Well, I built the first tank with 20 gauge sheet. It fit really well but was warped a bit too much for my taste. A friend thougt it was salvageable but I felt I had learned too much from the first one not to apply it to another.
The second one is cut from 18 gauge as it was a bit tricky to be consistent on the welds with the 20 gauge. With metal that thin and a MIG there is little room for error. Pulling gives a good bead but prevents you from seeing the fine joint. Pushing can give you a hole pretty quick. I don't like the idea of spotting the entire thing. a) cold starts = leak city, and b) it takes forever. Here are some pics of the second tank in progress:
Above you can see all the panels cut, rolled, deburred, and cleaned. You can see the four spacers bolted to the bottom panel. They are center drilled and tapped on both ends for 1/4 20. There will be two more in the back but I wanted to get the tricky curve set before I made the last two bent spacers.
Here are the top and bottom tacked together. You can see my dedicated powder coating oven under the workbench. Used to be an over/under. I compressed it into one oven.
I ordered one of Brooks new B190 saddles. It's the largest now made and should fit the bill. It is a compound spring variety but unfortunately comes only in black. The site didn't mention it but it is now on backorder. I have since seen that it's that way anyplace I've looked so I might be waiting a bit..... 3 weeks so far but my card was charged the next business day.
Cheap Chinese tool report: Well I bought another one. This time a 3-in-1 sheetmetal machine. Sliproll, sheer, and finger brake all in one. 350lbs of instant crap.
Why don't I learn? I had to build a block to hold one end of the top roller in as it would jump out of it's channel under any pressure. The cam bolt that held it was completely inadequate. The roller works okay even on 12" of 18 gauge(typically rated for 22 gauge). The corners are more rolled than the center but that is easy to remedy. I have little expectation from the sheer but the finger brake could be very useful.
Oh and the air shear cuts great when it doesn't lock up. I have disassembled it numerous times, filed the planetary gear teeth, and added a longer locator pin as the gasket would spin and block off the air orifaces. It is just amazing how close they(Chinese) get to a functional tool but equally amazing that they can't take that last little step to correct problems. Heck, even cleaning the casting sand/grinding dust out of the parts would be a huge inprovement and might even allow them to see that the tolerances are way too loose. JMO
Well, I built the first tank with 20 gauge sheet. It fit really well but was warped a bit too much for my taste. A friend thougt it was salvageable but I felt I had learned too much from the first one not to apply it to another.
The second one is cut from 18 gauge as it was a bit tricky to be consistent on the welds with the 20 gauge. With metal that thin and a MIG there is little room for error. Pulling gives a good bead but prevents you from seeing the fine joint. Pushing can give you a hole pretty quick. I don't like the idea of spotting the entire thing. a) cold starts = leak city, and b) it takes forever. Here are some pics of the second tank in progress:
Above you can see all the panels cut, rolled, deburred, and cleaned. You can see the four spacers bolted to the bottom panel. They are center drilled and tapped on both ends for 1/4 20. There will be two more in the back but I wanted to get the tricky curve set before I made the last two bent spacers.
Here are the top and bottom tacked together. You can see my dedicated powder coating oven under the workbench. Used to be an over/under. I compressed it into one oven. 
I ordered one of Brooks new B190 saddles. It's the largest now made and should fit the bill. It is a compound spring variety but unfortunately comes only in black. The site didn't mention it but it is now on backorder. I have since seen that it's that way anyplace I've looked so I might be waiting a bit..... 3 weeks so far but my card was charged the next business day.
Cheap Chinese tool report: Well I bought another one. This time a 3-in-1 sheetmetal machine. Sliproll, sheer, and finger brake all in one. 350lbs of instant crap.
Why don't I learn? I had to build a block to hold one end of the top roller in as it would jump out of it's channel under any pressure. The cam bolt that held it was completely inadequate. The roller works okay even on 12" of 18 gauge(typically rated for 22 gauge). The corners are more rolled than the center but that is easy to remedy. I have little expectation from the sheer but the finger brake could be very useful.
Oh and the air shear cuts great when it doesn't lock up. I have disassembled it numerous times, filed the planetary gear teeth, and added a longer locator pin as the gasket would spin and block off the air orifaces. It is just amazing how close they(Chinese) get to a functional tool but equally amazing that they can't take that last little step to correct problems. Heck, even cleaning the casting sand/grinding dust out of the parts would be a huge inprovement and might even allow them to see that the tolerances are way too loose. JMO
