Some Tunnel Action

So how do we take a piece of flat 18 gauge sheet steel, and make it into a tunnel for a new gas tank on a old Honda motorcycle?  A lot of beating, real hard beating!

Flat 18 Ga.

Beat it, strap it down.

Grabbed a plastic hammer from the shop

It started getting hard towards the neck.

The SS zip tie broke so I just got some cheap wire I had lying around and fastened her down

Over all I don't think this turned out bad.

So yeah only took an hour and half to do this.  I had the piece about 5"x24" but that was about 6" to long.  I had no way of cutting it till I found some cold chisels in my tool box.  I struck a line and it broke right in half and now it was 5"x18".  I wish I wouldn't of had to beat the crap out of my back bone, I muffed up that paint something fierce, also you never know what structural damage was caused.  I don't think it affected the integrity of the backbones steel because it was a soft hammer and not metal on metal but you never know.  So now sometime by the end of this week or next I'll cut the tank out, but I would like to ask should I cut out all separate panels and weld them up individually or try and keep as much as possible in flat development and bend it up?

Thanks for looking.

Argyle

Blue Moon Customs did this nice Argyle paint schematic.  I like it but I'm not sure it would work on just any bike.

Lego Trike?

 So I grabbed this off another blog I look at about 3D modeling and stuff.  Feast your eyes on this wonder.


Educator Jack van den Broek presented at SolidWorks World 2011 and told me that he has not met a student too young for SolidWorks.  Thanks to Jack, I am fortunate to share a new Toy Trike tutorial that is written for young students.  I am not going to put an age on this tutorial.  Just download the .pdf and have fun.  Model parts and assemblies are included below.

Jack has created other tutorials in SolidWorks including the Toy Car.   Use this tutorial with LEGO (R) building blocks in your classroom or at home for a great visualization exercise that's fun.
Jack has also created Technical Vocational Tutorials for his students that work with SolidWorks in the machine shop and are located on our Tutorials page.  The Tic-Tac-Toe project engages students and teaches valuable skills.
Congratulations to his students that have passed the Certified SolidWorks Associate  CSWA exam at the youngest age yet!.   Marie
Document:Download SolidWorks Trike USA Engels Final
Models: Download Assem1000 My Trike

Help Me Decide?

 So I have been trying to get an Idea for what looks best on my bike.  I am doing a coffin tank cuz I don't have fancy wheels and hammers to do curves.  My hard spot is the back bone, I can't decide what looks good with the crap square of a mess tube.  so here are my choices.  Mainly two are really similar and mounted with a shallow tunnel, and the other design will be more deep tunnel.  Either one can be modified, I have it saved in Solidworks and can change depth and length with ease.  So please give me some feedback and suggestions.

Thanks!

1

1

2

2

3

3

1,2, and 3 next to the original.