I'll start off with a shout out to my friend Remo who sent me the above "new" torch! It is a Weldcraft flex head with a large gas lense setup. It is a lot different than the previous torch I was using. I am not sure if I actually like it yet, but, I will keep trying it out to give it a thorough workout.
I put it to good use finishing up Dave's header!
That is a 70 something Honda CB350 that I've done a bunch of odds and ends to before, and FINALLY finished the header, which is the second to last major fab project left to do before it is all up to Dave to get back together.
The pipes nearly all tacked up:
For those of you, who like me, are motorcycle retarded, the frame and engine are flipped upside down. heh
Here is what happens if your fitup isn't exact:
It isn't horrible, but, get your fitup as good as you can so you don't have to deal with silly crap like that.
Nearly completely tacked and ready for welding:
We raided the kitchen for some aluminum foil:
Why the foil? It is cheap, works well and doesn't leave a sticky residue like the foil tape (which still has its place, though, so don't think I'm JUST being cheap), which prevents a whole lot of cleanup.
It looks like I should have turned up the gas a bit more:
But at least I was starting to stack dimes.
Here we were getting a sense of where the tailpipe needed to go:
I squished the end of the tailpipe and flushed the collector off at the necessary angle, then tacked the tailpipe on:
Above and below you can see how I formed the tailpipe to the collector:
It was a bit crude, as I took a cold chisel and bopped the tailpipe until it matched up. It is a bit trickier than that, as you have to tack the pipes together at the right spot, then apply directed pressure at the right spot. You can use anything with a blunted edge or even a drill bit, but, a cold chisel was handy and yeah, it left some marks, but, it got the job done!
The other fun thing about welding a header off the engine is how much it moves. The two primary tubes moved (ONLY!!!) about 3/8" together. It makes for an interesting time getting the header on, but it is still manageable. If I ever make more of these, I'll have a jug set up to prevent that from happening as much.
YAY!
I have more updates ready soon.
