Project Varatrackerstorm or Firetrackerdero.

[sirch345]

I think this is worth mentioning as I feel I've been ripped off.. again..

It might also serve as a warning or highlight the options out there for anyone looking into setting up a small tig welding setup.

When I finally got hold of a tig welder next on the list was to purchase argon. No issues. I popped to my local fabrication suppliers & had a chat about the best argon deal that would suit my needs. To be fair it was a guess & the chap highly recommended purchasing an Albee bottle.

The price was £100 quid for the bottle that I would then own & if returned would get my money back. Plus £65 for the gas. So I parted with £165 quids & walked out a happy chappie even though it cost more than the welder..

2 bottles later I get the feeling this Albee argon deal is not that cheap, as it's costing £65 quid a pop. I feel that I haven't done a huge amount of welding, only what you see on the build & am starting to question if the bottles are filled properly or there's a leak.

Years ago, I used to tig weld constantly in the local boatyard & only once did I remember running out & emptying bottle. They were big though.

So, With another Albee purchase required an alternate deal was hunted for. Armed with the Albee bottle in the boot I popped to the local BOC dealer in Gaerwen, I didn't know it existed when I was first looking for gas.

What they offered was a contract, I loan the bottle for £55 quid a year & £55 for the argon. Difference is the bottle is huge, It's a size "Y". It's around 3-4 times bigger than the Albee bottle & it's heavy, really heavy. I was persuaded, one hour later & £112'ish quid lighter we were on our way to the Albee dealer.

I walked in to the fab supplier/Albee dealer & nicely told him that it was costing too much & was returning the bottle. No problem he said, do you have the bottle & the paperwork that I was given when I first purchased the bottle? I said no to the paper work as it was long gone to which he quickly told me, no paperwork, no money for returning it. Pissed was an understatement, lying b8stard I thought.

I then spotted the guy who sold me the Albee deal & shouted him over. I was finally given £38 quid for returning it.

Ripped off.

Live & learn, I'll never use Albee or the local suppliers again..

BOC for gas & eBay for consumables every time.

Rant over..

Are you sure you haven't got the original rental agreement somewhere tucked away at home, now you've had chance to think about it It's not something you would throw away intentionally I'm sure
If you paid by card you will have a record there,

Chris.

[Varastorm]

Are you sure you haven't got the original rental agreement somewhere tucked away at home, now you've had chance to think about it It's not something you would throw away intentionally I'm sure
If you paid by card you will have a record there,

It was cash Chris, I'd been back & forth for bits quite a few times, so they did know me.

When I eventually did see the guy who originally sold me the deal he agreed the paper issue was a load of bollox. The boss's lad who I originally spoke to wasn't too happy either when I eventually got some money back.

Taking the piss really, but at the end of the day £38 is £38 quid. No point in sulking & keeping it, then turning it into another "handy shed filler". I've way too many of them as it is

[tony.mon]

It would have cost them more after they were shut if you shied it through the window......

[sirch345]

Are you sure you haven't got the original rental agreement somewhere tucked away at home, now you've had chance to think about it It's not something you would throw away intentionally I'm sure
If you paid by card you will have a record there,

It was cash Chris, I'd been back & forth for bits quite a few times, so they did know me.

When I eventually did see the guy who originally sold me the deal he agreed the paper issue was a load of bollox. The boss's lad who I originally spoke to wasn't too happy either when I eventually got some money back.

Taking the piss really, but at the end of the day £38 is £38 quid. No point in sulking & keeping it, then turning it into another "handy shed filler". I've way too many of them as it is

Sometimes your first loss is your best loss and you have to suck it up I know, as much as you don't want to.

Hanging onto it may have been okay if you could have used it for a NOS bottle

Chris.

[Varastorm]

Small update. Progress on the build is a bit on the slow side guys.

Summers well & truly here & work is getting hectic again & that means there's money for some more handy stuff.

Also, I've been stuck on this battery box/electrics enclosure faf.

Initially, I was going to make a carbon/fibre-glass combo box, then I was going to make a mild steel enclosure which was strong but way too heavy & ugly.

Then I was going to go old school with a riveted aluminium sheet enclosure... I was flat out of ideas, so I've walked away. Thank God for football.

So in the mean time, I've been looking for another welder. An ac/dc machine so that I'll be able to weld aluminium.

This will also help me sort out the swingarm which has had quite a lot of work done to it. A lot of flap wheeling has been done to enable me to fit the Cbr 929 rear shocker & it needs some reinforcing welding in. Hopefully the battery box will also get sorted.

An early Christmas prezzie.

[tony.mon]

You have to admire the man's perseverance, I'm getting keen to see how this one turns out.
Keep at it, Vara

[sirch345]

Wow an impressive looking bit of kit you have there

Chris.

[Varastorm]

Well, today I finally moved some stuff around in the shed & made room for the Oerlikon under the bench & wired it up.

To connect it up I utilised the welders original 3 phase plug & a switchable wall socket (now fastened to the wall) with about 2 feet of cable connecting it into a 30 amp trip in the shed consumer unit. I rewired the plugs & sockets using L1 as the live. (It'll never leave my shed btw)

Once I'd trippple checked everything, I clamped an old ali swing arm in the vice & wound it up to 100 amps & let rip... 5 seconds in, pop lights out..

The trip was ok, so went to see if the house fuse had gone. Sure enough it had but there was only a 15 amp wire in it. I replaced it with a 30 amp fuse & tried again. Wow, this thing sounds powerful. A lot more industrial than the Lincoln. I did a 3" run on thick 10mm plate. I then wound it up to 120 amps & did another 3" run. I'm impressed.

A couple of things I've noticed, the power light now doesn't work. It used to when wired to 380v? Also the torch gets very hot, as in real hot.

Apart from that I'm happy, as in really happy. I've always wanted an ac/dc machine of my own & still can't believe I've actually got one. Woohoo.

[sirch345]

You certainly don't mess about Vara

Chris.

[Varastorm]

You certainly don't mess about Vara

Chris.

I should be building a battery box not buying welders Chris

Times like this it reminds me of the tale of the drunk in the pub.

He'd rather take on anyone in the pub rather than go home & face the wife.

Me, I'd rather buy stuff on eBay rather than face the battery box.

Right then, welders in, what else can I look for

Ffs, I think I'm going nuts

[sirch345]

You certainly don't mess about Vara

Chris.

I should be building a battery box not buying welders Chris

Times like this it reminds me of the tale of the drunk in the pub.

He'd rather take on anyone in the pub rather than go home & face the wife.

Me, I'd rather buy stuff on eBay rather than face the battery box.

Right then, welders in, what else can I look for

Ffs, I think I'm going nuts

trust me you're not on your own

Regarding the battery box, you'll get there, the biggest job is getting started on it


Chris.

[Varastorm]

trust me you're not on your own

Regarding the battery box, you'll get there, the biggest job is getting started on it


Chris.

Yeah battery box yawn.. Lets fiddle with brakes instead

Right then Chris, did I tell where I was concerning the front brake lines

I'd purchased some cheap Chinese lines ages ago, they were good & cheap but way too long. So I added it to the failed & must try harder list.

The front end consists of cbr600 fy forks, calipers'n master, a cbr600f2 wheel, Varadero yokes with Renthal enduro high 613's

So with the above front end combo I set about searching for a bike that has wide handlebars. A master that's got the banjo's exiting in the same way as above & calipers with banjo's exiting in the same way as above. Once found, see if they sell braided upgrades for which ever bike it is. Easy

After a little searching... I found it. The bike was an early Suzuki GSF Bandit 1200

After even more searching I finally got my hands on a nice second hand set of braided HEL lines off eBay.

Tonight I opened the box up & had a tinker. I found that the right line fitted spot on, but no matter how hard I tried the left was way out. In the end I gave up & walked away.

I Google'd what might be the problem & came upon the solution (I think).

Apparently, HEL banjo's are designed to be twisted, well I never.

HEL Performance Brake Lines

Sold throughout the world, HEL's braided stainless steel brake lines are branded as replacements to their OEM counterparts, that can be purchased as a customised product directly from the company itself, or more commonly as a pre-made vehicle specific item from many suppliers.

An important point to note is that although the lines are marketed as being direct replacements, they are often sold with slightly off-spec hose twist angles, whilst their online product customiser completely lacks an option to specify the twist angle. This is because (as confirmed by a customer service employee), the banjo ends are designed to be able to twist within their collar (circled in red below). By securing the collar using a set of pliers or a vice with some soft rubber to create friction whilst protecting the metal's finish, a screwdriver, drift or steel bar stock can be inserted through the banjo fitting and levered about the collar to rotate the banjo fitting.




Will update tomorrow with the outcome, good or bad as usual

[sirch345]

All that time you spent searching the net for brake hoses you could have at least made a start on the battery box

Apparently, HEL banjo's are designed to be twisted, well I never.

HEL Performance Brake Lines

Sold throughout the world, HEL's braided stainless steel brake lines are branded as replacements to their OEM counterparts, that can be purchased as a customised product directly from the company itself, or more commonly as a pre-made vehicle specific item from many suppliers.

An important point to note is that although the lines are marketed as being direct replacements, they are often sold with slightly off-spec hose twist angles, whilst their online product customiser completely lacks an option to specify the twist angle. This is because (as confirmed by a customer service employee), the banjo ends are designed to be able to twist within their collar (circled in red below). By securing the collar using a set of pliers or a vice with some soft rubber to create friction whilst protecting the metal's finish, a screwdriver, drift or steel bar stock can be inserted through the banjo fitting and levered about the collar to rotate the banjo fitting.




Will update tomorrow with the outcome, good or bad as usual

I have never heard that about any after market hoses, I'm not suggesting it's not true, it just seems to go against the grain in my way of thinking. I'll be interested to hear how you get on doing that.

When I carried out my handlebar conversion to Renthal Ultra Low handlebars, one of the reasons I went with Venhill was they have a nut on the end of the hose to secure the banjo in place. You attach the banjo's before offering them up to the bike (just don't tighten them up fully, so they can still spin on the end of the hose), then once the hoses are placed where they need to go on the bike and the banjo bolts fitted and tightened, you nip each nut up on the end of each brake hose locking the banjo's in place at the correct angle. This insures there are no twist(s) in the brake hoses.

This is what the ends look like although I went for the black finish with black hoses:-



I know you have gone for used hoses, I went for new ones that I got from the link below for the Firestorm, they didn't charge anymore either for the extra length required:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-VTR100 ... SwUwFZ5cxD

Chris.

PS. You're on the right track starting with the letter "B" for the next job on this build, it's just the second letter should have been an "A" not "R" as "A" comes before "R" in the alphabet as you no doubt know

[Kev L]

I thought R came before everything in Cornwall Chris! Rrrrrrrrr thet’ll Be done drectleeee!

[VTRDark]

trust me you're not on your own

I can't go nuts becuase I was born nuts so how can I go somewhere if I'm there allready Is there another level of nuts I can experiment with. I've always fancied trying on a straight jacket but my arms are too bent.

Nice bit of kit you have there Vara but it's worrying that your blowing fuses and then upping the ampage on your house fusebox