Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Cylinder repair

Starting this new thread in hopes that if you read the previous two, you wouldn't miss the updated question. As you know, I broke a 26" tall cylinder about an 1 1/2 from one end. I also just picked up a Butler that uses a 24 1/2" cylinder. Its' cylinder has 3 bb holes. So the new question is-has anyone ever had a glass cutter or shop of some kind clean up the broken end of a cylinder? Since the broken one still has at least 24 1/2" left all the way around, I thought it would work great for the Butler. Or am I just risking more damage to the cylinder? Any help is as always greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately I've had to do this a couple of times - both times with the same model Tok. visible actually - I use a local scientific glass manufacturer - they do a great job, have all the right equip. and even professionaly clean the glass for me - all for under $75. A buddy of mine tried the same thing but at a local glass shop (windhsield repair, etc.) and they broke the glass....I'd stick with a professional glass manufacturer.

Hello,

I hate to be the barer of bad news but the 26" tall cylinder is narrower than the 24.5" tall cylinder. You are going to run into a problem if the cylinder sits down into a grove in the Butler (not sure what model you have) The better thing I would do is shorten the fill and drain back pipes that the cylinder came out of...yeah I know it is not original but it is better than having the wrong cylinder that doesnt fit right. The best solution is to contact Gas Pump Heaven for a reproduction cylinder or Ron Scobie. Then everything is all good!!

Just my advice and happy Pump Hunting!!

Easy G. Butler

Believe it or not, they are identical in diameter(12 9/16").The glass on the (former) 26"er is a little thicker, but still enough room to fit down in the groove of the Butler 71.It must be a difference in how the fill and drain pipes are positioned in each one. Regardless though, there isn't a glass shop in Colorado Springs that will even touch it(I can't really blame them). So I'm going to think for awhile about what course to take here. Dave

Dave- Depending on how flat the cylinder is after the break I would just leave it as is and position it at the top of the pump. A 1/2 inch difference from one side to the other may not be to noticable from the ground when looking at the pump. Just a thought.



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Scott
Wanted- Powerine and Powerlube items!

Dave,did it break clean all around i one piece? If it did I just had one that only broke about 1/4" and I used super glue to put it back.very hard to see unless you know it's there. On the bb's maybe you can use a windshield repair kit.
Bill

It took about a 1 1/4" +/- ring off all the way around it. Of course the ring that broke off attempted to return itself to sand(a trillion pieces!).

If you guys aren't tired of hearing about this, I devised a way to repair this myself. I'll post this in a few replies here so i can get the pics in. This first pic is of the broken cylinder


well, ok this is the first step actually. I placed duct tape completely around the inside and outside of the cylinder so the sticky side extended above the cylinder edge from both the inside and outside. Then I pressed the sticky tosides together.

[This message has been edited by Daveb (edited 01-23-2006).]

Then I marked on the duct tape all the way around the cylinder the height I was after

Then using a different color tape, I connected all the dots around the cylinder to give me a line to follow

Then using my Dremel with a diamond cutoff wheel and an assistant spraying water to keep it cool, I followed my blue tape line around slowly and carefully making shallow cuts as I went around the cylinder

And here is the finished product after a little hand sanding with some diamomd sandpaper to knock down the rough edges, The reflections in the pic aren't chips or anything, they are duct tape residue. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the finished result. If I did it again though, I would take a little more off the cylinder and stay away from the broken edge. This is the only place where it was throwing a few glass chips. You definitely have to wear safety equipment(full face goggles,gloves,etc). Let me know what you think, Dave

You Gotta' Be Kidding!!!!! Great job! What speed were you cutting that at?

My Dremel is 5-30k on speed and I would guess I was at 15-20k. I think water and patience are the keys. That being said though, it was less then an hour and a half from starting to apply tape to being done.

Ive had my local glass shop do the same thing, he just marks the glass and uses mineral oil to lube the cutting wheel. Charged me $15 each time. He then sands the end on his vertical belt sander. He is always a little reluctant to do it till i tell him that i expect it to break anyway so go ahead and try. Then he is so careful its funny. Hasnt broken one yet.....Les