Joined Jun 2004
14 Posts | 0+
MA
I have been flooded with emails about composite tank building...
Let me tell you,YOU DON'T NEED ME!
nonstructural composite pieces can be formed in your garage after a little work space clean up, and research on wich resins to use.
It's all in the mould and I can't make anyone a mould for their machine unless I have the same machine to fit my models onto,so unless you want to ship me your bikes so I can build parts with the right clarences then You'll have to go it yourselves....but YOU CAN!
1)Simply take your present tank some foam(any semi dense foam I use blue construction foam from home depot) and some glue, and glue some foam to your tank(don't use any kind of super hold a 280lb. man over the grand canyon by his hard hat glue!)but glue it so you can remove it if you need to without damaging the original.
2)Shape the foam with wire saws, razor blades,sandpaper, and any other tool neccessary to get the shapes you need.Turn your bars in both directions to ensure clarence and begin shaping.Stay away from complex sharp edges and corners, try to round them out.
3)Now you have an original tank with a large blue foam top glued to it on your bike,You may have to seek an alternative style gas cap because the carbon won't be easy to form threads with,you could also just have aluminum threads made with a bolt on flange and a rubber gasket.
4)(now fix the tank solidly to the foam addition so it doesn't move when the negative mold is made around it) Once you have the tank shape finely sanded and fixed solidly to the tank make sure to sand and smooth the new tank model as glasslike as you can get it using basic autobody techniques.
5)You now have a positive model of your future piece...You could carry on from here yourself or you could take your new sculpture to a composite contractor and he could reproduce it in composites.
6)I have access to a rubber injection mould shop so i simply place the new model into a suspension case and pour(a 5 min proccess) and in a
few hours my 3-pc rubber negative is finished, smooth as glass!
From there i will lay carbon into the mould left side, right side,and bottom when they harden separately I will connect the left and right sides with more resin and carbon on the inside let cure then sand the inside of the tank.and the bottom.(you can attach any petcock that you need to now.)
7)Now I have a tank with no bottom.(you can attach your new feul cap system now)I attach some carbon on the inside of the bottom of the tank to create a rim I'll fit the bottom "cap" and I then coat the rim with the resin glue and simply place the bottom on as a "cap" I fill and holes or gaps and place a thin carbon and resin seal around the seam then I wet sand and smoooth the seam.
8)There are tank coatings that you could use ,I don't know about making a gasoline tank myself I have never mixed fuel and resin,These steps are simply three piece moulding steps that we use to make complex hollow composite shapes!
This is the method we use You may find a better way but I can tell you you can do it all yourself... keep your evnironment clean read the instructions for the resin you use. Yes a vaccum machine helps but you can get the same effects if you take your time laminating in your negative
You want to make sure that you push the carbon into every available gap.
Squeeze that air out. After you're done and you have all three pieces togehter you can bolt up your shrouds (to ensure a perfect fit)continue with the spot finish by adding resin into SMALL areas.
look on the previous composite tank headline for a "carbon fibre" link
and message me with any questions!
good luck,
Mike
Let me tell you,YOU DON'T NEED ME!
nonstructural composite pieces can be formed in your garage after a little work space clean up, and research on wich resins to use.
It's all in the mould and I can't make anyone a mould for their machine unless I have the same machine to fit my models onto,so unless you want to ship me your bikes so I can build parts with the right clarences then You'll have to go it yourselves....but YOU CAN!
1)Simply take your present tank some foam(any semi dense foam I use blue construction foam from home depot) and some glue, and glue some foam to your tank(don't use any kind of super hold a 280lb. man over the grand canyon by his hard hat glue!)but glue it so you can remove it if you need to without damaging the original.
2)Shape the foam with wire saws, razor blades,sandpaper, and any other tool neccessary to get the shapes you need.Turn your bars in both directions to ensure clarence and begin shaping.Stay away from complex sharp edges and corners, try to round them out.
3)Now you have an original tank with a large blue foam top glued to it on your bike,You may have to seek an alternative style gas cap because the carbon won't be easy to form threads with,you could also just have aluminum threads made with a bolt on flange and a rubber gasket.
4)(now fix the tank solidly to the foam addition so it doesn't move when the negative mold is made around it) Once you have the tank shape finely sanded and fixed solidly to the tank make sure to sand and smooth the new tank model as glasslike as you can get it using basic autobody techniques.
5)You now have a positive model of your future piece...You could carry on from here yourself or you could take your new sculpture to a composite contractor and he could reproduce it in composites.
6)I have access to a rubber injection mould shop so i simply place the new model into a suspension case and pour(a 5 min proccess) and in a
few hours my 3-pc rubber negative is finished, smooth as glass!
From there i will lay carbon into the mould left side, right side,and bottom when they harden separately I will connect the left and right sides with more resin and carbon on the inside let cure then sand the inside of the tank.and the bottom.(you can attach any petcock that you need to now.)
7)Now I have a tank with no bottom.(you can attach your new feul cap system now)I attach some carbon on the inside of the bottom of the tank to create a rim I'll fit the bottom "cap" and I then coat the rim with the resin glue and simply place the bottom on as a "cap" I fill and holes or gaps and place a thin carbon and resin seal around the seam then I wet sand and smoooth the seam.
8)There are tank coatings that you could use ,I don't know about making a gasoline tank myself I have never mixed fuel and resin,These steps are simply three piece moulding steps that we use to make complex hollow composite shapes!
This is the method we use You may find a better way but I can tell you you can do it all yourself... keep your evnironment clean read the instructions for the resin you use. Yes a vaccum machine helps but you can get the same effects if you take your time laminating in your negative
You want to make sure that you push the carbon into every available gap.
Squeeze that air out. After you're done and you have all three pieces togehter you can bolt up your shrouds (to ensure a perfect fit)continue with the spot finish by adding resin into SMALL areas.
look on the previous composite tank headline for a "carbon fibre" link
and message me with any questions!
good luck,
Mike
