3003 Ally Tank T500 (Complete!)

[rockcitycafe]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank & Seat T500 - Progress!

you want to first planish the seam, that will compress the super soft weld material, then sand, then straighten, and back to sand, straighten, etc, you want to make sure when you take material off, you're taking off weld, not parent material

 

[johnu]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank & Seat T500 - Progress!

you want to first planish the seam, that will compress the super soft weld material, then sand, then straighten, and back to sand, straighten, etc, you want to make sure when you take material off, you're taking off weld, not parent material

Ok great thanks.

 

[ohiocaferacer]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank & Seat T500 - Progress!

LOOKING GOOD!!

 

[TheBullitt]

Re: 3003 Ally For Making Tank?

johnu - that frame/set-up you've got looks so sick. I will definitely be following your build, keep up the great work.

A 500cc two stroke ripper is exactly what I want to build next!!

 

[facefirst35]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank & Seat T500 - Progress!

Looking great!

 

[johnu]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank & Seat T500 - Progress!

johnu - that frame/set-up you've got looks so sick. I will definitely be following your build, keep up the great work.

A 500cc two stroke ripper is exactly what I want to build next!!

Thanks! I have a build thread in the specials section but I don't know how to provide a link here.

 

[johnu]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank & Seat T500 - Progress!

Got the bottom welded in. Not easy as the flat bottom part is 0.125" and the sides are 0.90", tough getting it all molten at the same time.

Getting tired of the gas welding but still can't justify the tig set!

 

[johnu]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank For T500 (Started)

Well I finally got the pattern made and started forming the tank. I hope to weld top and sides together tomorrow. I will be removing about 20mm from the bottom edge of the tank so it should look a bit more streamline that it does at the moment. Also did a little practice weld with the oxy-acetylene before starting on the tank.

 

[JustinLonghorn]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

Rad!

 

[johnu]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

I should have listened to you guys (the experts) and used 0.063" thick material for the tank. I used 0.50" to keep it super light but it distorts something wicked when you weld it. Have been largely unsuccesful in straightening it out to look reasonable. I just picked up a sheet of 0.063" and will have another go tomorrow. I am also going to try to get the seams right in the middle of the radius on the corners of the tank. Pic below is the distorted first attempt, I like the shape so at least that aspect is determined now.

 

[longhorn717]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

Love this thread. Hoping to build a nicer looking tank and subsection/seat for my cb400t soon. This is making it look much easier than I thought. I want more of a "wing" over the knee section like on the sportbikes. How would you go about doing that RocCity? I've gone to welding school and love tig. Never welded Aluminum with gas but seems even harder than tig since it doesn't change color like steel. Thinking I would like to build my tank from steel. Any thoughts on thickness or alloy? Sorry Johnu don't mean to be thread jacking.

 

[rockcitycafe]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

practice

 

[longhorn717]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

hmm....Yea that would do. if I had a starting point.

 

[neevo]

3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

Roc City is this sort of thing doable in steel too? If so what sort of gauge to be able to effectively hammer into shape and weld?

I would love to have a crack at building a tank from scratch.

 

[rockcitycafe]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

anything can be made with sheet metal, it's not the sort of thing you're going to make at your first go, it's a trade, it's a craft, people go to school for years to learn it well, start playing with it for practice, you're not going to knock out a tank on your first attempt at playing with sheet metal

 

[johnu]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

You probably should try hammering some sheet just to get a feel for it, then weld it, then straighten it, then do that a bunch more times. Like Roc city said a gas tank is not something to start off with. This is my first attempt at making a gas tank but I have many years of welding and fabricating experience and this is a challenge for sure. I'm not trying to put you off doing it, far from it but when you said in your earlier post that it "looks easier" than you thought I think you are mistaken. I would look forward to seeing you make a tank, that would be great. As for the shape just use your imagination and make one out of foam first like I did to get a feel for it.

Maybe start a thread asking questions about tank building, I'll follow it for sure.

Good luck!

 

[longhorn717]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

Many things look easy. Like the guy I watched tig weld 20 gauge aluminum tubing for Mooney Airplanes. That was a career day I'll never forget. Anyhow when things settle down and I find more time I definitely will start a tank building thread. If I make the sides lower than the frame at the rear of the tank do I need to make a crossover line? That is one thing that's been bugging me about diving into building a tank. And Johnu I have thought of using foam to mock up a shape but not sure where to find a chunk big enough. Any ideas?

 

[J-Rod10]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

Two part polyurethane will give you a foam blank as big as you want.

 

[rockcitycafe]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

if you want to build a useful pattern buck from foam, just grab a sheet of pink foam from HD, you can stack it with spray77 adhesive spray, then carve it out. what I do if it's a pattern I'm planning on doing a lot is to cut it every 4" and use the pieces to trace a pattern onto plywood, then put them back together and cut down the middle, do the same thing, then make cuts so the ribs and spine pieces lock together, and drill some 1" holes along the edges to clamp the pieces to for fitting up, it's a bit of work, but the disadvantage of trying to form metal using foam as a template is that you can't see the underside beyond the edge, having a "skeleton" pattern is way better for getting the shape right

 

[johnu]

Re: 3003 Ally Tank T500 (Finally Started)

I too built up a slab using layers of insulation foam from HD. I was surprised that it is possible to sand the foam too.