Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Gas Tank Fill Spout

Here is the finished product. Looks like one tube, just as intended. Kris knocked down the welded on the lathe and left it .040" or so proud of the final surface as I planned on hand finishing it. Trying to grind a round tube, any smaller than 6" in diameter is a nightmare. It is very hard to not make the tube 'notchy' from grinder passes. So I chucked it up in the lathe turned it at 190 rpm's and then used a 2" 120 grit to grind the weld flat to the tube. This trick helped me to get a perfectly round tube, that it completely seamless and no one can tell by sight or feel that it is 2 pieces welded together.
Another view, pre-clean up.
Welded it up over lunch. Tacked it around the diameter by skipping around to prevent over heating the weld seam. Then stitch it together between the tacks. That is why you will see a variation in the heat line, thickness and style of weld.
A perfect fit, it makes the welding a breeze. I don't have to worry about the 2 parts slipping out of alignment as I work the bead around the diameter.
I bought the cap and matching steel bung from The Chassis Shop. A race car chassis parts company based in Silver Lake, MI. They are either partners with or own Pro-Werks as well, the company the cap. Both for aesthetic reasons and function, I wanted the gas cap to be 2-2.5" overall height off the top of the gas tank. So I need a piece of pipe to weld to it that is the same diameter and will look seamless like one piece of tube. I was lucky to find this chunk of old steam or water pipe that was just .100" over the diameter of the pre-made steel bung. Tom 'Tweaky' Peek turned it down for me when he still worked at BAKER. I have had it for 2 years. Kris added a small counterbore to it, as the bung has a .060" tall lip on it. This allowed the 2 pieces to align perfectly to each other before I welded them up.

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