Unplanned Man Shed time SoCal

[FJmonkey]

I removed my fairing on Thur to deal with intermittent headlamp issues (on/off) and lack of High beam and an oil leak.... Well, I broke the two tabs off near the headlamp...SHIT!!!  I remembered that Mike (Skymasterers) is not only SoCal but welds plastic. A quick PM and I am talking with Mike and making an emergency visit to his FJ shop. He says he can have me over and we set a time. Once I arrive he makes some room on his bench and proceeds to cut some scrap ABS to demonstrate the process. Not that complicated once I saw the process. Then it was my turn, much easier than I thought, the 6 months as apprentice and countless broken fairings to fix were not required. I took to it like a duck to water. After a short practice run Mike proclaimed me ready to weld. Yea!!! The flanges are quite thin so I had work quick then move on to allow it cool before I returned. I also fixed the broken tab that held the RH turn signal. It fell out when I moved the fairing to the garage. Damn!!! I got all my welding done and jumped in to help Mike get his FJ back together. I was good on my word and brought the beverages, good thing too, it must have been 100F at his house, and can you believe his garage is not air conditioned? Slacker... Then we had some lunch and some good chit chat over the grub. I can't thank Mike enough for teaching me the Black Magic of plastic welding.... Today was a good day to spend time in the FJ Man Shed, a little hot but very worth it....

[aviationfred]

Sounds like time well spent Man Shed Time with a fellow FJer....

Fred

[rktmanfj]

What kind of equipment were you using?   

I've been toying with the idea of getting one of the Harbor Freight units and trying my hand at it for a while now, and my project FJ has me thinking about it again.

[andyb]

A demonstratory walkthrough on fixing plastic would be brilliant....

[FJmonkey]

The tool was similar to this. http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html

[movenon]

The tool was similar to this. http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html

50 bucks with 20% off, ummm......... 
George

[keand3]

Hey Mark, i too have those two tabs broken of.
Are they really necessary to have there? I guess at higher speeds but i have found mine fairing to work perfectly without.

Ken

[rktmanfj]

The tool was similar to this. http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html

50 bucks with 20% off, ummm......... 
George

That's it... gotta get one of those.

[racerrad8]

Don't forget to get these too...http://www.harborfreight.com/50-piece-plastic-welding-rods-41602.html

Randy - RPM

[rktmanfj]

Don't forget to get these too...http://www.harborfreight.com/50-piece-plastic-welding-rods-41602.html

Randy - RPM

A shame they don't have a package with all ABS rods...

[racerrad8]

A shame they don't have a package with all ABS rods...

True, it would be nice if they offered just the single filler rod types. But, it is good to have a variety.

I have found the front fairing to use the green rod and the chin fairing used either the white or grey.

I have not tried a fender yet...

So, you might have a time when you need all three.

Randy - RPM

[movenon]

The tool was similar to this. http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html

50 bucks with 20% off, ummm......... 
George

That's it... gotta get one of those.

My son has access and uses a commercial version but he indicates that they use 2 part glues for the most part. I have used ABS cement and plastic rated epoxy with very good results. But I would like to have a inexpensive welder on hand at times for problems like Mark had with tabs or areas that might have more twisting or bending stress.  For 40 dollars this might be nice to have on hand.
George

[jscgdunn]

Great discussion....I have found that the plastic is the most expensive (the motor never breaks  or wears out, right?) and least rewarding parts to spend money on.  To keep the old girls looking good we all will need to learn a new skill...plastic welding. 

So far, I have had pretty good success gluing cracked tabs etc with plumbers ABS cement. 

Jeff

[fj11.5]

Be nice and easy if you could plastic weld engine cases

[FJmonkey]

Great discussion....I have found that the plastic is the most expensive (the motor never breaks  or wears out, right?) and least rewarding parts to spend money on.  To keep the old girls looking good we all will need to learn a new skill...plastic welding. 

So far, I have had pretty good success gluing cracked tabs etc with plumbers ABS cement. 

Jeff

The RH turn indicator was repaired with ABS cement, fell off in my hand. It seemed to be more brittle than the ABS. All the other cracks I cemented are cracked again. I will be investing in a weld set up with a Tacking tip and weld tip, I already have the welding rod. I bought it here http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=22851