My earlier misfortune with the plasma cutter turns out to be a blessing in disguise. I had second thoughs about having relief holes on the frontward facing piece of the battery tray, because I would like it to protect the batteries from road debris and water. This functionality prompted me dub the piece: "Shield". I decided that using 1/8" sheet instead of 3/16" was accepble for the Shield, beacuse it's not really expsosed to direct flexing loads like the Tray. Even the 3/16" might have been overkill on the Tray, it's overly stout.
The end result looks pretty decent, and even though it's 1/8" thick, seems plenty strong. In hind sight, I would have liked the mating tabs between the Shield and the Tray to overlap a little bit more, but it's certainly functional.
I had intended to bend the top tab over at 45º, but I kind of like how it fits between the old oil-cooler mounts. The two piece design of the lower battery support system allows me to remove the Shield in order to load the batteries or perform maintenaince. Now to drill some holes to mount it to the frame and the tray.
Very nice! I love how everyone has their own approach. I have not seen it done this way before. The aluminum looks great.
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