The Bitch is Back!

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Wait a minute ....How smart is the average bear ?

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

OOOOOOH ! What is it about buying tools that is sooo o o exciting ?I just got back from Harbor freight .I bought two air assist jacks ,they had them in stock, One for my bender and one for my cherry picker

I already played with them LOL.

I bought a new 4 inch electric grinder ,burned up my old one .

I bought the trolley for the A frame /gantry crane ,the gantry crane was sold out .Thats ok because they have one coming in Wednesday ...IT's mine so stay away ...

I bought a 2000 lb winch for the gantry crane ,could of bought a lighter weight one ...but what sissy would do that ?

I will be going back Wednesday or Thursday ,still have some money left and i may spend that too!

[RPM 1,190]

Mike, I had to look back at my fancy tools comment to refresh my memory. Uh, you've still got me beat by a long shot.

Ridge Runner, that's quite the haul! There nothing like the right tool for the job. I bought one of the HF hoists somewhere around 2002, and love it. They sure come in handy working alone.

As much as I'd love to jump right in on this bender mod, I've got to finish some bathroom drywall, mud and paint :(

 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Do not say Dry wall  .I did that for 20 years ,hate it hate it hate it !

[RPM 1,190]

Yep, me too. I've put it on hold for too long.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I found a piece of 1/4 wall 4x4 square tube .I cut a 3 inch hole for the jack ,the jack was 3 1/16 ...like to never got it opened up to slide over the jack .

I still have to box in the ends and make the plates to attach it to the bender . And for the clamp ...Now don't laugh.... i used a main cap for a blown up 4.6 ...I SAID DONT LAUGH!  hahaha.

I works and should have plenty of surface grip .  I need to get some bolts ,some plate steel and build a table to mount it on .

[RPM 1,190]

Laugh??? That is ingenious! If it's not enough clamping force, use two. That is using your grey matter right there. Heck, I just went ahead and bought a 3-1/8" hole saw instead of opening up a 3".

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I have more main caps ,i will save you one if you want it .I had to open it up as well but it was a lot easier than opening the 3 inch hole i made in the square tube .

[RPM 1,190]

Absolutely I'll take one. That is mighty kind of you RR, thanks.

[RPM 1,190]

I usually imagine what type of guys here are like based on their posts, car and avatar. I figured Ridge Runner to be a bit crass and an older gentleman. Boy was I 180° off! He is the real deal. Total car guy, all Ford, very knowledgeable, kind, friendly, much younger than me and not a bit crass!

 

I drove about an hour North to meet him, pick up a couple of main caps for my tubing bender conversion and check out his place. And what a place he has! A plethora of Mustangs and equipment to make anyone happy and a very cool 35 Ford pickup.

 

I mentioned to him again that I wish I didn't have a shaker so I could buy one of his fiberglass hoods. If anyone is considering buying one, I can vouch for the quality and fit. It's an amazing piece for the price.

 

So I get the main caps home to do a little machining. I needed to shorten the overall length to fit into the 3" x 5" tube which mounts the hydraulic ram to the bender. A band saw and belt sander made short work of it. The bearing area of the cap needs the radius increased to fit the cylinder o.d. I bolted the two caps together and turned it on the lathe. The fun part will be making the two mounting tabs and making sure the cylinder is horizontal upon final welding.

 

Jim, it was a pleasure meeting you and your brother. I could have spent all day checking out your very cool place. Thank you for the main caps, tour and hospitality.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Now that is sweet ..i never thought of chucking them in the lathe .i like the look of that more than the swag bracket .Just goes to show you ,never throw anything away . The 3 1/8 hole saw looks like it was perfect .That would have saved me a bunch of time .

 

I realized that i didn't offer you any thing to drink When you were here ,totally rude and un neighborly of me ...sorry about that ...wont happen again .

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Getting that whole assembly level will not be fun ,it is very heavy . I have a 4 foot x 2 foot 1/4 inch plate that i will set mine up on so i can get everything level .I am going to try to tack it together while jigged up on the plate .

[RPM 1,190]

Hell I was salivating enough checking out your stuff that I didn't need anything to drink! No worries bud. I still had to hit the 3-1/8" hole a bit with the die grinder for the cylinder to fit. The lathe idea just came to me some how. An hour ago my son asked me why I didn't just use U bolts to secure the cylinder. Um, never thought of it. Hmm?

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I thought about U bolts, but i thought it may crimp the jack cylinder like it does muffler tube.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I dug out the tig today ,i haven't welded with this thing in about 4 years .Had to clean the dust off ,the cat peed on it ...stupid cat !

 

My welds are not quite as pretty as yours but they will do .A little practice  i will be back in the game .

I had one more main cap ,and knowing a good idea when i see one ...I stole it and added it to the other one 

i band sawed the ends to match the other one .I like to never drilled the mounting holes ,the tig tempered the steel . I dont see any way this bracket can slide

We are going to need some type of return spring ,i was thinking about a Garage door spring .I think i saw short springs ,about 20 -24 inches at Lowes .What i like about using a garage spring is if it should break they have saftey rods inside to keep the spring from fling at you .If it was attached at the bender bar and the very back of the ram it should be just about the right length ?

[RPM 1,190]

Nice work. You didn't mention you had a tig. Is that a Synchrowave 180 sd? Glad I didn't take your last main cap. When I got back into tig after maybe twenty years off, I thought I had Parkinson's disease. Time with the torch in hand is a cure all.

 

Good idea on the much needed spring. Finding the right length and pound garage door spring is essential I think.

 

I need some motivation to get going in the shop. I golfed all day today and will do so again tomorrow. Maybe I'll hit it this weekend. But then again the British Open is on. Hmm, priorities.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

The problem i have is i can't see through my helmet .Even on the lowest setting it is to dark .Some welds come out looking like  a question mark .

 

Yeah its a 180 .The computer board went out about a month after i bought it ,i had to pay for the replacement because the warranty ran out .Cost me $200. the new board is supposed to be an upgrade ...i hope .

It is one heavy sucker ,i found out why it had the lift hook on the top . Made the stand ,so far the wheels have held up .With the big bottle it really weighs a bunch .

[RPM 1,190]

I've found that at my age, 59, I need to use a #9 lens to have any chance seeing the weld puddle. My new helmet has a gold tint to the lens which helps lighten the view. Many times I'll use a light to brighten the weld area. Since I wear bifocals I bought a +2 magnification lens to replace my glasses which helped a ton. If I can't see the weld, it'll look like bird crap.

[superduty69 11]

Do you two know you guys are gonna cost me more money? Lol! Very cool side project that I can see in my future.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I found two different springs at Home Depot . The silver spring is a gate spring ,it is shorter than the other but i am not sure it is strong enough to pull the ram back.

The black spring is a garage door spring ,it is rated a 90 lbs. it is 25 inches long and i think it will be the best bet .they come in different rates from 90 lbs up to 150 lbs.

[RPM 1,190]

Do you two know you guys are gonna cost me more money? Lol! Very cool side project that I can see in my future.

C'est la vie buddy! :) The cool thing about this conversion is the cost. That is unless you don't have a bender or the tools to fab the bracket.

 

Jim, that garage door spring looks real close in length. Swag Off road uses a 100 lb spring. Have you thought about maybe putting a bicycle inner tube over the spring?

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I was thinking about maybe a tube attached to the ram bracket slightly larger than the spring with the spring inside ,the front would probably have to have a slight flair to keep the spring from dragging .,The spring could attach to the far end of the tube and the other end to the front ram pin.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

OOOOHH! You know how easy fuel line bends ? WoooHooo! I wish i had done this a long time ago .

 

I leveled everything and discovered the ratchet leaver that you use to bend the tubing works with just a notching to make it align with the new ram bracket . I could have trimmed it more but it looks fine the way it is .

You know i just could not resist playing with it . A cart to mount it on will be next ...Now just what should i make with it .....

 

 

[RPM 1,190]

Very nice Jim! I thought of using the ratchet lever arm, but wanted to keep all of the original pieces, just in case :)

I didn't paint mine yet, or bend any tube.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Oh you have to bend something LOL.I am going to bend everything insight HAHA!  I really like that printed degree wheel and those pins ,mine is bare metal and the pins are to short on the tops . You will not believe how easy  it bends .