Lower Cowl Repair

[vandenw]

Hello
I thought I would share my experience repairing the lower cowl on my 90.

The usual clutch slave leak destroyed the left rear and one of the previous owners fiber glassed it back together and strapped it in place with a tie strap.
I was considering options I came up with the idea to buy a sheet of abs and a plastic welder and try to build something and weld it back together.  I think I was successful although I am not done painting because it is still to cold up here.(snow today)

I found a cheap welder and some 1/8 and 1/16 abs sheets on eBay.

I traced the right side onto the 1/8 sheet and cut it with a scroll saw.  I had to make every cut twice because the blade heated the abs up and it melted back together as it cooled off.  I could not ever snap it after cutting once.   Then heated and bent  and trimmed the cut out to the opposite shape off the right side. Once it was in shape I welded all the cracks in the rest of the cowl.  Then mounted it on the bike and scribed where it was going to meat. I cut it at the scribe and tacked it together.  Remounted it to check if it was ok.  Then welded everything together.   

[vandenw]

After it was welded, I melted a 1/2 inch strip over the weld on the inside for extra strength.  I don't think that this was necessary.  I tried to break a piece that I had welded and it wouldn't. These welds are very strong.

I found a post online from some pro that basically said to use JB Weld as filler, so I did that to take fill a the low spots and imperfections. I also found a body supply store that mixed me up  1/4 pint of the light blue for the striping.  I just waiting now for some warmth so I can finish this thing off. I wild post the final product when I'm done.

[FJmonkey]

Nice job, it should look near perfect when you are done.

[fj johnnie]

 Nice job. Looks good.

[paulfj03]

Wow! Good onya!

[fjfool]

hey that looks fantastic
where did you get the welder and ABS stock?

[Steve_in_Florida]

Very nice.

You could probably sell copies of your patch panel piece. Personally, I could use two or three!

Steve

[aviationfred]

Wow, Very impressed. 

Fred

[vandenw]

The welder and abs sheets were acquired from ebay.  $75 for the welder and the sheets were less than $10 each.  You can get the welders at Harbour freight as well.  I've already used it to fix a few other things.  I now need to find other types of the plastic welding rods for other repairs.

I actually used the 1/16 sheet to cut "welding rods".

I am considering trying to 3d scan the right side, reverse it and then print it in a 3d printer.  Supposedly this can be done with a smartphone.  If I get it done I will post the file for anyone to use.  Most of then will print ABS so it could work well.  We have a Makerbot at work, but I think it would not print a big enough section.

[Dan Filetti]

Welders on the cheap:

http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-air-motor-and-temperature-adjustment-96712.html

With the 20% off coupon, worth the $$.

Have I mentioned I am a fan of Harbor Freight?  

FYI.

Dan

[vandenw]

Here are the pictures of the final product.  I made one big mistake that I did not notice until it was almost installed.  Let see if anyone can figure what I did wrong. 

Btw I tried numerous 3d scans of the section that usually fails and I had no luck. I think the part is too thin and there is not enough texture.  Most of the nice 3d scans I've seen are of complex objects and they seem to scan ok because you can hide a lot of errors. I was getting holes and to much texture to make a usable scan.   Maybe if the technology is better in the future or with an expensive laser scanner.

[vandenw]

Ok an edit your post feature would be handy right about now.  Those photos were upright on my phone and my tablet.

[moparman70]

your probably left handed like me --- the pics are always opposite..

great job ---- makes my repair with popsicle sticks and JB weld look well ....... like I used JB weld and popsicle sticks....


sc2

[fj johnnie]

Looks very nice!