One more question. On my Tumbler build I posted some on avoiding burnout.

Then, I asked others out there for their opinions and experiences that helped them avoid project, build, and other sources of burnout. What keeps you going on your builds and other projects? What keeps you from quitting when frustration sets in on your builds and projects? What keeps going? Given your proven history, can you give myself and others, your opinions and secrets to avoid burnout? vertigo

Wrote a thread to encourage others to think about construction of Bat Vehicles and others. What do you consider the major skills you required to build your Rumbler, 89, Mini-T, and Mini-89? What skills do you think a new Bat Vehicle builder should have before starting to build a Bat Vehicle. Would I be wrong in placing welding and fiberglassing at the top? vertigo

In your many years of building, in particular when welding on your vehicles that had bearings, what precautions did you take to avoid arcs inside the bearings. The best information I have is stated below. Did he leave anything out in his recommendations to prevent arcs from occuring inside of bearings when welding.

A few days ago a casual friend of mine stopped by with his dad who was visiting from out of town. So as usual we went into my shop to talk about the Tumbler. Before long his dad and I were talking about welding. Turns out his dad use to work for NASA as an engineer who is specialized in metallurgy. So, I took the opportunity to ask him about welding on metal parts that contained bearings. "Three rules will protect most bearings, he said." (1) Isolate your project from all grounding out sources with non conductive supports or if using metal jack stands place non-conductive isolators under them. Also, keep your project and isolators dry. (2) Maintain the same length on your welding leads and do not use cables with cracks or compromised insulation. (3) Keep your ground lead clamp within 6-inches of the actual welding. Grind to bare metal before attaching your ground each time you move your ground. Use a heavy solid copper grounding clamp. vertigo

Thanks for putting the bearings and welding issue into perspective and for the reality check. As for "I kinda feel you are either a smart guy or a guy who wants to project yourself as smart." I am not all that smart and at this time in my life I certainly don't care about trying to project myself as being smart. Being smart is really about the ability to learn while ignorance simply means something that someone is unaware of and both mean nothing if they are not relevant to achieving some specific sought after goal of personal value. In our short lives we will gain competence and maybe mastery in only a few areas and die ignorant of most things in the physical world. I knew very little about automotive vehicles a couple of years back when I decided I was going to build a Tumbler but feel I have since acquired enough working knowledge to complete my build. When it comes to building a Tumbler you are the smart guy and have proven your possession of the relevant required information by completing your Rumbler. Something few have been able to achieve. When the novice asks a question of the master how can it not seem somewhat contrived and trival having been personally mastered so long ago. LOL vertigo