My idea for making a Fiber Glass Tank but I need INPUT!!!!

[sxecafe]

So last night I found myself at Michael's staring at 30 bucks worth of florist foam and 3M adhesive spray. My plan is to make a BCResk Seat and tank combo. I love his lines but $900 for glass is something I want to try to cut out of the budget right now, plus I also like some of the attributes of the Bennelli tanks so I would like to try incorporate that in to my original design. This is the process I have worked out in my head so far:

- Tape off and lay glass over the frame spine which will obviously be the tunnel of the tank first.
- Glue those 36 blocks of foam together and once set, hallow out the the tunnel so my previous lay will fit inside and I can lay the       hunk-o-foam on the rails.
- Now I can lay out my template and start shaping the tank.
- Cover with Foil and glass
- Then cut open and remove the foam and stitch the cut together with glass.
- Rinse repeat for seat

Im hung up on the petcock(s) and the gas cap. I think a newer street bike style cap would be the easiest. That way I can just figure out what the diameter of the hole would be and the depth of it and make a dimple and glass around it. but the petcock....


Im pretty confident that with some patience, and advice from you guys I could come up with something that Im happy with... and if not then I will find some money and send it to Benjie.

Any thoughts?

[Flügtechnik]

Check out CCRiders tank build.  Will probably help a lot.

http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=6339.0

[sxecafe]

AHhhhh Thank you so much I spent an hour looking for this thread last night. I knew I had read it a while back but couldnt find it. YOU DA MAN!!!

[manchestermichael]

defo give it a go i am thinking of doing the same  but i will make a long cr style race type tank  that will hold a battery in the rear of it hollowed out . or i was thinking of  using my stock tank  but shape it with fiberglass  longer and big knee dents
 doing it that way would mean no messing about with the tunnel and mounting  and gas taps and maby you could still use the stock  gas cap... and  it will be road legal   i am all so looking  in to small alloy tanks used for karts etc and  other custom toys as thy are cheap  but cant seem to fined  one that will hold enough fuel or even fit
 post up pics of the process  and  if  i start mine soon i shall  post it  up to  

i am doing a tunnel on and old Norton tank in the build thread  that will have a newer sports bike  filler on it   as theirs some nice cnc filler caps on ebay and cheap if you don't wont a new style  filler  theirs some  monza caps that could be had cheap  and  the car monza caps are even cheaper for say a mini cooper and most  of them come  come with a mounting ring that could be glassed in

[sxecafe]

Yea Im def gonna give it a shot. That last post from CC Rider is just insane inspiration. I have to find all the materials tho.

[CCRider]

Thanks for the plug Flugtechnik !

sxecafe,

Sounds like a good plan. I would suggest laying something over the frame rail to provide some clearance before glassing your tunnel. You don't want it too tight, plus you'll need room for running cables and wiring.

Good luck, have fun and keep us posted !

CC

[sxecafe]

Well Look at THAT!!!! CC Rider In my thread! WOOOOOO! (Sorry its still early for me and I tend to get a little loony).

Now that I have your attention, would you mind explaining a little more on how you connected the corners? I am fairly novice glasser and your thread didn't make sense at that part. Not because of your explanation but because I just don't know enough to make it work in my head. You mentioned something about not being able to bend the glass and that's where I got hung up.

Also you mentioned something about a hot wire cutting out your tunnel.... would you mind a brief elaboration? I was thinking of fashioning something out of a 12V, some alligator clips and a high "E" guitar string to melt through it. You think that would work?

And good looking out on the tight tunnel. I was thinking of something to open it up. Were you able to trace an outline on the bottom part of the foam while the "tank" was mounted?

I realize that I have posed a number of questions so any help would be really appreciated. Im really looking forwrad to seeing your build complete. I have been vivaciously reading your seat and tank threads.

sXe

[CCRider]

sXe,

First off, if you're using florist foam, DO NOT hot wire cut it. It's polyurethane foam (I think), which gives off poison gas when burned. Not good!

Here's a rough drawing of a cross section of one of the square corners I formed. If you have a very sharp corner the glass cloth will not bend around the corner smoothly and lay down flat against the mold. So, start with the Styrofoam mold with a square corner. Apply your first lay-up of glass to one side (left side in the drawing). After this lay-up cures, use a razor blade to trim out a corner of the Styrofoam about 1/4 to 1/2 inches deep (the triangle area in the drawing). Then fill in this area with resin thickened with milled fibers (basically fiberglass dust) when the filler cures; apply the second lay-up of glass (top side in drawing). You end up with basically two fiberglass sheets perpendicular to each other with a triangular strip of reinforced resin joining the two.



Hope that helps.

For your tunnel, you could just drape something thin but kind of stiff (maybe even poster board) over the frame and glass on top of that. Maybe shim it out from the frame with a few layers of old towels or blankets.

CC

[sxecafe]

Thanks so much man.... That helps alot. Im going to buy my supplies soon and Im sure I will have more questions so stay tuned....

[sxecafe]

I know that there is a better alternative to florist foam however, is there a better material that is within the same price range? I figured I could by foam for the tank for like 35 bucks.

What did you use CC?

I saw Gauge Works with some pink shit... whats that?