Anyone try to make their own bungs?

[hard_y_rd]

Trying to save a few dollars making some fender bungs. Geez, it's harder than it seems to get the center of a smaller diameter rod. I don't have any fancy tools either. Just a small drill press.
I watch a quick vid on youtube and the guy lost me when he started talking in thosandths of an inch.
Anyone have any tips on doing this.

 

[grepper]

Maybe I saw the same video... What I saw is the guy had a drill press vise. Put the metal rod piece in the drill chuck and lowered it down on his vice and tightened it down so the piece is centered. Loosened the chuck, then put his drill bit in and was able to drill into the center if the metal piece.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Hey, hard_y_rd, welcome to the world of the hobby machinist, and the bag of tricks they carry.
If you have a dremel, you could spin that rod in the drillpress, and grind a small dimple, from the bottom, using a small diameter stone. A steady hand, and it'll naturally want to center as you grind. Then remove, invert, and centerpunch in the centered depression...

 

[hard_y_rd]

Hey, hard_y_rd, welcome to the world of the hobby machinist, and the bag of tricks they carry.
If you have a dremel, you could spin that rod in the drillpress, and grind a small dimple, from the bottom, using a small diameter stone. A steady hand, and it'll naturally want to center as you grind. Then remove, invert, and centerpunch in the centered depression...

Saw that drill press trick. Pretty cool. Don't think my patience is working in my favor.
Bought a shit load of those titanium coated bits. Should of left them on the shelf.
I'm almost tempted to chop up an old swing arm bolt. Already a hole going through that sucker. Ha, ha.

 

[Travis]

Depending the size of bungs you are trying to make, you might be able to use a piece of heavy wall DOM tubing.

 

[rusty rocket]

you could save a few more dollars and buy a lathe.

 

[hard_y_rd]

Well ya know when you have an idea in your head and you have to do it. Well i finished dicking around with trying to drill a center hole in a piece of 1/2 rod and cut up my old swing arm bolt. Wasn't happy until i did it.
It turned out alright. I was surprised though how the hole in the swingarm bolt wasn't completely centered in one end. I also thought the bolt would be completely hollow but it isn't. I did have enough of the bolt to make 2 bungs. Drilled them to 5/16 and tapped them.
Happy with the result. I used them on my old grab bar to make a fender strut. Looks O.k.

 

[hard_y_rd]

Here's a pic.

 

[truenorthmetal]

trick I use is a hole saw....get some 1/2 inch steel....hole saw in the press......clamp the hole you cut out in a vice, and tap. You can adjust inside and outside dia by adjusting the size of the drill and the saw. Use an old windex bottle filled with water and few drops of soap to lube.....give it a squirt every 3 seconds or so.

I then start the tap with a drill...easier to get it started and get the first few threads straight in the 'bung' I then switch to doing it by hand so I can get some nice threads.

I can make 20 of them in 45 minutes

 

[hard_y_rd]

You'll have to post a few pics of your operation TNM. I'm not visualizing it. 20 in 45 minutes. You're turning them out alright.
I seen these in a motorcycle mag a while back. http://www.ebay.com/itm/STEEL-CENTE...9398&clkid=6289225167180182732&_qi=RTM1562569
I never seen them before. Lay your round stock in the corner of a piece of angle iron, grab the same diameter punch as your stock and line it up on the end and whack it. Done

 

[truenorthmetal]

Ha ha....I saw your reply this am and then worked on my current build all day, (good Friday is a stat in Canada)

anyway...thought about it a few times today......your right....not 20 in 40 min.

I was typing and not thinking.

But could prob cut 10 in 40 minutes with hole saw and drill press, and then 2-3 minutes to tap each one...maybe 10 done in a little over an hour..?

Never timed it.

Certainly hollow DOM is good as well....prefer that, but hole saw works for odd stuff or I need 1 and dont have metal.

round bar is good too........3 things - perpendicular clean cuts, punched in center, some way of locking bar in position on drill press....then drill away.

I liked the punches you posted and see the angle iron as a sweet way to center punch. Bad thing there would be when one gets dull there does not look like an easy way to sharpen....$27 bucks most likely means they could be on the softer side.

I set a mic to the bar radius, then scribe the clean cut on the bar end with them in 3 different spots on the circumference to mark center............then punch under my big hobby magnifying lense with a reg crappy punch that I keep sharpening on the grinder..

Easy...or ordering them from bunking !

Super service !! But they look cheap until you order a bunch....plus when I do order I always over order to make the ship costs more worth while.

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33389&page=5

Build by the way

Peace !!!

 

[hard_y_rd]

I've seen your build, Mike. Looks fantastic and your taking no time at all to put it together. Wondering if your going to paint/powder the frame? My build is currently down to the bare metal and i am having a hard time deciding to paint it or not. I like the look of the bare look, would have to clear the frame. Don't know what to use.

 

[Iowa Mark]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-threaded-standoffs/=rlrpt8
Or go here.

 

[truenorthmetal]

I've seen your build, Mike. Looks fantastic and your taking no time at all to put it together. Wondering if your going to paint/powder the frame? My build is currently down to the bare metal and i am having a hard time deciding to paint it or not. I like the look of the bare look, would have to clear the frame. Don't know what to use.

Hey there...thank you !!!

AS far as frame goes, I have built a few bikes....I have powdered all of the frames except for 1. And I should have powdered that one ! Bunch of dings in the paint just during assembly. Touched them up but you could see them. Not a huge deal but bummed me out.

There is clear powder...I am not sure how it changes the look of the metal though.

Eastwood has a 2 part epoxy rattle can that I think comes in clear - you activate before you spray....I have used the paint and it works pretty slick. But again not sure on the clear.

Maybe a way to look at it is that if you spray some sort of clear on, and ding it on assembley....easy enough to touch up and most likely wont be noticable.

Stuff wiating for me to do right now, but do want to look at your build....are you posting it..?

Did not catch PEI earlier either............Peace Brother !

 

[truenorthmetal]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-threaded-standoffs/=rlrpt8
Or go here.

Sweet dude....thread sizing would need some thought though..........will look more tonight and prob ask you some questions

 

[hard_y_rd]

Hey there...thank you !!!

AS far as frame goes, I have built a few bikes....I have powdered all of the frames except for 1. And I should have powdered that one ! Bunch of dings in the paint just during assembly. Touched them up but you could see them. Not a huge deal but bummed me out.

There is clear powder...I am not sure how it changes the look of the metal though.

Eastwood has a 2 part epoxy rattle can that I think comes in clear - you activate before you spray....I have used the paint and it works pretty slick. But again not sure on the clear.

Maybe a way to look at it is that if you spray some sort of clear on, and ding it on assembley....easy enough to touch up and most likely wont be noticable.

Stuff wiating for me to do right now, but do want to look at your build....are you posting it..?

Did not catch PEI earlier either............Peace Brother !

Did not know there was a clear powder. Good to know. As far as a build thread, i didn't really do one. It took so long that i just posted bits here and there. Here's a pic man, Hope you dig it.

 

[truenorthmetal]

Nice.......I like the tank. Originally planned to go that route on this one but changed my mind. Next build will be the 2.2 axed tank for sure.

I do have a home grade Eastwood Powder coat system.........best tool I ever bought. Cheap and amazingly easy. I almost grabbed the clear last time I was at KMS - only $9 for a pint. Soon I am going to grab that so I can just see what it looks like ...... I will post a pic on this thread

 

[truenorthmetal]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-threaded-standoffs/=rlrpt8
Or go here.

I plowed through the site - good stuff - but seemed like round standoffs were all 1/4 in OD. And the hex ones, (which I do use often when non critical as they are softer metal), seemed way more expensive than picking up at Rona or Home Despot.

and the thread counts were all in that 12-40 type grading . . . never took the time to understand that one

but I did Pin it because they do have a lot of stuff