And finally, Wookie's 82 begins !

Wookie58 wrote:

Quofan wrote:

Guy, with regards to the badges, have you thought of maybe having them enamelled, by a badge company maybe? 

Thanks buddy, the issue with enamelling is (as I understand it) it involves heat to "flow" the enamel. These are 3D printed in a plastic that starts to melt at 60 Degree's, the biggest issue has been the chrome paint that "doesn't play well with others". However having spoken to the manufacturer it appears that "full cure" takes 1 to 2 weeks (not the 24hrs it says on the can) I have found that leaving it for a week on the window sill above a radiator has made it much more forgiving to work with. It would have been much easier to do if they were "plastic chromed" but the price I was quoted was ridiculous, still I think we are getting there now

Those are looking loads better!

While I am waiting for Carlos to get back from his vacation I decided just in case he hasn't got what I want I would attempt to repair the float tower. It's gone well I think, I have drilled it for a "roll pin" and I will reinforce the joint with JB weld to stop it vibrating apart

That looks like a solid repair to me, especially with the JB Weld bonding it together.

JB Weld sells a product called Tank Weld, which hopefully holds up better to gasoline than the old JB Weld, which would soften.  I'd make that internal pin as beefy as possible, and an easy slip fit, leaving room for epoxy.  If possible, fabricate a "shell" of some sort that covers the outside joint.  The best float post repair I've seen used stainless steel safety wire to holds the halves together.  A mechanical lock trumps chemical.  

Thanks Ed, the post is 7mm so I went with a 3mm pin to leave some meat on the sidewalls. The pin is hollow so the epoxy should squeeze up the centre of it:)

You have done a great job on the prep. 

I am not sure what you can get for gasoline tolerant epoxy in the UK. Over here Z Spar (now Splash Zone) is the go to product that builders use to build up cylinder head ports. This is a thick moldable 2 part epoxy that is slow setting.

I don't know if I have been blessed but I have never had to repair a float post. The other way I have seen them done is with a 5 mm bolt, but I believe to do it that way correctly would require a milling machine.

Injected wrote:

You have done a great job on the prep. 

I am not sure what you can get for gasoline tolerant epoxy in the UK. Over here Z Spar (now Splash Zone) is the go to product that builders use to build up cylinder head ports. This is a thick moldable 2 part epoxy that is slow setting.

I don't know if I have been blessed but I have never had to repair a float post. The other way I have seen them done is with a 5 mm bolt, but I believe to do it that way correctly would require a milling machine.

Thanks buddy, I don't think it would have turned out this well if I had drilled it freehand (post in the lathe and body on my drill press) Pushing forward now, have had the chemistry set out again to plate the fittings I have also ordered some throttle shaft seals as they have hardened with age. Kawa ones are NLA but I saw a post on the 1300 site giving a Yamaha part number that is still available - however these are nearly $10 each x 8   I then found a post on a Yamaha XS650 site giving a Suzuki part number that apparently fits but are half the price of Yamaha so I have ordered those - will let you guys know if they work out. Choke plungers are on the way back from Zed1015 so I am just waiting for some plastic round bar to make blanking plugs then the bodies will be off to the blaster 






 

Got to catch up on all of your recent posts!
But first, your electroplating is giving me ideas for some restos that I will be tackling.  Thanks so much for sharing!  

Outstanding work on the plating!  Big fan here!  

What chemicals are you using?  I use Caswell's, but it's expensive.  I'd love to find a good alternative, a home brew formula.  I've tried homemade chemicals before, and it was not so great.  If you have some wisdom to share, please do so!  In the mean time...keep going...

Nessism wrote:

Outstanding work on the plating!  Big fan here!  

What chemicals are you using?  I use Caswell's, but it's expensive.  I'd love to find a good alternative, a home brew formula.  I've tried homemade chemicals before, and it was not so great.  If you have some wisdom to share, please do so!  In the mean time...keep going...

Thanks Ed, I need to re-do a couple of the yellow parts as the "passivate" hasn't taken both my zinc and anodising kits came from "Gateros plating Ltd" via ebay (their customer service is great if you are having issues - the anodising is trickier than the zinc but they explained possible causes over the phone)

Wookie58 wrote:

Nessism wrote:

Outstanding work on the plating!  Big fan here!  

What chemicals are you using?  I use Caswell's, but it's expensive.  I'd love to find a good alternative, a home brew formula.  I've tried homemade chemicals before, and it was not so great.  If you have some wisdom to share, please do so!  In the mean time...keep going...

Thanks Ed, I need to re-do a couple of the yellow parts as the "passivate" hasn't taken both my zinc and anodising kits came from "Gateros plating Ltd" via ebay (their customer service is great if you are having issues - the anodising is trickier than the zinc but they explained possible causes over the phone)

Looks like a UK outfit!  Good for you, but doesn't do me any good!  Oh well.  Anyway, your stuff looks great.  The yellow chromate dip is best done lightly.  With the Caswell's stuff, only 10 seconds or so is needed.  It's not a deep treatment, though.  Fragile if you handle it rough.  Looks good, though.  Frankly, these home plating kits don't match a real deal pro plating job, in my experience anyway.  It does provide a good deal of protection, which is the real point.  Sometimes I leave the parts in the dip longer than necessary, just to apply a thick coating.  I also don't completely strip off the old zinc anymore, although that's generally the recommendation.  I figure any original zinc is a good base, and what is applied after is to replace lost material 

For sure a plastic tank in the garage isn’t going to match a pro setup with the control measures they have to monitor chemical levels etc but as you say it gives a good layer of protection and you don’t need to package it up and wait weeks to get it back. The yellow seems more sensitive than the blue (my first attempt with yellow) but reading the guide that came in the kit it may be I didn’t rinse thoroughly enough after plating before passivating ?? Prep is everything