So after the radiator shop said they could braze a patch on my tank over the phone. When I got there they said “you didn’t say it was part of the frame” they turned me away. The welder is out of commission for a few weeks, so I got some Jb weld and fiber glass cloth. Worst that can happen is it doesn’t work. Any advice or words of encouragement? Thanks
Well thats weird it rusted out up there instead of the bottom but id clean out the tank first checking for other holes.
Does it even run? Is it variated? You might be safer getting a more solid bike to start out with.
I thought it was weird too that the holes are all at the top, must be all that varnish. It is variated and the engine is locked solid. The tank is full of vinegar and in the back of my truck getting shooken up. The motor is out and soaking with oil. For $60 I couldn’t walk away.
Yeah just braze it. Brazing that hole won’t fuck with the frame strength at all. Or if you’re scared just put a crossbar on it
I suck at brazing and I can’t find my mini oxy/acetylene setup is why I’m not doing it myself and asking about jb. Pray for my welders speedy recovery, he doesn’t care.
Oh and Jbot, I’m curious what you do to the stock cylinder.
Get a good used frame. That one is not safe.
Weld it, man. JB stuff is okay for non-critical stuff, but this ain't it. Check in the bottom of the tank really well. I use a Hobo Freight telescopic camera to scope it out inside, especially on Mobys. If there is bad rust or pitting at the bottom, maybe have your welder put some bracing around the bottom too where the tank ends. I've seen some nice external plates welded onto frames that blend in nicely with the lines of the frame, alternative to a bolt-on cross bar.
> Gen Xer wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Weld it, man. JB stuff is okay for non-critical stuff, but this ain't
> it. Check in the bottom of the tank really well. I use a Hobo Freight
> telescopic camera to scope it out inside, especially on Mobys. If there
> is bad rust or pitting at the bottom, maybe have your welder put some
> bracing around the bottom too where the tank ends. I've seen some nice
> external plates welded onto frames that blend in nicely with the lines
> of the frame, alternative to a bolt-on cross bar.
Eric W. Posted the pic I attached in a FB forum-- superb example of a frame that has been beefed up the right way.
Thanks man, that frame looks great. Mine is only leaking at the top so far. After I hose out the vinegar I’ll rinse with acetone and maybe finish it with muriatic acid. I might go get this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/39-in-x-16mm-inspection-camera-cable-64085.html
But I saw a video where an auto mechanic had like a $10 Amazon camera he hooked up to his lab top. I should have written down what it was.
You can solder that as well. Bend out the steel til it’s mostly flush, then cut a patch of sheet metal and use a propane torch to solder it with silver bearing solder. Won’t leak and low melting temp
U can braze with the benzomatic torch from HD. Comes with the mapp gas, the sticks are there as well, amazing that it has a lifetime warranty. Cost 80 or so more than the moby, anyways thats just the start of it.
Id prep by burning the area to remove contaminants and then wire brush. Practice on some scrap, heat till cherry hot and then the stuff flows similar to solder.
Any tips on soldering? Thanks
Tankenstein
Looks nice!
Clean the area well, apply flux or use an appropriate flux-core solder for the metals in question, apply heat and let the solder wick into the joint.
Did the hole just get massively big??? Anyways with a patch like that you could just glue the thing on b4 you pop rivet. Not sure what kinda glue but im thinking jb weld. Do the rivets too.
My brazing rod only melts with oxe/acetylene but my copper patches would just melt. The sn40/pb60 solder I have sticks great to the copper but not the frame. Might have to get the silver bearing solder.
If this doesn’t work, come on out to Long Beach and I’ll give you a kinda ugly yellow frame I’ve got laying around.
> Kevin Hurt wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Might have to get the silver bearing solder.
^silver solder way harder to work with than normal fluxed solder.
I got this but haven’t tried it yet. It says lead free, WHAT THE SHIT!!! Fucking state state of Cancer causing California again. SHIT!!!
Sweet! I might be down there next weekend.
> Randaddy A. wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> If this doesn’t work, come on out to Long Beach and I’ll give you a
> kinda ugly yellow frame I’ve got laying around.
Rad I’ll PM ya my phone number
> Kevin Hurt wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> I got this but haven’t tried it yet. It says lead free, WHAT THE SHIT!!!
> Fucking state state of Cancer causing California again. SHIT!!!
Actually lead is bad stuff, woulnd say cancer but mental health, especially toxic in small ingestible quantities, potable pipe connections and anything that burns inhalable. Literally can knock u out, just ask the romans.
Is that the only hole in the frame?
Honestly I would’ve junked it. My worry is that there are areas that have thin wall thickness, but you can’t tell from the outside.
Unless you know what caused that hole and can be certain it was the only bad spot.
> pat splat wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > Kevin Hurt wrote:
> > -------------------------------------------------------
> > I got this but haven’t tried it yet. It says lead free, WHAT THE
> Actually lead is bad stuff, woulnd say cancer but mental health,
> especially toxic in small ingestible quantities, potable pipe ...
Exposure to lead causes brain/nerve damage, and cardiovascular problems.
They used to make toys out of lead! It's got a very low melting point, one can almost melt it with a candle flame and it was easily molded, it DID make the best solder; however the toxicity was not widely understood till contemporary times. Most plumbing used lead pipes as recently as 100 years ago, and lead solder was used in plumbing even more recently. Note that our English word "plumbing" comes from the Roman/Latin for "lead" - plumbum.
Just because it doesn't immediately kill everyone who touches it though, still doesn't mean it's not toxic. It takes years to cause health problems. Another example is asbestos, which most of the time takes several decades to cause cancer - it even has a specific cancer that is called 'mesothelioma' - which is only caused by exposure to asbestos. Lead causes more than one health problem, but all these are a delayed reaction to exposure which take years to appear.
You probably aren't getting the steel hot enough. Don't melt the solder directly, heat the base metal and touch the solder to it so it sticks.
You might also need more flux or a different kind of flux.
Clean it with acetone then scratch up a bunch, then lay it flat as solder likes to run. Heat metal til solder melts on its surface and sticks.
Most silver bearing solder has internal flux so heat the metal and then apply. Doesn’t have to get that hot.
If that sheet is stainless you might have a hard time but it will probably still stick
I wire wheeled it really good. Cleaned it with brake clean. Tried flux core solder. Tried hard silver solder with mapp gas. I don’t think I want to make new steel patches and try to braze it with oxy/acetylene. It gets red hot with mapp gas in a second because it’s so thin. So I’m just going to drill out my rivets and I’m back to jb welding my patches on, but thanks for all the advice.
That hole was kinda big first off, way to big!
He’s the trick to using jbweld with gas tanks!
You gotta use a tank sealer! That will keep the jbweld separate from the gas!
Took me maybe a solid day to figure it out and it works likes fucking charmed.
I remember watching custom gas tank builder on tv hunt for lil pin holes all day only to mig them more. It’s pointless, just seal the tank end of story (edited)
Link to cheap sealer? Thanks
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