Any fabricators out there?

[iammulva]

I'm rebuilding carbs on '79 GS 1000. The o-rings and fasteners that I ordered seem like they will fit the bill nicely. I have top and bowl gaskets on the way too that I hope will work. That leaves me with one problem that others may have already experienced or will in the future.

There is a nylon spool looking thingy on the choke assembly that the choke lifter uses to lift the choke assembly (opens/closes the choke). Three of the four spools on my carbs are badly mangled. One is in perfect condition. Replacements are no longer available (from all the innernet searching and a few emails that I sent out) except: (1) another similar carb; (2) make your own. I believe I found a carb on eBay that has three good spools and one bad one so that solves my immediate problem. Since the spools are no longer available and since (I assume) the carbs are in reasonably short supply, trying to find used ones is going to become more and more difficult. Therefore, I was wondering if anyone has the know how to fabricate these spools? I have taken measurements and put together a diagram (attached) that should be accurate enough to work if machined to those measurements. These could be made from any durable material I would guess (e.g. brass, aluminum, stainless, etc).

[rustybronco]

Make your own out of a piece of 1/2" nylon stock. chuck it up in a 1/2" drill motor and lathe it with a wood chisel. drill the .140" hole when you are finished.

something like this will give plenty of practice material left to work with.

http://www.indplastic.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&id=2765499&product=196

[iammulva]

Good suggestion - now if I only knew what "lathe" meant. JK. I do, but barely. I know it probably seems simple to you but my mechanical proficiency is "parts replacer" so anything that requires manual dexterity, skill, decent tools, etc quickly exceeds my ability. HOWEVER, I do have two VERY handy friends who I could enlist if needed. Thanks again for the idea!

Chris

[Old Colt]

I would recommend making these from Delrin. It will be a much more durable as well as easier material to work with.

[sschering]

If someone wanted to send me a foot or two of 1/2" bar I could make up a set.

Should be easy enough to make from Nylon, UHMW-PE, Derlin or Teflon (PTFE)

I'm not sure what the best material would be..

PEEK would be awesome but who wants to spend $20 a foot for it.

[Macguyver]

I would recommend making these from Delrin. It will be a much more durable as well as easier material to work with.

+1 on the delrin, easy to work with as long as you don't heat it up too much with the tooling. I've made new bolts for paintball guns from it, great stuff.

It doesn't look too complex of a job, just make sure you take care when lathing anything. Last thing you want is the work to get a hold of your chisel and send it flying across the shop.

I don't have any delrin that small, I mainly have large blocks, otherwise I would throw my name in the hat for this.

I will search at home and see if I have any brass rod or maybe some aluminum rod at home and let you know. I think I should have some 1/2" aluminum rod IIRC.

[iammulva]

Wow - I just looked it up and Delrin is also $20/ft x 2 ft minimum + $24 shipping. I was gonna buy it and ship it to one of you skilled people but that's a lot of moolah - I had no idea. I still might do it, but maybe I can find some stuff locally. I'm in Houston - shouldn't there be places here that carry that stuff???

[rustybronco]

nylon is cheaper and should last 20+ years.

any hobby stores near you?

[sschering]

Wow - I just looked it up and Delrin is also $20/ft x 2 ft minimum + $24 shipping. I was gonna buy it and ship it to one of you skilled people but that's a lot of moolah - I had no idea. I still might do it, but maybe I can find some stuff locally. I'm in Houston - shouldn't there be places here that carry that stuff???

You sure you didn't look up PEEK?

A quick Ebay search turned up ton of Derlin (Acetal) rods

This one is $5 shipped.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Plastic-White-Delrin-Acetal-Rod-1-2-diameter-bushings_W0QQitemZ330390462626QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4cecce60a2

Grainger (should be one near you)
12" rod for $1.10 or 6' for $5

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2XMG5?Pid=search

McMasterCarr also sells it
$1.38 pr ft. sold in 5ft lengths.

Heck even Amazon has the stuff.
3/4" rods 36" long $5

http://www.amazon.com/Delrin-Acetal-Black-Color-Diameter/dp/B000FN1HYK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=industrial&qid=1262192074&sr=8-1-spell

Grainger also has it
12" rod for $1.10 and 6' for $5.89

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2XMG5?Pid=search

[spyug]

There should likely be plastics suppliers in most major cities. Do a search under "plastics, nylons, fiberglass etc". Hobby stores may carry stuff but it will likely be more expensive than the supplier or distributors who deal in larger quantities. If you find the right shop they may even machine it for you. Our local supplier can do that but obviously it will cost more than 'a case of brew" to a forum brother.

As far as 'lathing" it, I've made axle spacers by drilling a hole through the center and inserting a thin bolt and tightening it down with a lock nut. You need about 1.5 to 2+ inches protruding. Chuck this into a drill press. Set it to the slowest speed and use a small wood chisel to "turn" the piece to the diameter needed. Take it slowly and shave of 1/16" or so per pass. Once you get down close to the diameter use a wood file to get closer and finish up with emery cloth.

Not hard to do and you could use a drill if you can hold it down firmly and keep the speed low. Too much speed means too much heat which could melt the material. Also with too much speed the material could grab the tool. With that in mind, wear goggles or a safety shield to protect your face and eyes.

Hope this helps abit.

Let us know how it goes.

Spyug