making a side plate out'a PVC.

Bob Kelly III

Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
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Hi All...
EDIT....Thanks to gggGary I know know that the pipe i used was not PVC as I state in this build its actually 2" ABS schedual 40 pipe.......
....
the side plate I made was the small Lower sideplate on the lower left side of my 83'Heritage special.
its Mostly flat and a simple sheet of flat aluminum would have done it ....but We can't have that!
we gott'a do it the HARD way !!!!!! LOL
so here's How I did it .....( if anyone cares )
......
I started out by taking the right side lower off to get the measurments from it
its the exact same on the right side except it's clip posts are positioned diferently and its reversed
.... but the basic shape is the same...... an out'a skew rectangle ! LOL
.... I scrounged up a piece of 2" i.d. ABS pipe from the back of the shop ,
( old water line or air vent for plumbing )..... I cut the ABS pipe about 1/2" longer than needed
and then Cut it in half on ine side lengthwise.... being about 12" long .....
I then heated it with my propane torch ( a high heat hot air gun would be much better for this)
and then started flattening it out and un rolling the pipe.... once the ABS was warm enough and Floppy i set it on the concrete floor and put a bar bell weight on it to hold it flat..... as it turned out I didn't get it near hot enough at this stage and should have taken more time to make it nice and flat.... but I didn't
..... anyway, once flat I traced the other side's shape onto the ABS sheet that was about 8"x12" aprox.
and then cut the shape out with tin snips being sure to leave 1/2" of over hang on the top and front sides for the lip....
then I heated the PVC again at the overhang areas and bent them to 90 degrees
this left a 1/ 4" portion in the top front corner that stuck out... heating that good and hot ( trying not to let it catch fire) I then pinched that portion in the vice to trim it off and rounder the corner good with my hands....


20170420_202911.jpg

I then took a piece of scrap and bent it over after heating it and then welded it to the piece with the soldering iron and that took quite a while....
as uou can see it looks pirty Knarley right now most of it's surface is pitted where it cought fire with the torch..... and it's just plain UGLY !
I measured carefully for the first post of ABS and got it right in the right place..... trimmed it and filed it to fit the rubber gromet on the bike...it snapped in and out tighter than the original did.
I then put on the 2nd ABS post...albe it in the wrong spot.....
20170420_213730.jpg

and I had to move it closer to the bottom edge and shorten it a bunch....
this post was 3 layers of ABS a bent in half piece and a strip added to it. squeexed together in the vice a bit to let cool.....
cutting it off was done with the soldering iron and welding it back on was done with the soldering iron as well.... stabbing the flattened end of the soldering iron into the sideplate and the post at the same time and then flattening the mushroom of plastic when done I did add a bit more ABS from left over scrap to build up the under cut created from the weld ....
here's the finished welding....
20170420_220136.jpg

once I had filed the pins to fit the Gromets and oiled them so they would slide on easier I put it on....

20170420_220241.jpg

and another view....
20170420_220303.jpg

.....OBVIOUSLY I have more tweeking to do !
I heated the side plate with the torch again on both sides so I could bend that front edge in some
and try to get it flush , instead of sticking out so far.....
and here's the results....
20170420_220816.jpg

.... Yes it's UGLY as Sin but with glazeing compound or body filler it can be made to be purdy !!!
I'll add a picture of the finished product when it's finally painted shinie black !
.... See..... it can be done the Hard way ! ...and it cost me nothing but time !
Bob..........LOL
 
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LOL Thanks 2M ! my soldering iron will never be the same !!!! HA !
.....
Bob.........
 
LOL oh you just couldn't resist that one I can tell ! HAHAHAH !:laughing:
thank you guys !
Bob.........
 
Are you sure about that gggGary ? the pipe says PVC ....I got a sewer pipe out back a 4" er and yah it's ABS.....
I agree after being torched it LOOKS like ABS... but REALLY it says PVC ! LOL :yikes:
heheheh
OOOP Hold on there I went out and took a picture of it and discovered the OTHER pipe was PVC.... the one I used is ABS...... NOT PVC
you o'l smartie you ! I bet if I'ed used PVC like I had planned to it wouldn't have turned out so darn ROUGH !!!!!
keen eye Gary ! thanks !!!!
I really am glad my mistakes don't get by you guys ! REALLY it makes me Sharper every time it happens ! HAHAHHAAH !
Bob.........
 
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Thats cool gary ! you may well have saved a few guys hundreds of hours trying to duplicate that Ugly piece of plastic because I told them it was PVC
but its REALY.... ABS a big diference ! THANK YOU !
....i edited that big long thing and changed every refrence to PVC to ABS....:laughing:
accuracy does count after all ! <GRIN>
Bob........
 
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ABS is easier to paint than PVC by far. In a paints company many years ago we used ABS for loads of tests, and these were mainly conventional home use solvent based gloss and heavy duty industrial epoxy primers. The following link will give you some idea of what others are using:

https://www.reddit.com/r/makerbot/comments/17jf1v/painting_abs_plastic/

PVC is a difficult one because the paint does not want to adhere long term to it, unless you use the specialist PVC paints. Model makers love ABS because most solvent based paints will work on it.

Great stuff!!!
 
ABS is great to work with. I've made ABS parts using ABS pellets from ebay and acetone. Old TVs are a great source of ABS. ABS glue is available but not as much as in the past. When building up a part with pellet slurry or ABS glue, this is not like gluing other materials, the glue, slurry, and plastic becomes one solid part.

ABS is easy to repair with ABS. Fiberglass will always fail when used on ABS, Epoxies will always fail on ABS. Almost no plastic paints as well as ABS. It sands, files, grinds very well. I've even used block planes for wood on ABS.

Scott
 
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KOOL good to know ! ....
mrTwowheel: I am guessing here that the acitone desolves the ABS pellets into a slury and you can pour it into a mold ? that has great potential for me!
never done that before, but I have projects that could use strong plastic parts ! ..... much easier than melting aluminum and pouring into a green sand mold! How long does that take to set up ? I expect a few days ?
very interesting indeed !
.....
I couldn't stand it.... I went out there and tried to sand the side plate with my last piece of sand paper..... on the electric sander.....
it was getting it fairly well till the sand paper ripped ! ..... so I wiped it off and then hit it with High heat black..... WHY HIGH HEAT BLACK ????
well, it was the only black paint i have ! LOL ! and it looks almost exactly like it did before the paint..... go figure ! LOL!
.....
I fired up the bike today too let her warm up and then turned it back off.... I had many things to do to day !
.....
Bob........
 
Yeah, a slurry can be made from ABS powder (dirt cheap on ebay) and acetone for pouring into molds. It takes days to dissolve. I think I said pellets before but I've only used the powder. Pellets would work but would take longer to dissolve. This can be done in about any plastic bottle and has a long shelf life if sealed well. I've experimented with molds, plaster can work but the mold will not survive for another use, even with mold release. For copying a part (master) more than once, I think a pressure baked silicone mold would work, but haven't tried it yet. I have had a lot of fun with it.
 
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Holy cow Uncle Bob - you're a sculptor - a veritable Michaelangelo with a soldering iron!

All seriousness aside - that looks really good! Once get it painted and buffed up - you'll be the bomb out there in Weed.

Cheers,

Pete
 
HAY KOOL where can you buy that sheet stuff ???? heck I could make a full faring with that ! LOL
.....
Bob.........
 
Pete, at one time I was the best artest in Highschool..... but sense my Free-lance Artest plans did not work out like I had hoped I let it slide for 50 years or so.... now I can't draw worth a darn ! LOL !.... if ya don't use it ya LOOSE it !!!!
that side plate is Nothing to brag about Pete its not flat and that takes away everything ! hahahahha !
I just wanted to show that it could be done is all.....
I made a faring for a 100cc Suzuki way back in the midevil days with 2 buckets and a soldering iron..... it came out fairly good....
only 100cc bike I ever had that could get to 70mph and stay there ! LOL
....
Bob............
 
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