Help, please: mtorocycle parts-how to hold them???

[Ed Westerly]

I have a problem (a new one, not my personality!). How do you hold motorcycle transfer case covers, vavle covers, etc. on your engraving vise??? :thinking: I have no experience with this field, but someone has asked me to engrave their Harley parts, and I would like to do it, but fear that I will run into great Turmoil :no: and Headaches :beatup: , not to say Lost Hair!

thanks in advance for any help. :clapping:

 

[Mike Fennell]

I hold them between my knees and rev to 10,000 rpm.

- Oh, wait, you're not riding them - you are engraving them!

For a large pieces, just set it on a large turntable or drill press with rubber shelf material or thick towel under it to keep it from sliding around. Mike Dubber did a youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZacPS3V1AWs

For a small piece, mount it on a strip of wood with thermoloc and lock the wood jig in the vise.

Mike Fennell

 

[Ed Westerly]

Thanks guys. Now I just have to come up with a price and hope he likes it!!!

 

[diandwill]

Remember too, if the parts are chromed, they should be stripped first. As explained to me, the chrome will flake into very small surgical knives, and your hands will bleed from un-realized cuts. The cast aluminum may have pits and cavities, so your design and background should account for this.

 

[Tira]

Yup, everything they said. I would add that I use rubber washers so the screws don't scratch the parts. Sometimes you can clamp the part right into the vise (w/ leather pads) depending on what has to be engraved and where. Invest in a good set of ear muffs because it will ring very loudly depending on what part too.

 

[monk]

i do derby covers quite like christopher, but the part that gets clamped in the vise jaws is a half circle. it allows for re-orientation without a lot of movement of the ball vise.

 

[Ed Westerly]

Thanks, guys (and gal). Tell me more about these pits and cavities of which you speak. That does not sound very good Are they numerous? Can you tell where they are before cutting?

 

[tim halloran]

Ed: I have cut a lot of chrome plated motor cycle parts, and have cut through the chrome with no chipping or flaking. The majority of these parts were Harley Davidson factory chrome plated parts. They use a triple chrome plating process, starting with a copper base, followed by a coat of bright nickel, then a flash of chrome, only millionths of an inch thick, to seal the nickle. in my experience the chrome plating that chipped or flaked was done in china, and was only double chrome without the copper base. I always told my customers there was a chance that the chrome could chip or flake, if they were unwilling to go to the added expense of having the parts stripped first then re chromed after engraving. A lot of older Harley parts that were sand cast were known to have bubbles or porosity in them, such as the shovel head, and knuckle head parts. I did experience this occasionally but only on the older parts. Harley Davidson then went to investment casting, permanent molds, alleviating these problems. There is nothing you as an engraver can do about porosity, so if their parts were made before 1984 they should be forewarned of this possibility. You will be cutting along and then your tool will just dive into a hole and it can be rather unsightly, so warn your customer upfront about this.

 

[Ed Westerly]

Tim,

Thanks for the info. This is a ironhead, but I don't know if that makes it older or newer. I have been sent pictures of the parts, and they do not look like they are plated with anything. :biggrin: In fact they look like they could use a good polish before he sends them to me. I will definitely let him know about the porosity potential, as no one likes surprises!

 

[tim halloran]

Ed: It's probably a sportster, and they quit making the iron barrel, iron head sportster in 1985. The covers are probably polished aluminum, and can be chrome plated after engraving, if desired.