RPM 1,190 Report post Posted November 11, 2018 Nice work CV. For mounting the brake I made 20 years ago, I clamped the angle iron bed into a vise. I'd have posted pics of it for you, but it along with a couple of transmissions, 2 welding tables and other stuff "walked away" from my garage. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantedvalve 128 Report post Posted November 11, 2018 Good question... not entirely sure. I work at an automotive manufacturer, and we stamp steel (weld and machine too). That was a Tail piece from a coil. I think it was 0.075” hot rolled, which would put it in the 14 gauge area. It wasn’t the best bend, primarily because the brake wasn’t fastened down very well. If I can bend 16 gauge with a tight radius, I will consider this tool fabrication to be successful. First I need to get it fastened down. At work we make mostly axle components. We make parts for a wide variety of Fords (and Chrysler and GM), from the Escape to the F350. We have parts that are upcoming on the new Ranger and Bronco (axle seal retainers and differential cover plates). Wayne Manufacturing LLC* *not affiliated with Batman 1 RPM reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantedvalve 128 Report post Posted November 11, 2018 4 hours ago, RPM said: Nice work CV. For mounting the brake I made 20 years ago, I clamped the angle iron bed into a vise. I'd have posted pics of it for you, but it along with a couple of transmissions, 2 welding tables and other stuff "walked away" from my garage. I didn’t use angle iron for the bed. I used flat steel plate. I grabbed a couple of C clamps from Lowe’s. Hopefully that is enough for now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner 1,113 Report post Posted November 11, 2018 I just bought one of the Evo cut off saw blades for my chop saw ,i cant believe how that thing cuts . Now i find my saw is not big enough to handle long pieces of metal and get a straight cut . I have a steel plate ,1/4 thick by 2 foot by four foot so i am going to take the saw off mount it to the plate after i turn it into a table ,then ad extendable side bars that will kick out four feet from both sides with adjustable rollers . You have to get one of these blades ,they cut steel like butter Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner 1,113 Report post Posted November 11, 2018 4 hours ago, RPM said: Nice work CV. For mounting the brake I made 20 years ago, I clamped the angle iron bed into a vise. I'd have posted pics of it for you, but it along with a couple of transmissions, 2 welding tables and other stuff "walked away" from my garage. What? We have to find these people ,they may also have my two top loaders haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted November 11, 2018 I'm sure those tweekers sold my stuff for scrap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mach1 Driver 560 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 2 hours ago, Ridge Runner said: I just bought one of the Evo cut off saw blades for my chop saw ,i cant believe how that thing cuts . Now i find my saw is not big enough to handle long pieces of metal and get a straight cut . I have a steel plate ,1/4 thick by 2 foot by four foot so i am going to take the saw off mount it to the plate after i turn it into a table ,then ad extendable side bars that will kick out four feet from both sides with adjustable rollers . You have to get one of these blades ,they cut steel like butter I looked at those- do the blades last as long as they claim? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantedvalve 128 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 So I used the bender tonight. Good news and bad news. The good news is I was able to bend the 16 gauge I am using to make the tray for the subwoofer. The bad news is I had to cheat. The bender wouldnt bend it. When I tried, the clamp bar or bed bar flexed awful bad. I dunno which, but it wasn’t good. So I cheated. I clamped the part and used the angle grinder to groove the piece a little, and then it bent. From there it was a perfect bend with minimal radius. So I guess I have to figure out how to reinforce it and/or secure the bed bar better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unilec 57 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 Nice work on the bender, one thing I would do is cut the front moving piece closer to the clamping angle that way you can make more usable bends, just a suggestion. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantedvalve 128 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 Please explain. Not sure what you mean Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unilec 57 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 Your bending 90deg angles but if you were say making a radiator shroud and wanted an edge to fix to the radiator and the depth of the shroud was 25mm, you would need to be closer to the bending radias to bend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unilec 57 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 i have also seen many that have support bars to reduce flexing, such as this one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantedvalve 128 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 Okay I think I understand. So the bender portion, make it shorter. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unilec 57 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 12 minutes ago, Cantedvalve said: Okay I think I understand. So the bender portion, make it shorter. Yeah, make it narrower so the bend piece is closer to the bending radias. You could also just keep the one you have and make another for bends such as in the pic I posted Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantedvalve 128 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 I think I am going to do a few things with this bender. First, I’m going to reinforce the clamp bar with another piece of angle iron on the back side. Second, I’m going to figure a way to mount the bed bar better instead of simple C clamps on each end. those should help enough... we will see. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner 1,113 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 3 hours ago, Mach1 Driver said: I looked at those- do the blades last as long as they claim? Just bought it ,but i cut a piece of 2 x 2 1/8 wall square tube and it sliced right through with little effort not sure how long they last Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mach1 Driver 560 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 19 hours ago, Ridge Runner said: Just bought it ,but i cut a piece of 2 x 2 1/8 wall square tube and it sliced right through with little effort not sure how long they last Thanks Ridge, as you use it let us know if you think about it 1 Ridge Runner reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner 1,113 Report post Posted November 12, 2018 I cut a piece of hitch tube today ,it is 3/16 wall 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 and it cut through with ease ,a lot faster than a chop saw blade . Have to start on a cutting table 1 Mach1 Driver reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinMan 77 Report post Posted November 23, 2018 I've made lots of one off tools. This is my favorite! A diff spreader that works on 8.8s and Dana 30s! 1 Cantedvalve reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mach1 Driver 560 Report post Posted November 24, 2018 3 hours ago, TinMan said: I've made lots of one off tools. This is my favorite! A diff spreader that works on 8.8s and Dana 30s! I admit my ignorance- what does that do? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinMan 77 Report post Posted November 25, 2018 Lots of carriers are very difficult to remove from the differential. They are squeezed by the cast iron housing. This spreads the cast iron part apart, so you can easily remove the carrier with the ring gear. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantedvalve 128 Report post Posted November 26, 2018 Nice work! I made a tool today out of a coat hangar... it’s a hook... for hanging painted parts... Okay not that impressive. I need to get my a picture of my bench grinder stand I welded up 20 years ago or so... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted November 26, 2018 15 hours ago, Cantedvalve said: Nice work! I made a tool today out of a coat hangar... it’s a hook... for hanging painted parts... BINGO! We have a winner! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites