what I learned yesterday to my web page.

On another note I need to make a sheet about our meetings

Senior project meating

Today I tiped out the blogs for my spring break.

On Oct. 30, 2012, at 2:05 PM, Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> wrote:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 11/9/12 to me

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/9/12 to me:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/9/12 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> 12/13/12 to Terry:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/13/12 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> 12/14/12 to Terry:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> 12/14/12 to Terry:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/14/12 to me:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/15/12 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> 12/15/12 to Terry:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/15/12 to me:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/15/12 to me :

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> 12/16/12 to Terry:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com>12/16/12 to Terry:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> 12/17/12 to Terry:

Motor mount(assuming the motor we have now fits)

Rear axle mount

steering block(upper then lower)

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/17/12 to me:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/17/12 to me:

Terry Schulze <z-06nut@kc.rr.com> 12/17/12 to me:

Terry Schulze Feb. 12 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Feb. 13 to Terry:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Feb. 14 to Terry:

Terry Schulze Feb. 14 to me:

jacob kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Feb. 14 to Terry:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Feb. 19 to Terry:

Terry Schulze Feb. 19 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Feb. 19 to Terry:

Brake assembly ( I think this is what I will need)

Collar (1 with 1/4 key way)

Let me know your thoughts on the brake kit.

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Feb. 20 to Terry:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Mar 7 to Terry:

Terry Schulze Mar 7 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Mar 12 to Terry:

Jacob kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Mar 17 to Terry:

Terry Schulze Mar 18 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Mar 28 to Terry:

Terry Schulze Mar 28 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Mar 29 to Terry:

Terry Schulze Mar 29 to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Mar 30 to Terry:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Apr. 22 to Terry:

Terry Schulze Apr. 22 AM to me:

Jacob Kamradt <jacobkamradt@gmail.com> Apr. 22 to Terry:

Terry Schulze Apr. 22 to me:

The engine drives a shaft that then

The way a centripetal clutch works is the