8 Dec 2011
Thanks for the kind words of encouragement, but it was not such a good night in the workshop. I could just keep quiet about it, but I’m making mistakes here so you don’t have to. Therefore, I’ve decided to post up a failure.
Thanks started alright. I had a hole in the bottom of the back of the tank area, where rust had got-in around the bracket for the spare wheel (remember, the donor scooter is Spanish). I wanted to repair this before I fitted the new back-end, as access was much better in its present state.
I removed what was left of the bracket and cut a square hole and a corresponding square from some mild steel sheet. I was able to hold this in place quite easily, tack it and complete the weld. Not pretty, but good penetration. I also welded along the entire seam, as this added strength and would keep water out of this seam in future.
So far so good.
I was aware that I had not cut the join-line correctly, so before I tried to weld the back-end onto the frame, I had to add a small triangle of steel. Before long, I realised that even holding a small triangle of steel on such a complex shape was a real problem. It took about half an hour to cut and shape the triangle, then a further half hour just to work out how to hold it in place prior to welding. Ridiculous.
Once attached, the triangle was trimmed (it is best to make small items of sheet metal too big, so it is left effected by heat during welding) ready for the back end.
The good news is that the centre seam is a common size and location to both Italian and Spanish scooters, so finally I have found a reference point.
Again, the issue of fitting the two parts together is holding them prior to welding. At first all went well. I made three or four tacks but.....
When I checked the front of the bubble, it was about 4mm out (note yellow paint showing through from under the bubble). Damn.
It will all have to come off again, but when I try next time, I’ll try to monitor more locations before I start welding.
Nobody said it was going to be easy.
