operation aluminium panniers

[fatowl]

where do you get your sheets of aluminiun from? I've been looking around, and the prices are too expensive to make it worthwhile (cheaper) to make my own.

Do you "aquire" it from work ?

[bazza]

where do you get your sheets of aluminiun from? I've been looking around, and the prices are too expensive to make it worthwhile (cheaper) to make my own.

Do you "aquire" it from work ?

U could say that. (hush hush)

[Gotham]

Good is to use some stronger Aluminum alloy. I used 2mm AW-5005 anodized. Thats more than enough and it will not soil like unanodized aluminium. 3 mm is too heavy in my opinion.
I cut and bend them from a local sheetmetal workshop (had my own drawings). If you are riveting it is good do use some silicon glue like Sicaflex or something like that (I used some Wütrth thing) between joints.
Also is good to do some quick fix locking system. In my case one lock locks the cover and case to the frame.
Think that total material cost was approx. 200€ and the half of the Al-sheet is remnant.
Some pics:

[bazza]

Well after all this time they are finished, tryed and tested .

Had a ride over to Whitby and Scarbourgh over the weekend about 300 miles in total, placed my gear in and a bit extra weight to make up for the rest of the stuff i would carry.

To be honest i could not tell the difference once i got used to them appart from them been slightly wider than the bars so had to remember when going through traffic, they seem to have held up ok.

A bit wider


Looking a bit tatty with the sealent


After nearly 12 months of sat in the garage i thought id have a go at finishing them. Needed mounting, a lid for the small box (folding them was fun), some racks (might help) Bought a Givi one off flebay, and a bit of a clean up.

My folder




Could not find any u shape for the mounts as this seemed the easyest way but came accross some square so had to saw one side off and they did the job, then lined up and sealed and riveted, one on the bottom and one on top. I then decided to use the two holes in the top of the Givi rack as an extra support and as a security side.



Two securing nuts


Now i just need to seal the lids on the folds but will have to find a welder to do that so for now ill just seal it with sealant.

The insides are nothing to look at with the sealant and rivets but im going to use waterproof bags so it will look ok.



Also while i was at it i decided to fit the 12v socket to the dash but it was an open back one so i used a box from Maplins with an inline fuse stait to the battery, and a new home made heat shield to stop burning my leg.



So hopfully all ready for my trip around Scotland next week, see u all there

[bazza]

What amp fuse should i use in the 12v socket, ill be using phone and maybe satnav.

[Boris]

What amp fuse should i use in the 12v socket, ill be using phone and maybe satnav.

5 amp will be more than enough for your needs. You may need more if you plan to use a compressor though check the power requirements first.

[Simon]

yup as said stainless rivets are fine but the two different metals together could cause corrosion problems ( osmosis) your better sticking with ali rivets then powder coating the whole shabang


looking good so far mate well done

I'm with Chad on the rivot thing. And of you run some silicon between the pieces of ali before rivoting then less chance of water getting in.

[davidstanbridge]

Looks like a fantastic idea...

I'm an apprentice engineer and I have never even considered making my own panniers..

Thats good thinking outside the "box" haha.

Thanks

David

[bazza]

Well after another year i thought id try and make the pannies look a bit better as they were scratched and marked so i decided to spray them and seem to have turned out ok.

Getting the lids welded on the corners tomorrow and then they will be ready to spray.

I do have some stickers for the couple of slight marks.

And i did a waterproof test on one of them with not good results but thats sorted now.








Lets see how long the paint stays on.
More bodging to come.

Barry

[alanvendy]

if you want to tidy up the inside and stop tearing your bags etc try lining the paniers with a "carry mat" (camping bed roll) they're cheap only 10mm thick should finish them off nicely.