I'm building a robot
 

I'm building a robot. Not a bipedal, terminator-esque robot. A battlebots type robot. I might enter it in battlebots.
I have already found someone to weld, as well as sheet metal, access to one or more lawnmower motors, circular saw blades, a grinder, several fourwheeler and bike chains, several bikes no one wants, many different kinds of parts (automobile and lawnmower), and a chainsaw bar and chain. I have someone with a lot of mechanical ingenuity and several people to help me. I know nothing about mechanics pretty much, but I'm imaginative and good with tools. I'm drawing the blue prints. Does anyone have any advice or anything?
Also, if any can point me towards a site that shows how a lawnmower motor works, that'd be great.

Make it a suicide bomber robot if you're entering it into battlebots.

Here is what you need
A microcontroller or a vex starter kit to provide locomotion.
never have the wheels on the outside
You also want a good handle on basic stamp boards and basic programming if you are going to go anything

Google fuel for you sir.

Its not going to be programmed. Its a remote controlled robot, not a cyborg. I have someone to do the wiring and I have a controller that works.

This site has some pretty comprehensive directions for converting a Briggs & Stratton lawnmower enigne into a DC power supply. In the process they discuss how the engine works. There are pictures too.

Hope it helps!

While blades might be interesting to use, from what I've seen unless there's something holding the other bot down, they're not as effective as other weapons.

Well, I've not watched many battlebot type things, but from what I can tell, a type of compression wedge that slides under and opposer and instantly flips them is about the best thing you can do in those fights, and then throw in some kind of attack.

Nail guns are good for the compression and other things, but I'm not too schooled in mechanics. Sithdarth should get in here soon.

Check out vex, even though it's remote control, you still have to program the robot to respond to the controls, like I said, google fuel.

Yeah you are going to need basic programming skills to get the remote working. Especially to run the controls for the weapons.

Few things I've noticed:

1) The best robots can generally have no top. That is when flipped they continue to run and are able to drive and be effective or they can reliably flip themselves back over.

2) The pneumatic flipper is your god. Seriously I've seen that win more times than any other weapon.

3) You going to want decent weight and speed. You'll also want to make sure you'll have good traction even on metal.

4) Angle any and all armor plating as much as possible to deflect attacks. Large flat surfaces are death.

5) Protect your wiring with as much metal as possible.

6) Use electric motors for propulsion. If the gas motor stalls, or you get flipped, its all over.

7) The pneumatic hammer is second only to the flipper. Two weapons are always better than one. Plus sometimes it can help flip your bot back over.

That's about all I got for now.

Thinking back, Battlebots also have weight classes, don't they?

In any case, Pneumatic Flipper is amazing, but the bot I that absolutely surprised me was this one.