Fillerto tank cut template

[Gerry]

Need some help guys, my math has deserted me. I need to cut out a hole in the top of my 5 sided tank for the filler tube. Cant remember how to develop the shape for a template. Can any one help me... please
Here a pic of the tank section with the filler tube held in the place where I need it to go through. Once I have a hole in the tank I can mark the tube and trim it to suit before welding it.

Gerry

 

[Northstar T]

Need some help guys, my math has deserted me. I need to cut out a hole in the top of my 5 sided tank for the filler tube. Cant remember how to develop the shape for a template. Can any one help me... please
Here a pic of the tank section with the filler tube held in the place where I need it to go through. Once I have a hole in the tank I can mark the tube and trim it to suit before welding it.
Gerry

Math?? .......we don't need no stinking math..... just need one of these.
Russ

 

[Gerry]

Math?? .......we don't need no stinking math..... just need one of these.
Russ

Aint got one of those. Never found one that lasted more than 1/2 a cut, but thanks anyway
G

 

[one finger john]

Need some help guys, my math has deserted me. I need to cut out a hole in the top of my 5 sided tank for the filler tube. Cant remember how to develop the shape for a template. Can any one help me... please
Here a pic of the tank section with the filler tube held in the place where I need it to go through. Once I have a hole in the tank I can mark the tube and trim it to suit before welding it.

Gerry

O.K. , I will be the simpleton and say measure the filler tube for diameter, find dead center for the hole in the tank, mark, get the appropriate hole saw and have at it. Use a drill press. Although it might make a lot of noise or rumble around a lot. Maybe a lot of little holes to get the shape in the sheet metal and then hand finish.

I dunno, thats how I'd do it. Actually, knowing your work, I'd take it to you and pay you to do it. Where does "math" come into hand finishing ?

Oh well, tea time , John

P.S. Will the opening in the filler tube be made larger ? If not, it appears that the hoses in England are rather small.

 

[Gerry]

O.K. , I will be the simpleton and say measure the filler tube for diameter, find dead center for the hole in the tank, mark, get the appropriate hole saw and have at it. Use a drill press. Although it might make a lot of noise or rumble around a lot. Maybe a lot of little holes to get the shape in the sheet metal and then hand finish.

I dunno, thats how I'd do it. Actually, knowing your work, I'd take it to you and pay you to do it. Where does "math" come into hand finishing ?

Oh well, tea time , John

P.S. Will the opening in the filler tube be made larger ? If not, it appears that the hoses in England are rather small.

Everything in England is smaller... and yes the gas station pump will fit. Or Im in trouble AGAIN
Please no more comments on my hose diameter
Gerry

 

[Northstar T]

Aint got one of those. Never found one that lasted more than 1/2 a cut, but thanks anyway
G

Oh yee of little faith. . I just grabbed the pic of the Dewalt set to show what I was talking about, however I own a set from Fastenal that has cut MANY holes in 1/4" plate over the years and is still going strong. I use one size in particular to make header flange holes for example. no problem there either. the trick is to get one that has bi-metal teeth, not one of those Harbor Freight specials Gerry.:dummy:

Russ

 

[2old2fast]

Gerry, do it like a carpenter would, find or make a cardboard tube the same size as your filler,then notch it to fit your tank ,trace and cut, but a good holesaw would sure be easier.


dave

 

[Ted Brown]

Sounds like you are going to get crap in your tank either way you go here, so notch the top filler to match the tank for a small weld bead, and then mark around that to get you hole in the right place and size, heck you could just use a hard disk on you hand grinder to cut that hole, very easy ole man... hehe

 

[fordsbyjay]

I would just drill a pilot hole where you want it centered and use the hole saw or a hole cutter like this from Blair Equipment. The nice thing about hole cutters is they make a nice clean nut and don't skid around like a hole saw does. In this particular case you might be stuck with the hole saw due to the depth.

http://www.blairequipment.com/Kits/Cutter_Kits.html

 

[Ted Brown]

I would just drill a pilot hole where you want it centered and use the hole saw or a hole cutter like this from Blair Equipment. The nice thing about hole cutters is they make a nice clean nut and don't skid around like a hole saw does. In this particular case you might be stuck with the hole saw due to the depth.

http://www.blairequi...utter_Kits.html

This short type of hole cutter will not work with the shape tank Gerry is working with, that will work with a flat top fine, that hole needs to be cut by hand...

 

[Gerry]

Fraid Ted is right on this one.
These cutters are OK on a flat sheet, but try them at and angle and they cut oval, sideways and over sized everytime I have used them, thats why I was asking for the maths on the template. Still I can always do it the old way... cut a bit try it, cut a bit more try it, cut another bit try it again.... add infinietum. After all its only time and another few hours on 18 years, what the hell
gerry

 

[one finger john]

Enough about nozzle size (vs hose radius), it appears that if the filler tube is fitted properly, because of the taper from top to bottom, and the flange being larger than the bottom, then one hole will have to be cut at the top that will be the same size as the spot on the filler tube where it will be positioned. The rest will have to be hand fitted to suit the taper. It would be easier if there was no taper in the filler tube. No ?

John

Or, keep the filler the way it is, get it attached to the tank, then cover any gaps with a fashionable collar that would also strengthen the filler install (so if you drive off with the nozzle in the filler, the hose will tear off instead of the tank). The real booger is the taper in the filler pipe. If the pipe were straight, then just like a roof vent pipe, you could just go straight down with the proper hole saw, weld in the filler, and be done with it.

This will be interesting to see how ya do it. I think the collar would be a wise addition.

 

[Screaming Metal]

Hey Gerry, get your 90 air grinder and mount a thin abrasive wheel in it, for cutting the hole out. Hook up a pressure reg. to the tanks outlet bung, turn your pressure down to 15 PSI, as as you cut, you'll blow the mess into your eyes, but your tank will be relatively clean inside.
I found a face shield usually does the trick if you don't like going to the doctor.... :cripple:
Then slide the round gizmo into the hole, tack it and weld her up! Drink a cup-o-tea for me while your a welding it up!

 

[old round fart]

I think I would cut the filler with straight cuts to fit the peak, then mark the top of the tank and cut the hole in the tank smaller than the outline from the filler and weld. The hole size in the tank just has to pass the gas nozzle.

 

[RPM]

We use all kinds of holes saws everyday and make 100s of cuts with them before they need to be replaced. Drill your pilot hole. open it to 1/4", then use a straight 1/4" steel drill rod in the hole saw body instead of a 1//4" drill bit. This way it won't open the pilot hole and wobble around. We use Lennox Bi-Metal saws they last a long time.

All of the axle ends are notched in a jig in a mill and we use a hole saw with no pilot to cut with. All of the radius rods are notched with a hole saw for fit before welding.

Gas tank openings are done as I described above. To get the metal chips out of the tank when you are finished use a shop vac.

 

[Northstar T]

I'd slip the filler off the peak so it's all on one side of the tank peak. cut the appropriate angle on the bottom of the filler neck, mark around the base and cut the tank out with a plazma cutter............ but I'm lazy.

isn't it good to have so much help? no wonder it's taking you 18 years to build that thing. :jester:

Russ

 

[Youngster]

With the taper in the neck I would guess you would have a problem getting a great fit. I think I would use a short length of tubing the same dia. as the bottom of the neck. Weld that to the tank and trim it as short as I could and weld the neck to it.

Another way would be to trim the neck till it fits the tank, trace the openning on the tank, remove the excess mat'l and weld her up.

Ron

 

[Leon renaud]

Need some help guys, my math has deserted me. I need to cut out a hole in the top of my 5 sided tank for the filler tube. Cant remember how to develop the shape for a template. Can any one help me... please
Here a pic of the tank section with the filler tube held in the place where I need it to go through. Once I have a hole in the tank I can mark the tube and trim it to suit before welding it.

Gerry

Wrap the filler neck with a piece of paper a few inches longer than the neck,
Trim the bottom of the paper tube till it fits the tank where you want it
cut the bottom of the tube off just above where it fits to the tank slide it back on filler and mark and cut filler to fit tank no math needed and good tight fit !Once neck is fit mark tank and cut hole to fit the neck.
Leon

 

[GAB]

Interesting problem. I tried to draw this using the sheet metal module in this program and it will not let me draw the tapered hole and extrude it so that it could produce a flat pattern. When I draw the bent sheet as a solid, it will allow me to extrude the tapered hole but it will not produce a flat pattern stretchout of the sheet.

This is what I was guessing at as far as angle of the bent sheet and diameter and taper of the neck. The angle is 78° of a 2mm sheet and the filler neck is a 1-9/16" with a taper of 10°.

I can look directly at the surface of one face of the sheet and get a true cut but not the whole thing. Just have to mirror the shape from the center line. This is the inside view that shows the cut through the sheets thickness.

If you are interested in going this route, give me the particulars as to the angle of the bent sheet, the major diameter of the taper, and angle of the taper or the minor diameter and the length parallel to the axis. .

 

[one finger john]

Gentlemen, I believe Gerry has presented us with an unsolvable problem. Here is the way I see it. The dimensions of the filler tube are (and these are approximations) 3in. at the bottom with the flange being 3.5 in. The hole in the sheet metal should be approx. 2.9 in. with the filler tube welded 3/8 of an in. up from the bottom. Because the top flange is too big to pass thru the hole and the bottom of the filler is too big to pass thru the hole also, then in its present form the hole can not be cut to present a uniform solution. The filler will not pass. Only cutting off the the top flange will allow the filler to be installed from the inside of the tank out.

Machine the filler so there is no taper for the short distance it will enter into the sheet metal (measure from the peak down to the lower portion of the hole). It will require that a hole cutter be mounted in a drill press and be used to bore straight down until the hole is complete. Then, looking at it from the side, measure from the peak to the bottom of the hole. That will be the distance that the taper will have to be machined straight. When looking straight down, a round hole is still a round hole no matter the incline of the sides that fall away. Sorry to say this but you will have to find the closest hole saw to the size hole you want and maybe machine a new filler tube to match the size hole produced from the saw. I would also recommend drilling one test hole on a flat piece of sheet metal to find the true diameter of the hole produced from the saw.

Please correct me if I am wrong. John