One-Liner.... Now in FINISHED BIKES thread !

[OddJob]

Had to take a break. Beautiful day for a ride. Got out as far as the driveway, and my neighbor Dave was there with Amber (Dusty's pal). I sent him out for a test ride.....




Couple of parties this afternoon and evening so my work on 'One-Liner' has stopped for the day. It's moving along, but it is a tedious and meticulous process.....I'm trying to channel my best TRM on this one!

 

[OddJob]

I use mine to relieve the pressure form earworms.

An earworm, sometimes known as a brainworm, is a catchy piece of music that continually repeats through a person's mind after it is no longer playing. Phrases used to describe an earworm include "musical imagery repetition", "involuntary musical imagery", and "stuck song syndrome".



Carl.

...or....to bore holes for wiring in a solid body electric guitar; which is what I used it for when I built 'Tel-Lee' my neck humbucking telecaster style axe....

 

[Chad T]

Good to see you're having fun pacing yourself OddJob.

I tried to put enough sanding in my road to make mine last but it will be done when it's done. It's fun to savor the flavor though and fiddle with stuff until it's just right.

You've got your work cut out for you with the TRM tank. So first step is to cut it out for the head tube?
I wanna see how easy this fiberglass business would be for a newbie.

I'm not even gonna push play, I don't want it stuck in my head. It can be nightmarish.

Oh all I had to do was read the title.....love the Beach Boys though. There's a vid for "Don't Worry Baby" from that same vid shoot that is great.

 

[OddJob]

Happy Mother's Day to all our moms, without whom, we would not be here enjoying this amazing hobby ! From OddJob , 'Faded Glory', and the BACK40!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

I'm not even gonna push play, I don't want it stuck in my head. It can be nightmarish.

I had to look away and close the thread real quick before it took hold... Glad we are on to a new page now!

Luke.

 

[OddJob]

It's a 'good news / bad news' scenario here at the BACK40 today. Best news is we had a fabulous gathering of family for Mother's Day! Good news is, I'm halfway done with my TRM tank. Bad news is, I'm only halfway done with the TRM tank conversion. I have not been keeping track of the hours, it would be too daunting. But, I do know a few of you out there are planning or will plan a build using the TRM tank at some point. Here are a few things I have learned that may be helpful when you get to that point in time:
1. Have access to a really good vise / clamping system. My bench vise on my converted violin work bench is perfect; lots of purchase area, wood surface to grasp the fiberglass tank so no extra dents or scratches in the tank result. This is paramount!! You will be grinding, filing, drilling, sanding, and did I mention filing? The only way to get the precision you will need is to have it securely clamped.

2. TRM provides a tank with a lot of fiberglass material to work with so with some care, you don't have to worry about shattering it. Most of the walls are 3/8 - 1/2" in thickness. It is very sturdy and durable, much more so than I anticipated.

3. TRM also provides instructions which will help you get started on the right foot. Follow these. I also listed a trick I discovered with lining up the holes for the head tube drilling that works well in my post above.

4. Be prepared to take your time and use a few different tools to achieve your goal of getting a good fit. Admittedly, there will be some 'body filling' and sanding before paint, but using care and being extra meticulous along the way will help reduce that in the end.

5. Tools. Besides the vise / clamping system, a hand drill and bits (I used about 5 for progressively increasing the hole size), hand jig saw, and a good half-round file / rasp will be your friends. After rough cutting the holes to a estimated size and dimension with the jig saw, I used a 5/16 drill bit in the drill to 'ream' out and shape the material in the hole. Then after fitting it to the frame (I would estimate probably 75 times...seriously) and using the rasp to shape and get the tolerances as close as possible, I ended up with a pretty decent fit.

Anyway, here is One-liner half-tanked..... ......

 

[Fv2]

Lookin good OJ.
Instructions sound helpful, so does a violin vise.

 

[OddJob]

Lookin good OJ.
Instructions sound helpful, so does a violin vise.

I try not to have too many vices, but this is one vise I couldn't do without....

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Glad to see the tank going on! That vice looks like it would be very helpful and the tape is a good idea.

One thing that might help speed things along would be a dremel type rotary tool. Here's one on Amazon for $21 with free shipping. You can also get grinding bits for a drill like these at Harbor Freight Tools for cheep that work really well. Course sand paper wrapped around a wooden dowel works good also. I usually only use a file for some fine tuning.

Your right about endlessly checking your progress. Thats the best way to keep from going past the mark on the openings. Every time I grind a little more, I like to check it to make sure I'm staying on course. Haste makes waste, so patience pays off for this part of the process!

I wish there were a way for me to sell them already cut to fit, but even identical bikes vary from one to the other. I recently tried swapping the Schwinn Wasp tank over to another identical model Wasp and it wouldn't fit. It was very close, but not enough to work without some grinding first.

I also considered that most builders (at least on this forum) would rather have the satisfaction of doing it for themselves anyway. This is definitely a DIY crowd around here!

Keep up the good work!

 

[OddJob]

Tanks, er, thanks! I do have a dremel tool, haven't used it much, but might give it a shot for the other half. I expected a good amount of elbow grease and fine tuning to get this fit. Looking forward to more progress this week!

 

[Duchess]

I love the different ways of installing a TRM tank. Another way is to use hole saws, but you want to be real sure about your measurements. To start the hole, I marked my hole center on one half and used a jewelers round file on the mark, then I bolted them together and evened out the hole for the other side, then I used about a 1/8" bit on it, then the hole saw. I have more detail in my Interrobang thread, but it also really helped to have a long drill bit to span across the top and bottom of the tank to get the angle right for the head tube.

 

[kingfish254]

It's cool to see some of the details that are involved with installing a TRM tank.

 

[Chad T]

Great tutorial. Look forward to seeing more. Do you plan on installing headlights?

 

[OddJob]

They say we should never put God in a box, never limit God; and I completely agree. That said, I found a savior in this little black box that was stuffed in the cranny's of my garage......the holy dremel tool!

Forget what I said about using a drill bit blade for removing material from the orifices of your TRM tank. @The Renaissance Man was absolutely right; the dremel is the way to go! Probably cut my time in more than half this morning.

One thing I did do that helped get the size very close on my second-half, was to make a paper pattern of the openings from the first half. I simply used a small note pad sheet, held it over the finished half opening, and pressed around the edges with my finger to make an indentation of the shape. It helps that there is a small ridge from the mold down the center of the tank, so that helped with the orientation of the half-hole. Then I cut them out, labeled them according to their position on the tank,

laid them onto the second-half tank piece, and used my wife's white nail polish to trace the outline onto the black tank. Worked like a charm!

So now I move onto another new phase, using Bondo to fill in the small spaces and gaps before sanding, prepping, priming, and finally bringing the One-Liner to complete Rat-isfaction! Gonna rain soon, so I'm moving fast....

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Glad the Dremel worked for you! Looks like you're into the short rows now.

 

[Fv2]

You're making this look easy OJ.
I'm not looking forward to fitting my tank, it's already been fitted to an older frame with different lines than my Westport. But you're still making a good tutorial for us all.

 

[Chad T]

Beautiful job! Knew you would pull this off.

Great info here......so what about headlights? I think TRM uses led flashlights? The headlights are what makes me want one of these tanks.

 

[Chad T]

You're making this look easy OJ.
I'm not looking forward to fitting my tank, it's already been fitted to an older frame with different lines than my Westport. But you're still making a good tutorial for us all.

Check out TRM's goop posts from last year...I think that's what he used to fill in?

 

[Fv2]

Check out TRM's goop posts from last year...I think that's what he used to fill in?

I found the stuff TRM said I can get at auto supply, but I'm still off work so rebels cause is on hold indefinitely.

 

[horsefarmer]

Like this pic! amazing how this looks to me like a 1962 vette.