Ketchup Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I'm trying to mount the tank onto my back plate, with a single silver rivet at the bottom (per Lancer spec). I've seen it done before on MC kits but I'm at a loss to figure out the size of rivet I need. The hole that came pre-drilled is maybe three times too big for any rivets I have (1/8"), and there is a good inch between where the hole is and the backplate, and my longest rivets are only good for 1/2" maximum. I haven't been able to find any rivets that are that long. :/ Is there a way to find rivets that long, or do I have to do something special? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Forrest Patrol Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I'm stuck with the same problem. KS did my armour and they cracked the tank. The rivet is not straight either, its curved, no idea if that's how its supposed to be, or if it starts out curved or if it gets curved in the process. Sorry, I know this doesn't help. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwattsup Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 It's not intended to attach with just a single rivet. The MC kit comes with a long 1/4-20 bolt to attach the bottom of the tank, and bolts for the top are supposed to mount through the angled piece that's glued inside the tank. If you only had one point of contact underneath, the tank would probably flop around a lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Forrest Patrol Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It's not intended to attach with just a single rivet. The MC kit comes with a long 1/4-20 bolt to attach the bottom of the tank, and bolts for the top are supposed to mount through the angled piece that's glued inside the tank. If you only had one point of contact underneath, the tank would probably flop around a lot. I'm pretty sure that SkyScout has attached the top of the tank (correct me if I'm wrong Sky). I think her problem is rivetting the bottom to the back because of the way rivets work and the distance between the two pieces. Maybe using a washer will help with the hole diameter problem. I used washers for extra grip on the underside of the boot holster. As I said before, my tank cracked at the bottom rivet, maybe KS made it too tight so be careful or ( to be fair to KS) maybe customs broke it open because it seemed suspicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketchup Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 I've got the top of the tank figured out, yeah. But it's the bottom that's killing me because Lancer specs require a single rivet on the bottom of the tank, which I've seen done before, I'm just at a loss to figure out how they did it. Lol. I suppose I could rig something out of extra ABS to shorten the distance, but I'm still left with trying to figure out how to fill the diameter of the hole. Bleh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I've got the top of the tank figured out, yeah. But it's the bottom that's killing me because Lancer specs require a single rivet on the bottom of the tank, which I've seen done before, I'm just at a loss to figure out how they did it. Lol. I suppose I could rig something out of extra ABS to shorten the distance, but I'm still left with trying to figure out how to fill the diameter of the hole. Bleh. Easy trick: Cut a small square out of cotton (like a t-shirt) to cover the hole. Soak it in Super Glue and place it over the hole on the underside. Then, cut a small circle of cloth to cover the outside hole, and do the same. When it dries, you can re-drill the hole accordingly and attach with a rivet. It's a solid trick and can also be used to repair a crack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugdozer Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I cheated with mine, because the tension on the rivet was going to deform the plastic slightly and widen the gaps round the edges of the tank. So what I did was put a small rivet in for show (it doesn't attach to anything), then made a hole in the backplate and put a "rod" of spare plastic through the hole to the base of the rivet, and glued one end to the inside of the tank and the other to the inside of the backplate. So far, it's proved to be very sturdy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Forrest Patrol Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It's a solid trick and can also be used to repair a crack. The crack in my tank is pretty huge, about 4-5 inches up the middle now (it got worse over the years). Just ordered some Goo Gone and I've had the replacement tank for about 4 years in storage. Should be fixed soon if the Goo Gone works. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Forrest Patrol Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I cheated with mine, because the tension on the rivet was going to deform the plastic slightly and widen the gaps round the edges of the tank. So what I did was put a small rivet in for show (it doesn't attach to anything), then made a hole in the backplate and put a "rod" of spare plastic through the hole to the base of the rivet, and glued one end to the inside of the tank and the other to the inside of the backplate. So far, it's proved to be very sturdy. I might cheat like you did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dart Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 For the bottom hole, I used a silver Chicago screw. I just made sure it didn't have a hole in the cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugdozer Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I might cheat like you did! I've got my second troop on Saturday. Stay tuned for a post from me on Sunday moaning about how my tank fell off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketchup Posted September 4, 2015 Author Share Posted September 4, 2015 I have a Chicago screw to mount the tank, that's why the hole is so big. I suppose I can use that for now until I can rig something to rivet the tank to, that I can then ABS weld to the back plate. Thanks guys, you always pull through when needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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