Metal shavings in my shorts

I spent the afternoon running DJ and Adam around and looking for parts for the kart. During the trip, DJ, my Dad and I watched the old Palace Arms hotel get knocked down with a wrecking ball. I think for the short time we watched it work Dad and I were 5 years old again.

I was able to find the axle material I needed (1" cold rolled solid steel) for $9 vs. buying a new "high speed specially designed just for go-kart axle with super-awesome speed demon keyway and unbelievable roundness" for $80 from a go kart shop.

I had to cut the axle bearing hangars off and re-weld them about 3/4" closer together. I guess the metric bearing flanges noted in the plans are bigger than these. This was typical the whole evening - weld it on, figure out I screwed it up, cut it off, re-weld it, hog out the bolt holes I drilled in the wrong places, etc etc. There's at least 1/2 lb of steel on the floor in the garage. The rest is strategically located inside my clothing.

The pedals are also in - you can see them in the pic, along with the 2 other pedal positions I put in the frame for the shortcake drivers this thing will have (for a while anyway).