Author Topic: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners  (Read 1438450 times)

0 Members and 10 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline thefrenchowl

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 414
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #630 on: December 26, 2011, 05:34:55 AM »
Hi, wobblywalrus,

You need a lot of heat to de-bend and re-form this screen... ie lots of hair dryers or better, one of those oxy-propane torches they use to braze old tube-in-casting frames. Will work better if you got a hard wood form made to the right pattern and use a flat sheet of lexan that you wrap hot over the form. That's how they make those big double curvature screens for helicopters.

Patrick
Flat Head Forever

...What exactly are we trying to do here?...

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #631 on: December 27, 2011, 01:23:09 AM »
We had a barbecue today and I heated up the windshield over the hot coals and tried to bend it.  A small section is crazed.  Either it is water bubbles or the surface melted a little bit.  This is no big loss.  I destroyed the old fairing that used that shield.

My plan now is to find some money and give the job to a professional.  Does anyone know of a racing windshield builder in the Pacific Northwest?

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #632 on: December 29, 2011, 09:21:27 PM »
The bottom part is done.  About a year and a half ago I posted drawings of egg shaped streamlining in top and side views.  The back part was built last year and this is the front.  The object is to have the widest part of the streamlining in front and to provide coverage for me.

The top view shows the old fairing.  Right now the new one is attached to the old and it is bolted to the bike.  I need to make some brackets and braces.  Then, I can take the old fairing out.  The side view shows the hole in the front.   

Offline 4-barrel Mike

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3173
  • Any fool can drive a V8
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #633 on: December 29, 2011, 09:45:17 PM »
We had a barbecue today and I heated up the windshield over the hot coals and tried to bend it.  A small section is crazed.  Either it is water bubbles or the surface melted a little bit.  This is no big loss.  I destroyed the old fairing that used that shield.

My plan now is to find some money and give the job to a professional.  Does anyone know of a racing windshield builder in the Pacific Northwest?

This guy does Lexan windshields and rear hatch glass (using original glass as a form) for race cars.  http://kentplasticsinc.com/.  He can do the rear hatch on my Merkur for ~$250 plus cost of Lexan.  Talked with him yesterday, nice guy.  Maybe he can help you.

Mike
Mike Kelly - PROUD owner of the V4F that powered the #1931 VGC to a 82.803 mph record in 2008!

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #634 on: January 01, 2012, 12:49:28 AM »
Thanks, Mike.  I will contact him when I get the fairing done enough to remove from the bike and I show it to him.

It is time to make some fairing brackets.  There are two choices for the aluminum, 2024, an alloy with copper as a main ingredient, and 6061, an alloy with magnesium and silicon as primary alloying ingredients.  The 2024 is very strong with poor corrosion resistance and fair machinability.  The 6061 is strong enough and it has good corrosion resistance and very good machinability.  I order a 13-inch long stick of 6061 from Fastenal.  My machine tools are a Sawzall, an air grinder, some files, and an old drill press.  Hole saws are used for the fancy work.  Here are some tricks to make this hole saw magic happen.

First, select a hole saw with a set to the teeth.  The groove it makes is wider than the saw barrel and it will not bind as easily.  Ace Hardware hole saws are made in the US and the teeth have a lot of set.

Second, use the pilot drill to get the saw started, then take it out.  The drill creates a lot of drag and makes cutting harder.

Third, use a slow speed and lubricant.  This will keep the saw from packing up with aluminum and binding.  Kerosene is a good lube but it smells bad.  I use the odorless kerosene made for kerosene lamps.

The bar will make two brackets.  I do not detach them until the very last step.  It is a lot easier to clamp the part down if it is longer.

Happy New Year.


Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #635 on: January 01, 2012, 11:24:57 PM »
Ham fisted guys in a hurry cause themselves problems.  I broke a tap.  A #10-28.  Here is what I did.

First, I drill down each top flute with a small drill, a 1/32.  This is delicate work and it cannot be rushed.

Second, the holes are enlarged with a the 3/64 drill.  The objective is to remove some of the metal around the tap.

Third, I try to turn the tap into the holes with a center punch.  The tap does not move.  The top breaks off.  This is OK.

Last, I set the anvil on the thickest part of the concrete floor and I put the part on the anvil.  I need hard support that will reflect, not absorb, a shock.  Now I put a 1/8 drift punch over the remaining tap and give it a sharp whack.  It crumbles and falls out of the hole.  Tap steel is brittle and I shattered it.  This part of the job is done.   

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #636 on: January 01, 2012, 11:39:31 PM »
Now I scrounge through the insert box.  A #10 insert has threads 3/8 wide.  This is too big and it will weaken the part.  A heli-coil will work.  It is New Years Day and the stores are closed.  I will need a tap and insert tool, too, and this will cost money.  It is time for Plan C.

The outside diameter of #10 threads is 0.1900.  The inside diameter of 5/16 x 24 threads is 0.2720.  The difference between the two divided by two is 0.041 inches.  This will be the minimum thickness of a homemade insert.  It is enough.  The outside diameter of the insert is 5/16 inches.  This is small enough to not weaken the part.

I look for a 5/16 x 24 bolt.  There is a nice new 8mm x 1.25 mm one in the can.  It is close enough to correct.  I will use it.  Now I need to mark the center of the end.  A divider is set at about 1/2 the bolt diameter and I scribe a bunch of arcs across the bole end.  Where these arcs cross each other is the middle.  I penile device punch there. 

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #637 on: January 01, 2012, 11:47:53 PM »
Now I put a nut on the bolt and tighten it in the drill press chuck with the threaded end down.  I put a 1/64 pilot drill in the machinist vice pointing straight up.  Now I turn on the press and pull the spinning bolt down onto the stationary drill.  I repeat with the #21 pilot drill for the #10-28 threads.  The spinning bolt self centers the drill so it goes straight down the middle.  I drill all of the way through the bolt.  This makes it easier to keep clean when it is tapped.  I blow the chips out through the open end with compressed air.  Now I tap the inside of the bolt with a #10 x 28 tap.

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #638 on: January 01, 2012, 11:54:41 PM »
Now I tap the part with a 8 mm x 1.25 mm tap.  I do not tap full depth threads throughout.  The last thread is partial depth.  It will clamp onto the insert and hold it in place.  Now I screw in the bolt with some red loctite on it.  It is turned until the threaded end is flush with the bottom of the threaded hole.  Next, I cut the hex head end off with a sawzall and file everything flush and flat.  Job done and time for a cool and foamy beer...or two.   

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #639 on: January 03, 2012, 11:00:20 PM »
One of the brackets is done.  Stainless steel fasteners are great.  They do not get rusty.  A problem with using them in aluminum is corrosion.  Salty water will get in the threads between the aluminum and the stainless, the aluminum will corrode, and the fastener will seize solid.  Blue loctite or anti seize has helped to prevent this corrosion in the past.

Now, when I can, I use stainless steel studs with stainless nuts.  No corrosion issues.  I use loctite where the stud is screwed into the aluminum to control corrosion there.

Extra holes are included on the bracket.  I might want to add or change something later and these will be handy.

   

Offline Peter Jack

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3776
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #640 on: January 04, 2012, 12:38:54 AM »
Always use anti-seize or Loctite on stainless to stainless fasteners. The nuts love to gall on the bolts.

Pete

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #641 on: January 06, 2012, 11:37:26 PM »
Thanks, Peter.  I will use the weaker blue locktite on the nut-to-stud connection and the strong red stuff on the stud-to-part threads.

Do any of you remember your first long road trip?  My oldest girl an one of her friends left for Fort Drum in New York on the 2nd.  Her husband is in the 10th Mountain Division and she will meet him when he comes back from the big litter box.  Two girls, one little Toyota, five days and and $600 is what it took.  Her smile says it all.  There is nothing like that that first one.   

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #642 on: January 09, 2012, 12:19:00 AM »
The brackets are done.  Now it is time to make the braces between the brackets and the supported parts.  Mos of us most of the time will measure the distances between the parts with a ruler or tape, write them down, and use the ruler or tape to lay them out on the metal to be cut.  There are multiple opportunities to screw things up with this method.

Chances for error are reduced if trammels or a divider are used to transfer the dimensions directly from the vehicle to the metal.  Here is how it works.  First, I spread the trammel or dividers so they span the distance between the holes on the future brace.  Next, I move the tools from the vehicle to the brace using care to not unadjust them.  Last, I mark the distance between the holes on the metal to be drilled and cut.  The first photo shows a distance being recorded with trammels.  The second shows the trammels being used to lay out the distance on the metal, and the third shows machinist dividers.

Trammels are used by cabinet makers and finish carpenters.  Look for them at a woodworkers supply.  The set shown here works very well.  They are Precision Trammels, Model 520, by General Tools Manufacturing Company, Inc. in New York City, New York.  I bought these before computers and there is no internet address on the box.  General Tool is still in business.

This method can be used for a bent brace, too.  Bend the brace first, then transfer the distances to it as shown in the photo. 

Offline wobblywalrus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5503
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #643 on: January 09, 2012, 08:27:06 PM »
How do you insert a link?

Offline 4-barrel Mike

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3173
  • Any fool can drive a V8
Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #644 on: January 09, 2012, 08:53:27 PM »
Cut and paste (or type) the link into the edit box.  Highlight it, then click the third from the left icon in the bottom row (it will say "Insert Hyperlink" when you mouse-over) directly above the edit box.

Mike
Mike Kelly - PROUD owner of the V4F that powered the #1931 VGC to a 82.803 mph record in 2008!