Monday, May 16, 2011

Making the Scrambler Seat Plug

Here she is with the $$$ foam from the hobby supply store, stuck to the tin backing with contact spray on glue/cement. I just cut the foam out rough at this point. I should of left myself a 1/2" less than I did around the outside. I'll have to remove that much to give the joint compound room to be spread on. First time is always a learning experience. 

Here's a view of the wood runners I made this morning that set the seats profile. If I had gone with the styrene foam, I would of just had to carve it to the proper profile. I like this better. Less room for sculptor error.

Now to let the contact cement set up on the runners. I also have some screws holding it all together. I'll start carving the basic shape out of the foam tonight! Hope I get a chance to spread on the first coat of joint compound tonight as well. I should probably be using something harder than the joint compound to form the outside shape, but it sands easy. The plug only has to last long enough for me to make the mold. Once the mold is made, I make the seat pattern out of glass, and can always make more molds as needed from my master pattern. 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Loose weight with Blue Collar Moto

Before
(fat chick holding factory fat bob tanks)

After
(hot chick holding my aluminum tank)

Take some pounds off your bike with aluminum or fiberglass parts from Blue Collar Moto.

Haha. Came up with the idea for my 1st magazine add campaign this morning. Had to write it down while its fresh in my mind, so here it is. Gotta just figure out if they should be topless in the add or not? Also, should I have them wearing something like a Rat Fink mask? Creativity is blocked only by never ending options.

Pix coming soon! Soon as I can make my first tank...

Friday, May 13, 2011

Been working on a pattern for the Scrambler cafe seat project the past few days.

Takes some time. I wound up with two patterns. One that can be bolted up to the factory frame using the stock mounting hinge and lock set up, and another one that would require the cutting off of all factory brackets. The first one that uses the factory stuff had to be a bit fatter than I wanted, so I made an alternative seat set up.
No plug pix yet.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Sportster seat.

When I do a Sportster seat it will be like the one on the old XR750s. Not like the new XR1200s Harley has hardly put any effort into.

Definitely NOT one like this!

Getting geared up to make some seat molds.

(Pic borrowed from the Internet)

 
Looking forward to starting some molds next week.
1st with foam.
2nd with plaster.
3rd with fiberglass.
4th with aluminum.

I'll make two fiberglass seats for each pattern. One for the aluminum pattern, and another to run on the bike being fitted for the seat out of glass. When I'm ready, I'll send out word to all who would be interested in having one of these seats on their bike. I'll give the loaner/donor the second fiberglass seat for the cost of the glass used to make it. Thats almost free.
I'm thinking the first one after my CL360 will be for a CB750, or a RD.
Could even be for a Sportster?

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Gas caps for my tanks.

These look good! 
It will all be about options when it comes to caps. I like the British flip up stuff and the small screw on chopper stuff. Lets see what else I can come up with. 

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

I would love to get my hands on this!


A friend on Facebook sent me this pic a few weeks ago. This nice piece was on Ebay for sale. 

Wouldn't be so tough to make. Would be cast in three pieces with two optional pieces cast for either a two stroke oil reservoir or a battery tray in the hump. 
Would be a great piece to cast in aluminum!  
I'm thinking my RD400 project is gonna have something similar on it some time next year.

Monday, May 2, 2011

1/4" thick cast aluminum tank engraved by Otto Carter

Cant wait to start casting my tanks! Found this one on FB this morning. Check out the link for detailed pix of the engraving process.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A few things that I'm gonna cast first!

The tank, seat, and faring for my RD400 project will one day be polished aluminum. I'll also be making side covers to fit the new rear end. I'm thinking, I'll just make the side covers out of plastic for now. The tank and seat have a bad fit up so my plan is to make an oil bag for the two stroke oil to fit the gap. The cast tank will have the oil tank inside. I'll also be taking a few inches out of its width to show some engine fins, and to make it fit up to the seat better.

Making Hydro forming dies?

I came across a question about hydro forming two stroke exhaust pipes on a motorcycle forum the other day. http://www.usa2strokers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37366&title=hydroforming-stamped-pipes-school
One of the guys replies got me thinking about casting a die mold to help form the pipe. Man, I was up all night last Sunday thinking about this. By using a die, you could make the parts come out identical to one another no problem. At the moment, I'm thinking a bronze die with an aluminum backing cast on to it. Just another thing I want to do. I better live a long time so I can get half the stuff I want to do done!

Heres a link to a set of pipes being hydro formed. Neat stuff!
http://youtu.be/I_Z3AIFSd60

Haha! When I started a thread over on the metal casting site about the idea, all the replies had to do with one guys avatar.