West Coast Drive: Bellypan

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by BJC

Interesting, our analysis suggests that it is actually quite inefficient as a structural member. What you are saying pretty much corresponds with where my head was on bellypans: they are nice, but not mandatory. At least in our sheet metal construction, another well placed cross-member is probably a more effective use of weight. I do really like the use of the bellypan as a welding jig though, that makes perfect sense for a stick construction method.

Thanks for the info!
Regards, Bryan

They are very good at connecting the frames corner to corner in tension. Most other types of loading are handled pretty well with "West Coast Drive" frames.