# Delta Reproduction Single Cell Battery Canister fabrication pre-1933



## Gary Mc

Sitting here bored stiff waiting on paint and bondo to dry so thought I'd go ahead & start posting the details of this little project.  I know there are many of you out there trying to find Delta single cell battery canisters for your pre-1933 bikes & projects.  I decided to fabricate or more aptly convert a reproduction two cell canister into a single cell battery canister and began the project last week trying to finish it this weekend.  So here are the steps:

*Delta Reproduction Two Cell Battery Canister to Single Cell Battery Canister conversion*

The first two photos were provided by CABE member “msreust” aka Mike in a request I had for measurements of the canister without the cap on the unit.  I need to thank Mike for the great pictures facilitating my ability to attempt this conversion.










This is the reproduction two-battery canister I purchased off ebay.  The difficulty in this conversion is not simply cutting the unit down but replicating the original that had a raised bead to stop the cap when it is slid on.  Much of this conversion with focus on how to replicate the look and maintain that raised bead.





*Step 1) *The original single battery canister is 7-1/8” without the cap on as seen in the second photo on this post.  To cut down the two-battery unit wrap a strip of auto body masking tape with its center at roughly 7-1/8”s from the solid end of the canister.  Then go around the tape measuring off 7-1/8” from the solid end to roughly the center of the tape placing a mark in 1”-2” increments.  Next use a flexible ruler to create a line all the way around the canister as seen in the photo.  This is your template to make the cut with a hacksaw. 









*Step 2)* I will be using a hacksaw purposefully to make the cut as I want to show this can be done with cheaper tools most people have around the house and also you are much less likely to have an errant cut using a hacksaw carefully.  Be careful after making your cuts, as the edges will be sharp.  Also I would recommend going slowly around the canister with the hacksaw first making a slight cut into the metal all the way around first.  This will help guide deeper cuts as you then work your way around.  I left the cap on the open end for support as well but you will need to support the unit with you hand somewhat after you get over half way through to keep from pushing too hard and bending the canister.  Key here is just go slow, take your time, and have good light to maintain your focus on your line.

Using care to stay on the line, cut the canister in half at the line with the hacksaw.  Remember use real care here or you will ruin your entire project as this is a critical step. 

*NOTE: Cutting through the tape gives you a guide in all your cuts & makes all cuts much easier so your hacksaw is not just randomly sliding around. *





This photo is what we will be trying to mimic on the left, in the next few steps.  First is the slot and second is the beaded cap stop.  The slot is used to be bent slightly out to keep the cap on tight.  The bead is the stop when you slide the cap on.  Please note the cap is 1” deep on the reproduction & the original.  The cap however is meant to only slide on ½” on the original if you look at the placement of the bead in photo 2 above.


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## Gary Mc

*Delta Reproduction Single Cell Battery Canister fabrication pre-1933 (cont.)*

*Step 3)* Use the piece to be discarded at the end of the project to measure the slot at the end of the original tube.  We will recreate this slot on the newly shortened tube by cutting out the slot with a hacksaw.  Be exact here for best results and again use care with your cuts.  This slot is ½” around the tube and will be ½’ deep.  My repop was 3/8” deep and the bead is inset 3/8” but I noticed the original bead in inset ½” so we will alter here to original specs so mark out ½” by ½” slot and cut the sides with your hacksaw.  You can then use pliars to bend the remaining tab until it breaks off.  Again be careful of sharp edges.  
*NOTE: Cutting through the tape gives you a guide in all your cuts & makes all cuts much easier so your hacksaw is not just randomly sliding around. *





*Step 4) *Now you have to deal with the rough sharp edges & this requires 2 fine files, one flat to smooth the outer edges & one rounded to smooth the inside edges of the can.  Try to file these areas smooth so as to not get cut on the can inserting and removing batteries later.  Again just take your time & get it right.

*NOTE: Use gloves to keep from getting cut on the sharp edges!!!!!*



 

*Step 5)* Sand off the remainder of the decal & sand down to bare metal 1” of the tube from the open end.  It is also a good time to go ahead & rough up all the remaining paint as we will be repainting the entire unit in a later step.  Don’t remove more paint than you have too as the reproduction paint is fairly nice and will still be a really good base for your final coats.  You can sand this by hand which I did where just scuffing the paint but I used a Dremel tool with sanding attachment to get down to bare metal finish quickly on the 1” end.

*Step 6) *The next step is to create a straight line indentation or “score” all the way around the canister at 6-1/2” from the closed end.  Again I used masking tape measuring as done in step 1 to have a guide to go by.  Then I sawed around this line through the masking tape being careful to only “score” the canister as a guide for our “bead” cap stop. Be real careful to only score this line, you do not want to cut through the metal.  The scored line will be strengthened in the next few steps.  Remove the masking tape.  
*NOTE: Cutting through the tape gives you a guide in all your cuts & makes all cuts much easier so your hacksaw is not just randomly sliding around. *





*Step 7)* Obtain a roughly 10” piece of ground wire, I used AWG 12 (gauge) I had around the house in common electrical line.  AWG 14 would probably be better as the diameter is smaller but I didn’t want to have to go buy new wire.  Wrap the copper ground wire around the canister at your scored line & cut it at the point where it just meets.  You want it to be really tight.  The next step requires a soldering iron.  Fashion the ground wire into a perfect circle, you can use the canister for this but be sure to keep the wire straight side to side so it will lay perfectly flat.   Slightly bend the ends of the wire inward with pliars.  Holding the two ends together solder the two ends together fashioning a ring.  Don’t’ worry too much about extra solder we’ll file in off in a later step.  Let the solder harden good so that you have a solid copper ring and then slide it on the canister to the scored line.  The solder will not hold it to the can and it is much easier to just solder the ring when it is not on the can.  You need to be precise here, you want it to be tight on the can with no gaps.   If you got it tight which you needed to do, it will take a little time to force it onto the can & into the scored line. Be patient but forceful here, you do not want your solder joint to come apart.  Now you have the start of the cap stop bead.  
*CAUTIONARY NOTE: Use thick leather gloves when soldering to keep from getting burned holding the wire or soldering it together.*

















*Step 8) *Next, put a bead of “JB Weld” on either side of the copper wire.  You are gluing the copper wire in this step to the canister all the way around on both sides of the copper wire.  This will strengthen the canister at your scored line and securely attach the wire to the canister.  Be careful with the JB Weld.  You want enough to hold the copper wire in place & glue it down well but not a lot of excess you have sand or file off.  I used a tongue depressor to apply it and smooth it to a correct look rounded profile detail to avoid a lot of additional work getting off excess.  A Popsicle stick would work just as well.  Wipe off any excess as this stuff dries hard & is hard to get off after it cures.  Put aside to let the JB Weld dry & “cure” overnight.  
*NOTE: If you do a good job molding the profile of the JB Weld you will have to use less Bondo later.  Also by using enough to get close to the correct profile you with have strengthened the copper wire bond to the canister.
*




Here is the canister with the JB Weld applied.  I also went ahead & scuffed up the cap & brackets to repaint to insure everything matches when painted.  I personally like the little foam backed sanding pads for sanding these parts.  They are flexible and work much better on rounded and hard to get to areas when sanded.  They are available at most hardware stores in different “grit” grades.  The pads I use are made by Norton (www.NortonConsumer.com).  They also can be used to wet sand. I went ahead & filed/sanded the JB Weld to my desired bead profile in this step as well.  Also noted the solder joint was filed and is barely noticeable at this stage.





That's it for now, I'll finish this up no later than the beginning of the week but hope to finish tomorrow.  More to come......

Thanks for following!!!!!! - Gary Mc


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## Balloontyre

Hey Gary, Would it not been easier to cut off the top at the proper length and then just put a bottom cap on?


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## Gary Mc

Balloontyre said:


> Hey Gary, Would it not been easier to cut off the top at the proper length and then just put a bottom cap on?




I thought it would be harder for most as the bottom would really need to be welded on but if you have those skills yes it would be easier.  I was trying to do this in a manner anyone could do it without welding skills or paying a machine shop to do the work for them.  So intent was DIY for a beginner or novice.


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## bricycle

Great job, and Great tutorial!!!!! Bravo! 
That will look even better than mine.....


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## Gary Mc

*Delta Reproduction Single Cell Battery Canister fabrication pre-1933 (cont.)*

*Step 9) *See pics above^^^^^. Sand or file off any excess JB Weld glue and get the profile close to the original.  I started with a flat file, next used a small rounded file to get the profile correct followed up with a sanding pad to clean up.  Pay attention to your copper wire solder joint here and file carefully to remove the excess solder from Step 7. 

*Step 10)* Next we will be looking back at the cap stop on the original canister.  Lay down a bead of “Bondo” around both sides of the copper wire covering partially the wire & completely covering the JB Weld and the solder joint.  Form the Bondo to the desired bead shape around the can leaving a little excess.  I shaped a small piece of plastic to get the form I wanted and dragged it around the can at the copper wire removing excess to have a smooth bead & desired profile.  The closer you get to your desired shape, the less you will have to sand off later so use patience here.  Let the canister again sit per directions for the Bondo to cure.

*Step 11)* File & sand the Bondo after it has dried forming your desired shape to match the original cap stop bead.  Lightly sand the entire canister again & wash it to remove any contaminants such as grease or dust. Here's an after bondo was sanded pic. 





Now you are ready for primer & paint.....


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## Gary Mc

bricycle said:


> Great job, and Great tutorial!!!!! Bravo!
> That will look even better than mine.....




Thanks Bri, not sure on better than yours as they look great, I'm to the painting step so finished pics to come soon.  Thanks again!!!! Gary


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## Gary Mc

*Delta Reproduction Single Cell Battery Canister fabrication pre-1933 (cont.)*

*Delta Reproduction Single Cell Battery Canister fabrication pre-1933 (cont.)
*
*Step 12)* Dry the canister off with a lint free towel & now you are ready to repaint the canister.  I also scuffed up the cap and mounts & repainted them as well to insure I had a good color match on all components.  I primed everything first allowing it time to dry & sand.  Next apply two coats of GLOSS black paint with sanding in between coats.  The original is Glossy as well.   You could also “age” the battery can during painting if desired if you have those painting skills and it would be more appropriate look for your project bike.  Here's just the can after primer (black) & I am using Krylon paints.





Next the gloss black.....


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## Gary Mc

*Delta Reproduction Single Cell Battery Canister fabrication pre-1933 (cont.)*

*Step 13) *Give the canister a few days for the paint to cure then apply a new “large” size Delta reproduction decal.  Mine came from “bicyclebones” off ebay but I believe Memory Lane has them cheaper.  I also replaced the nuts on the mounting clamps with Wing Nuts like the originals had.  I’ll post pics of this step next week after the paint cures to put on the decal.  Here are pics of the painted can, cap, & brackets. *NOTE:  These pics show it with SATIN black paint, I changed to GLOSS black after seeing an original side by side with it.*









*PROJECT SUMMARY*

*Total Work Time Involved: *About 3 hours of actual work time plus 3 separate days of drying/curing time on subsequent days with the JB Weld, Bondo, & Paint steps.

*Cost:*

Reproduction 2-cell canister $80
Reproduction Decal $10
Paint & Supplies (Auto Grade Masking Tape, JB Weld, Bondo, sandpaper) free in my case as I had this stuff laying around but I would guess less than $25
Wing Nuts $2
AWG 14 Copper Wire - 1 foot length - $1
*TOTAL COST:* Between $92 & $117 (dependent on what supplies you have available)

*Tools Required:*

Hacksaw with a good sharp blade
Soldering Iron
Pliars
Files (small rounded & small flat)

*Supplies Required:*

Reproduction 2 cell battery canister
Reproduction decal
10” of copper ground wire (AWG #12 or #14)
Sanding pads or sand paper
Auto Grade Masking Tape
JB Weld
Bondo Spot Putty (I used a small tube)
Primer Spray Paint (I used black)
Gloss Black Spray Paint (I used GLOSS)

I really hope some of you needing single cell Delta canisters can use these instructions & try this project either as a permanent solution or until an original comes along.  The most difficult step for most will be soldering the 2 ends of the copper ring together, it just take a little patience and using 2 people here would help, one to hold the wire together & one to solder.  This is also a much cheaper route for those on a budget than an original which have been selling on ebay for $200 & up with canister/light combos going for $500-$600.  The only other thing I can say is pretty sure the repop canister was powder coated rather than painted so it pays to use primer first on all the parts you intend to paint.  I’ll post pics of the finished product with decals sometime next week.

*Good luck in all your projects & thanks for following along.  -  Gary Mc*


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## Balloontyre

Rock on Gary, that looks very good. Bravo


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## dfa242

Wow, very nicley done - thank you for the extra effort of documenting the project.


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## Gary Mc

*Final notes & the outcome*

I made one change to my original instructions after I got my original from fordsnake and that was to change from satin to gloss paint.  The original is definitely glossy and so I added 3 more light coats of gloss paint.  

The terminal connections on the new cap switch unit are just not good to non-existent.  No screw terminal included on the threaded place for one & no 2nd connection point at all unless you just solder your wire to the bottom of the rivet.  Below are an original on the left and the repop unit on the right.






I went to my hardware store and found an 8-32 x 1/4" screw and washers for spacers to rectify the threaded connection point.  On the other one I decided to drill out the rivet and use a 8-32 x 1/2" screw in place of the rivet with the screw head on the exterior and a lock washer, nut, washer, and a 2nd nut for the terminal.  I also bought wing nuts & screws for the brackets as close to the originals as possible while I was there.  I bought some cloth covered wire off ebay a while back to replicate original wire and for a custom touch I bought it in crimson color to match the bike it is going on.  Standard black would probably have been more original but the crimson will stand out less so that was the choice I made.  Cut the wires appropriately, added a knot to keep it in the canister cap, added crimped wire connectors & here's the inside of the cap with the "fixes" & new wiring, much better and will make life easier when replacing batteries.





This conversion requires a drill & appropriate bit, screwdriver, wire strip/crimping pliers, wire cutters, and pliers.





Here's the final product on the right & my original on the left.  I am more than satisfied the new canister is almost a duplicate of the original.  The only real issue is the mounting brackets as can be seen in the photo as they leave a lot to be desired.  I may at some point try to duplicate the originals but right now too many other projects need to come first and who knows a set of original brackets might pop up for use.





Thanks for following & this concludes this Delta single battery canister fabrication project. - Gary


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## Nick-theCut

Very creative, it looks amazing.  The cap from the two cell repop makes it.  

Now...who can you loan the straps to, to repop those.  You know you want them. Count me in on being buyer number one, two and probably three as well 

Seriously Gary, your detailed instructions are impressive.  Thanks


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## Gary Mc

Nick-theCut said:


> Very creative, it looks amazing.  The cap from the two cell repop makes it.
> 
> Now...who can you loan the straps to, to repop those.  You know you want them. Count me in on being buyer number one, two and probably three as well
> 
> Seriously Gary, your detailed instructions are impressive.  Thanks




Thanks Nick!!!!  I may take a pair of the straps to a couple of machine shops at Christmas when I'm on vacation to see what it would cost to get them produced.  I love the converted repop canister but those straps are good as placeholders only in my view.  I can't believe they could not just as easily stamp out an accurate set on these repop canisters, especially for the price of those 2-cell units. - Gary


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## Larmo63

My machine shop guy told me he could make the dies for these,

it's the pressure needed to "emboss" that ridge that is tricky.....


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## Gary Mc

Larmo63 said:


> My machine shop guy told me he could make the dies for these,
> 
> it's the pressure needed to "emboss" that ridge that is tricky.....




Larmo63, Did they give you a price on the dies?  That will give me an idea if the guys locally here are in line when I start inquiring.  Thanks. - Gary


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## Nick-theCut

I'm in the middle of this project.  I'm all the way to painting black now.  I'll post pics upon completion.  Any one else get inspired to do this yet?


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## Freqman1

Great tutorial Gary. Just curious where you get the battery--or is this just a 'cover' for a modern battery? V/r Shawn


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## abe lugo

Gary, production-wise its probably cheaper to cuts some straps and have them bent over a shape that stamping them  with a hydraulic machine.


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## Gary Mc

Freqman1 said:


> Great tutorial Gary. Just curious where you get the battery--or is this just a 'cover' for a modern battery? V/r Shawn




Shawn,  This is a new Japanese made No. 6 Battery in the pic from RadiolaGuy with a reproduction Eveready Radio-Ignition 1929 label on it from RadiolaGuy.  Also got two other reproduction labels to build my own batteries when I get time.  The reproduction labels are a little larger than the ones on the Japanese made battery I got & were:


Eveready Radio-Ignition 1929 (to be used on this 30' Hartford)
Zenith Radio-Ignition (to be used on the 27' Stutz)

I'll detail the battery building project when I get time to get to it.  It's essentially replaceable C cells in a postal tube.  Went ahead & just ordered the battery in case I didn't get time before I get the bike together.  RadiolaGuy battery website to order either the battery or just labels is at:

http://www.radiolaguy.com/info/Vintage_Batteries.htm

Here's what I received & look like great products.  He has a bunch of different label options, all copies of old originals.


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## Gary Mc

abe lugo said:


> Gary, production-wise its probably cheaper to cuts some straps and have them bent over a shape that stamping them  with a hydraulic machine.




Abe, You are probably right, I still have to check into it.  Seems I never have enough time.  My Dad has a great hydraulic press that would do it if I just had the correct molds.


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## Freqman1

Gary Mc said:


> Shawn,  This is a new Japanese made No. 6 Battery in the pic from RadiolaGuy with a reproduction Eveready Radio-Ignition 1929 label on it from RadiolaGuy.  Also got two other reproduction labels to build my own batteries when I get time.  The reproduction labels are a little larger than the ones on the Japanese made battery I got & were:
> 
> 
> Eveready Radio-Ignition 1929 (to be used on this 30' Hartford)
> Zenith Radio-Ignition (to be used on the 27' Stutz)
> 
> I'll detail the battery building project when I get time to get to it.  It's essentially replaceable C cells in a postal tube.  Went ahead & just ordered the battery in case I didn't get time before I get the bike together.  RadiolaGuy battery website to order either the battery or just labels is at:
> 
> http://www.radiolaguy.com/info/Vintage_Batteries.htm
> 
> Here's what I received & look like great products.  He has a bunch of different label options, all copies of old originals.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> Hey Gary,
> Thanks for the battery link. My Christmas present to myself will be coming from the left coast shortly and it has one of these battery cannisters on it. V/r Shawn


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## Gary Mc

> Hey Gary,
> Thanks for the battery link. My Christmas present to myself will be coming from the left coast shortly and it has one of these battery cannisters on it. V/r Shawn




No problem, considering your great collection I can't wait to see what it is.  Got my Christmas present to myself today also from the left coast (Ghisallo rims via Italy).


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