[AzCal Retred]

Thanks for the links!

[grumbern]

AS I needed longer studs for the primary housing, I made some from M8 bolts and cut a 5/16-BSC thread to go inside the engine housing:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


The kickstart lever had to be a bit longer to clear the foot rest, so I forged a new middle part:


>>Link<<


The kickstarter: was bent to allow for a different design:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


Both combined...


>>Link<<


...result in a longer lever:


>>Link<<


And after some more bending:


>>Link<<


That's how it looks on the bike:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


This might already work. If not I can still make some adjustments. but first I'll have to give it a try like it is.

As the Indian primary cover had quite a tilted bore pattern, as well as too little clearence (litterly none), I had to redo this too.
The primary sprocket would fit, but with the chain it interfered with the casting. So I made a fixture to clamp the housing to my drillpress:


>>Link<<


Centered and clamped in place:


>>Link<<


Makse some space for the sprocket:


>>Link<<<


The chain tensioner needed to be set back a bit as well:


>>Link<<


Close, but will do:


>>Link<<


Better!


>>Link<<


More to come...

[grumbern]

Finally I started to work on the tunnel/bottom section of the tank.
First a generous rough cut and bending of the tunnel:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<

Marking the bottom line of the tank, make the cut for the "neck" and folding over the sides for the bottom (works ok with the vise):


>>Link<<


>>Link<<

After that marking the outline of the tank an cutting it:


>>Link<<


After some trying, bending and filing both tank and tunnel go together nicely:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


One needs to stay in tough with current technology and nowadays there's now way past CAD - so I was told!
So I also use the advantages "Cardboard Aided Design" (to quote Paul brodie ):


>>Link<<


After that more cutting, still keeping a bit of reserve:


>>Link<<


Using two old bearing rings and the vise to form...


>>Link<<


... the funnel for the petrol tap:


>>Link<<


After the "neck" was hammered I could start forming the collar:


>>Link<<


As you can see the metal started to crack here, so I drilled a hole at the end of the crack. Started to do so again though...
Some more:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


My biggest nemesis in this case:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<

And I was right to think so, as it started to crack in one spot as well. I do hope a small spot weld will do to cure this.
All in all I am well pleased with the outcome and one learns a lot by doing this kind of things :wink:

That's it for now.
Andreas

[grumbern]

Going on with the tank.
I made a little tab at the end for a rubber band to hold on:


>>Link<<


I allso made and welded two thick washers to strengthen the front mount, as well as a lug for the tap, and tack welded top and botton part of the tank:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


While already having the welder in action I did the non fitting bores on the primary housing:


>>Link<<


The tank was now done to be handed over to Chris to weld it all. Then it happened...

[AzCal Retred]

The links work well - thanks for that. Amazing as always to see you in action! -ACR -

[grumbern]

It's just a work-around, but as long it's sufficient...

But on with the tank. I still can't look at these pictures without disgust and pain.
In hindsight I might have been able to weld it myself, as V-joints are much easier to do than butt-joints, with the root being not that important (in this case). Maybe I should have. But I let the welder do it, who formerly did a good job at the joints of the top section. This time he seemed to be in a rush and screwed up, and worst of all sanded down the complete edge (about 15mm) along with the outside:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


I was devastaded, seeing all my efforts of the last months go to waste... 

[Adrian II]

Aaaagh! Nightmare. 

What will you do? Get him to put it all right, assuming it can be repaired. Surely most of it should be salvageable. Look for a different welder?

I suppose one thing is never to assume people understand what you want, maybe it's worth spelling it out in painful detail, in writing, though you might already have done so!

A.

[grumbern]

While still coping with the depressing events regarding the tank, I set it aside and decided to work on the primary housing again.

Not owning an automatic facing head at that moment, I used my boring head to plain the flange in little steps:


>>Link<<


Determine the actual positions for the threads:


>>Link<<


And bring my Tapmatic into use


>>Link<<


Thinking about a way to repair the tank, I tried a little with making a fake hammering. One part is hammered, one part ground with a Dremel and sanded. Can you guess wich is which?


>>Link<<

So long,
Andreas

[grumbern]

Now that I knew this technique would work, I could start to repair and replace the lost material. How? Welding, of course!
First the lug for the tap:


>>Link<<


Lots and lots of welding:


>>Link<<

The molten away edge renewed:


>>Link<<


As can be seen, a lot of sanding wax is cooking out. I would have had to sand it first to remove all of it, but I wouldn't want to remove any more material and weaken the structure any further. With most of it having to be sanded later, the roughness of the welds will not cause any problem.

After even more welding, consuming more than 30m of wire, the outlines were reconstructed as needed:


>>Link<<


To have it a little more even, I took a finishing pass to fuse the single layers as well on the outside and the inside:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<

After grinding and sanding to the final shape, I started to grind little and somewhat arbitrary dimples into the surface to mimic the hammering:


>>Link<<


Right side completed:


>>Link<<


Followed by a finish of 240 grid sanding star and steel wool:


>>Link<<


Starting to look quite nice again. Some parts of the repair still seem a bit obvious, but maybe this will change after some "aging".
I have a lot more content here, but you'll have to give me some feedback to keep me motivated- this is not a one man show! 
So long,
Andreas

[uhu]

Glad you were able to save the tank! What an impressive project...
Ludo

[Adrian II]

Somehow I didn't think you would let all that hard work go to waste without a fight, which you appear to have won!

I'm certainly still hanging in for the completion of this project, others are too. Aren't you, guys? 

A.

[AzCal Retred]

It's not everyday you get to see an actual Renaissance Man in action. Both educational & inspiring - Thanks!

https://helpfulprofessor.com/renaissance-man/#:~:text=A%20Renaissance%20Man%20is%20a,all%20of%20these%20things%20effortlessly.

[TonyVanda]

I've only just joined this forum and I've been looking back at some of this project. Wow! What a job. Keep up the great work.

I recently finished my J2 project and I understand your feelings. Every now and then I would pack the whole lot up, throw a cover over the bike and vow to take up piano instead because bike resto was TOO HARD!! But, it only lasts a short while before the withdrawal symptoms kick in and I'm back to it.

Everything is a challenge, which means that there are many victories to be had. Get into it mate... in the end, your bike will be awesome.

[grumbern]

Thank you guys, now I just have to deliver, eh?
I'm certainly no "renaissance man", but I'll go with the "multimath"

As you said I couldn't let go of the tank and with the fake effect proved functional I was back on track!
Beeing a fan of these easy to maintain solutions on the Enfield I wanted to push it even further. So I wanted the tank to be removable without the need of tools. In the back a rubber band is used, but in the front there's a bolt. I could have used winged or knurled nuts, but I came up with a better idea!

But first, I wanted the tank mounted securely and with a big contact area, to spread any forces as wide as possible as well as reduce any vibrations to a minimum. Both would mean death to any sheet aluminium part if not taken care of.
So I made a two piece lug and a set of foam washers, acting as a cushion. These were cut out roughly and then trimmed on the lathe using sanding paper:


>>Link<<



>>Link<<


Mounted to the frame:


>>Link<<


And here comes the fun part:


>>Link<<


>>Link<<


Do you recognize, what this is?
This makes any tool obsolete while providing a good clamping force.

Another thing that would have irritated me, was pulling the gas hose. Good thing the tap has a 1/4-BSP thread. Ferrules with nurled nuts are available used for welding gas connectors!


>>Link<<


I turned down the second... erm...hook-part(?!) leaving only one in the front and bent the ferrule ~90° to match the carburettor connector, avoiding any loops routing the gas line:


>>Link<<


And here's the rubber mount for the rear. This really is just the O-ring seal of a defective water pump and had just the right dimensions:


>>Link<<


Now the tank can be removed effortlessly and in a matter of seconds, exactly what I wanted!

So the last thing to do before filling it up with gas, was a pressure test. I gathered some parts I had lying around, to make a simple test rig. The German TUeV (technischer Ueberwachungsverein - "technical supervision society") requests all non pressurized tanks and reservoirs to be tested at 0.3 atmospheres to make sure they're airtight and safe to use in traffic. While that's not my main concern, it's still a good rule to follow for testing. So I pressurized the tank to 0.3 bar and let it set over night. An hour later, no drop in pressure could be recognized. After ~24hours there was still 0.14 bar left. A good value in my opinion, considering some leakage from the (old) valve, rubber plug and screw connections:


>>Link<<


So that's it with the tank for now, but there's still more to come. Stay tuned!
Andreas

[symmo]

The alternative use of the Campag skewer is brilliant, I liking this build right from the start, great engineering.