OFF ROAD and ON TRACK

THE BUNG

The lexicon of off road (i.e. the words we use for shit) is a language onto itself. Try going into a hardware store and telling the guy behind the counter you want a “1 inch bung with left hand threads”… you are going to get a real strange response. I know, I’ve seen myself do it. Ever since Beevus and Butthead hit the screen, the term “bung” and “asshole” got linked together and trust me, good old Herb down at ACE hardware wanted nothing to do with a dude asking him for left hand threads in a bung…

However,  go into any off road shop and ask the same question and you get results. They’ve got bungs coming out the ass. What kind would you like?

So, what the hell is a bung anyway? 

Webster describes a bung as a hole in a cask or barrel about 2” in diameter. Thus, the popular term “bunghole” Herb over at ACE was so familiar with. It can also be used to describe a stopper that gets stuck in a flask, (I always called that a cork but what do I know?).

Somewhere along the line, someone decided to call the  female threaded adapter that gets welded into the end of a tube thereby readily accepting the male threaded part that needs to be inserted (screwed) into the tube a bung.  When you break it down like that it makes perfect sense doesn’t it. If you realy want the best term, call it a tube adapter but in my opinion that takes all the fun out the whole bung thing.

Where would we be without our bungs?  

Our tie rods might have ball joints, our trailing arms would have sloppy rubber bushings and heim joints would have nothing to screw into.  In short, without bungs we would be screwed.

Bungs come in all sizes.

Big ones, little ones, left ones, right ones, flat ended, cone ended, round and square….

You can rest assured that there’s a bung out there just for you.

How to pick your bung.

Bungs are measured by their outside diameter, which will correspond with the inner diameter of the tube you intend to insert it into. The thread pitch and hole size is also a consideration when selecting a bung, as this must match threads of the item you intend to screw into the bung. In order to correctly select a bung these two variables must be known; inner diameter of the tube and thread type and size of the item to be inserted into the bung.

Installing your bung.

Now that you have picked out the perfect bung, you have to stick it into the tube and weld it in place. You will find that the edge of the bung that seats into the tube has been chamfered creating a perfect weld area. (make sure you cut the tube off square so that your bung face is flat and level when it is inserted).  Prior to final insertion and certainly prior to welding, drill at least a ¼” hole in the tube about an 1 ½” down from the end of the tube. Debur the inside of this hole so that the bung does not hang up when inserted. In addition to welding the full circumference of the tube and bung, the hole you drilled allows you to make a rosette weld further attaching the tube and bung together. This is better insurance than State Farm.  Once welded up like this, yanking out your bung is next to impossible.

Using your bung. 

The new piece you have made using your bung will have a new name. More than likely you now have a tie rod or a trailing arm that is ready to accept a heim joint (rod end) and get bolted up into your truck or buggy. These parts are strong, durable and ready for the rough stuff. Remember, next time you see somebody blasting ass across the desert it was the poor misunderstood and underrated bung that made it possible.

Well that’s it for now until I flog my blog again.

Ride Dirty…

Snakecharmer

This bloging format is new to me so be patient while I get a feel for this excercise. I know i’m up against it here, cause unless I come up with something either funny or informative those that read this will tell me to pound sand, not out in the dunes, but more than likely up my….

Given the fact that sand up my ass doesn’t sound the least bit appealing to me, I will do my best to come up with something worthy of reading.

As this is an introductory blog entry and I am no fan of one sided conversations, I would ask that you make a comment or two relative to what might be of interest. It’s my intent to provide a “how to” section that I hope will make fabrication jobs less painful and more fun. This “how to” section will be based on some of my most classic screw ups, because what better way to get the inside scoop (and maybe a laugh or too) than from someone who has completely jacked it up and learned how to do it the hard way. Lucky for me, and you,  I’m not completely stupid, so after about the third try, I got it figured out well enough to share my pain (and success) with you.

When it is all said and done  ”How to” and ”what the hell is that” go hand in hand. If I ever  make it though a day without having to say “what the hell is that” I will let you know. When that happens the beers are on me and we can sit down and write a book.