Well... my home flooded to "only" about 3" of standing water... twice, at each high tide on Sat & Sun. It's messed up - I've lived here for a few years now and it's just this past winter that the floor has been anything other than a lil wet - usually during spring run-off. In my panic I misread the tide charts and as the water was streaming in around the sliding glass door - I thought high tide wasn't for another two hours... which by my hasty estimate would submerge my home with at least 3 or 4
feet of water so I packed up alla my tools and 'puter stuff and moved them to a safe(er) location. As my back was already screwed up from my lil mishap - this unnecessary precaution has left me cranky and self-obsessed.
No damage - but a nice holiday weekend wasted with nothing much accomplished. Fortunately my job is sittin' at a 'puter so I'm just goin' to bring in the heating pad and act the cranky ol' bastid I'm rapidly turning into o.o
weekend-fun said:
You think I could use a angles grinder to cut out the big hunks around the tracing??? I dont know why I asked just thought it would be quicker and I wanna try out the grinder...
For in-frame gas tanks, is there a "special" seal or somthing that goes inside them???
Actually you'd be surprised, the grinder/cut-off wheel will be not only far slower than a jigsaw - but incredibly sloppy as well. Given it's propensity for binding if yer not
very careful it's also highly likely you'd distort the heck outa the sheet steel (20ga is what I'd reco BTW). Also I'm really not that fond of cut-off wheels, a necessary evil sometimes - they're VERY dangerous and prone to shattering when they bind and they're all the more likely to bind in sheet that say rod stock... so no, I don't advise it and
never NEVER use it without it's guard in place ok? If yer just usin' a grinding wheel to cut... well yer turning up to 1/4" of steel into dust and slag and doin' not much else than generating a huge amount of heat and noise lol Unless ya've a plasma cutter around a jigsaw is prolly the best tool fer this particular job... actually given it's 20ga - the jigsaw is prolly better than the plasma anyway lol
As for the "seal" it all depends - if yer ossum you'd use stainless or aluminum to make the tank outa, but if yer lazy like me and usin' mild steel then yes - you prolly should line the tank with something like 'Kreem Fuel Tank Liner' (bout $20 a pint). While you can get away without it (the kit tanks are unlined steel) as the fuel itself will help prevent rust - there's nothing stopping corrosion
above the fuel line except residual fuel/oil from the last time it was splashed. This is all fine and good if you ride everyday - but sooner or later you may want to store it and that's when the pitting starts. Any partially filled container is prone to condensation build up due to temperature changes - not only does this cause the dreaded water in the fuel scenario, but is the number one cause of pinholes in older cars' fuel tanks. They'll develop a "rust ring" right around w/e level the fuel was at when it was parked for a while - I've seen it a bunch on even transmission pans too.
While the lil tank on a mere MB may not seem worth the trouble, it is after all something yer crafting yerself so why not spend the lil extra effort and do it up right? Who knows - yer build may just outlast you and someday some kid could find it while pokin' around in a barn and be stoked at the quality of yer work lol
I did manage to get a lil done in between lapping tidal waters, clamping the two side panels together using popsicle sticks to pad the C-clamps and making sure to not crank 'em down too tight (metal distortion);
I started bringing down the steel till the two pieces were flush and to the indicator line. I started with a Dremel of course, but this leaves a wavering finish with low and high spots no matter how careful you might be, but if ya always make long, sweeping passes it'll reduce the amount of "dig-out" and result in smoother lines. For the outside curve and flats - I used a large, flat file much like you would a planer. Slow and somewhat tedious, it's really the best method for getting a nice, smooth, regular surface - particularly on an outside curve. Inside curves are the same deal - ya just need a 1/2 round file (bigger = better) and remember - long passes result in less irregularities and "even out" high and low spots.
The two panels now about as identical as humanly possible and this is where I call it quits for now. Although it's tempting to round the corners to what it's "supposed" to be - it's far, far better to make the top and bottom panels and bend those first,
then grind the rounds on the sides to fit. While
I know what shape/angle I want the bends to be - no amount of planning can account for the real world and I'm sure the rounded bends wont be quite exactly as I thought they would be. I'd rather wait to grind and test fit then guess and hafta try and put metal back lol Also... the math gets tricky with mutable bends & curves... and math was never my strong suit heh
Most of this back & forth, test fitting & shaving a bit more off is simply due to the fact it's a "one-off" - the first attempt at a product you've not made before. Should you ever wish to make another - it'd be far easier as you'd already know what shapes you'd need and if'n yer clever - you'd have used the original bits to make "finished" templates before ya weld them together. Even tho I don't think it likely I'll ever run into another, identical Rollfast that needs a real fuel tank - I'll be makin' 1/8" thick, epoxy-coated plywood trace templates for each piece... *shrug* Ya never know - I might dent this one and want another, maybe - just maybe someone else will have a Rollfast and those bdanged templates are where all the effort is
)
