I just finished recording some snap shots of the “57 Tracker” tanks that belong to the bike you are sponsoring.
We're stoked to have you on board, and look forward to taking some snaps of you throwing roost on your sponsor bike.
Sometimes I just feel like doing something, anything, just not the same thing. Just something that doesn't follow convention, the popular vote, or any parameters. I don’t want to be limited by thought or constrained and conformed. I just want to do something; no sketches, no plans, no angles, no rulers, no rules, no squares, no square pegs, just start cutting and dive in.
So here’s an example of my recklessness and punk rock attitude as of late. This was rough and raw to prove that someone can easily do this at home if they can’t afford to pay for a custom tank to match their custom frame that they are dying to get on the road where it belongs. With a low end MIG welder equipped w/gas, a bit of practice, a bead roller, tin snips, and a sheet of metal, you can produce a good quality hand formed vessel. I usually use 20-16 gauge CR metal sheets 4'X4' to make gas tanks and oil bags.
It starts with construction paper and a rough sketch- I free hand this stuff for the most part and then “shore it up” with a straight edge. If I like what look I'm after, I then trace the construction paper onto the metal and start cutting. Tin snips are fine (you can get them at Sears).
Then, occasionally you might want to add something to flat panels to bring them to life. Use the bead roller on this (you can get a cheapy from Harbor Freight- manual). I use a powered one, but trust me, both have their nuances.
After bead rolling the templates, your ready to start building the tank. Regarding the templates, there is no hard and fast rule, but less pieces are better. These tanks will contain four pieces, the sides (two) and both top and bottom. It is possible to do this with only three pieces, however four pieces allows you to have a bottom open to do any hammer/dolly work just in case you need to.
I'm checking the lines, so they match our frame rails on the U.S. Choppers Boardtrack Platform.
Now we start to tack our work together. Make sure you save yourself time and energy down-the-line by tacking symmetrically and use opposing sides. This will help to pull the metal into place.
Remember, once you put a panel into the metal, it doesn't bend easy without folding and creasing; you dont want creases in your tank! In this case, I lined/tacked the backbone with the inside face of the tank, so that when we place the tank against the frame it lays flat against the frame rail and will not bow out. Notice I only welded to the bend. I will then attach the face side and tack it up to the bend. When approaching bends, your tack distance should shorten, so that you pull the metal versus bending it.
Looks like it will jive………..
I was working up to the bend, pulling the metal with me.
Looked like a perfect ramp to ride your Harley off into foreverland…….
Here’s where you start to separate the men from the little boys. If you didn't cut the metal right, and tack it straight, all of the panels might not slide into home plate. In this case you better dig out your old baseball bat and stick it in there to fill the void. Keep in mind, while you are tacking to keep a small air-gap between the pieces for the weld to penetrate. Usually about just shy of the width of your material will do fine to get 100% penetration. Listen to the crackle of your MIG, it should be a distinct fluid crackling noise- uninterrupted. You don’t want to be “stickin” the metal with the electrode/wire and bouncing the weld puddle around. This is thin metal (in this case 22 gauge for lightness). There is no room for errors.
Example of ample air gap for full weld penetration. It's not good when your gas tank leaks. Your wife probably doesn't like that behavior at home either.
Here’s a good idea of what happens at panel joints. Notice the irregularity of the air gap at the top. Should you panic! YES !!!
No, just pulling your leg, simply take your angle grinder with a 1/8-inch cut-off wheel and zip those tacks off. Use a plastic hammer (or something soft, like the butt end of a hammer (wood) and pull the metal down to where it needs to be and re-tack. This happens because as you weld the tank up, the tank starts to take its form. It's your responsibility to shrink the metal as you tack along and grab those clean lines.
This psychedelic view, shows the “stitching” job with a MIG. Because this is such a thin gauge, I chose to stitch the weld between tacks by pushing the weld puddle at low temperature settings and relatively fast wire speed. This will push the weld in deep and fast enough to avoid burn through on 22-24 gauge.
Make sure to grind your tacks down before welding “between the dots”. If your tacks were good and you left a gap, you can grind your tacks down to the metal sheet without worrying about them “popping”. This is important as you don’t want to have your bead, look like woop-de-doo's at the local motocross track. This speeds grinding and finishing as well as preventing fissures, or pinholes.
A finished tank. The last step is to take and put a small (1/4-inch) hole where you are going to drill for your petcock or gas cap. This will fit an air hose rubber tip fitting. Take soapy water and spray all over the tank liberally. Then apply about 4lbs of pressure to the tank through the hole. If there are any pinholes, now is your time to catch em! They will appear as magic bubbles, right in front of your eyes!
Speaking of magic in front of your eyes, here’s my lovely wife after her run in the Super Pipe at June Mountain……… banged up right leg and all …. what a trooper, that’s 12 feet of wall in front of you with about 5 feet of vertical. Good girl……
-Rick
U.S. Choppers
2039 S. Lyon St
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-546-4699
Appointments Only Please
http://www.uschopper.com/
