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Observation Car #1 Floor Frame
Once the steel was delivered, work began on assembly. I started with the frame floor. The Bolster/Floor Supports (AB) were welded to the center Frame Channel (AD) from the underside.
After welding, I noticed that the Bolster/Floor Supports (AB) warped due to the heat. A straight edge placed across the Bolster/Floor Supports (AB) shows how much they warped. To fix this, the frame was placed on a concrete floor, 2x4's where placed at the ends of the Bolster/Floor Supports (AB), then a large hammer was used to strike the center to persuade them into being straight again.
Frame Filler (AC) pieces (red arrows) were places between the frame voids and the floor to make the floor stiffer. This is optional and can be omitted to lighten the car and reduce material costs.
A template was made from plywood and clamped onto the 1/8" Floor (AA). As you can see in the picture, the outline was glued to the plywood. It could have been traced or glues directly onto the Floor (AA) but I used the wood template to guide the plasma cutter. The wood template was also used later to help form the body frame.
Here's the Floor (AA) cut out and placed on top of the frame assembly (AB/AC).
The Floor (AA) and the frame assembly (AB/AC) were placed on some horses (or any flat surface) then clamped together in preparation for welding them together. It's critical that the entire flooring is absolutely straight. If you look closely, a string (red arrow) was stretched the length of the floor to insure that the floor is straight before welding. Once everything was set up, the pieces were welded together. Be aware that after welding, this frame sub assembly (AA/AB/AC) is pretty heavy. This piece can be placed aside until later in the build.
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