Thursday, March 6, 2014
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Gas Tank Fabrication (Part 1 of 4)
I am honored to have been asked by Chris to write a tech
article for Cycle Source Magazine this month… I decided to write about my
favorite part of building a bike - fabricating the gas tank. Although most of this tech will demonstrate
the use of an air power hammer to shape the metal, there is nothing that I do
with the hammer that cannot be done with hand tools. I have built many tanks
with hand tools only and the principles are all the same. The hammer just allows me to do it faster…
The quality of the finished product is simply a result of the time and effort
you put into it.
This will be a 4 part tech article.
Part one is focusing on design, and metal shaping.
Part two - welding, planishing, and metal finishing weld
seams.
Part three - finishing the tank and mounting.
Part 4 – pressure testing and sealing the tank.
I hope you find something of interest in this Tech… Please
feel free to call me as I love talking about this stuff.
After tracing the template on a piece of 18gauge mild steel,
I draw a second border ½” larger using a set of dividers and then cut along the
outside line with a Beverly Shear…
I’ll start shaping the metal by shrinking the edge. Here I
have marked the areas that will require the greatest amount of compressive
shrinking…
Using a set of shrinking dies in my Air Power Hammer, I
begin shrinking the edge of the panel. These dies allow me to maintain the form of
the panel while shrinking… (Remember this can all be done with a tucking fork
and a mallet… Just takes longer)
I switch to steel hammer dies in order to raise a crown in the center of
the panel while blending and planishing the areas I have just shrunk.
The English wheel can also be used to raise a crown and
blend into the shrink. However, I tend to use it primarily just to smooth and
qualify the surface after using the hammer.
I gently use the Erco along the top and bottom of the panel
to create more curve from front to back. This can also be done with the
Lancaster style hand shrinkers.
After laying out a line along the bottom of the panel, I
return to the shrinking dies in order to roll the bottom edge.
If necessary a hammer and a dolly, with the proper radius, can be used to true up the
rolled edge.
All of these steps are performed equally to the left and
right panel in order to maintain symmetry.
After positioning the sides of the tank I’ll use tracing
paper, magnets, and charcoal to trace out a template of the tank top.
Using the “body” dolly, I’ll form the basic contour of the
top.
Again I’m back to the shrinking dies to shrink the edge of
the top panel.
This time, due to the overall curve of this panel, I need to
use the planishing hammer to raise the center and smooth the surface.
Once I have a good tight fit, I’ll use some layout dye and a
scribe to mark a trim line for the top panel.
It is critical that the panels fit tight so that we don’t run into
issues during the welding process.
After thoroughly cleaning the panels with acetone I’ll begin
tacking the edges together with the tig.
I cannot stress enough the importance of perfectly lining up
the weld seam before welding. I’ll work the seam from above (hammer and dolly)
or below in order to maintain alignment.
Check back next month for welding, planishing, and metal
finishing the weld seams…
Will Ramsey
Faith Forgotten Choppers
614.940.9145
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Cover Of Cycle Source Magazine!!
Faith Forgotten Choppers is truly honored to be featured on the cover of Cycle Source Magazine...! (March 2013)
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Columbus Easy Rider Show
Dead At 19 will be at the Columbus Easyrider Show...
Come check it out Friday Feb 8th - Sunday Feb 10
See you there!
Come check it out Friday Feb 8th - Sunday Feb 10
See you there!
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