don long
Well-known member
As an old body man, You have my attention. I only wish that I had those metal bending skills!! I do know how to make those repairs that you are correcting how ever..
Very nice work
Don
Very nice work
Don
Fox Valley Fab: Shop Projects
- Thread starter yaidunno
- Start date
leshyi
Well-known member
Well done! Shirt in different planes is cool !!
Thanks PurpleZJ. I can certainly respect the guys who are able to do work with limited tools, but man does having some of them it make things easier!
Hi Tom. I do not have a bender at my disposal, unfortunately. The good news is that pre bent 304 tubes are available through places like Columbia River and even Summit Racing has a large selection. I appreciate your interest! Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with down the road.
Haha, something tells me that I could spend years learning from a guy like yourself Don! A little layout and a bit of luck got these panels in shape, more so than skill. I've still got a lot to learn! I really appreciate the kind words.
Thanks much!
sqznby
Well-known member
You sir are a craftsman. Your work is incredible.
The header repair worked out great, that die is awesome.
As is your sheet metal skills amazing on that door.
Nicely done.
You have mail
The header repair worked out great, that die is awesome.
As is your sheet metal skills amazing on that door.
Nicely done.
You have mail
You sir are a craftsman. Your work is incredible.
The header repair worked out great, that die is awesome.
As is your sheet metal skills amazing on that door.
Nicely done.
You have mail
Thanks much Sam!
The edges were actually tipped prior to running it through the wheel. They were shaped using the shrinker/stretcher.
sqznby
Well-known member
You're the man Bryan
Thank you
Glad to help! Let me know how that die works for you!
I made a bit more progress on door #2 last night. The corners are in poor shape on this one, and both need replacing along with the bottom edge. I'm hoping to have the inner shell completed tonight.
I don't have the skills, or likely the tools necessary to make something like this from a single piece at this point. This was made from 3 separate pieces and a little bit of metal finishing. The Chinese bead roller and the cheesy dies it comes with leave a lot of marks on the final product.
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zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Very nicely done. That's the way I've had to repair spots like that as well as I don't have the machinery either but they turn out great and you can never tell they were more than one piece when done.
Thanks much Mike!
I didn't get to spend as much time on the door last night as I wanted to. Too much time taking care of the livestock. The weather finally broke around here a week or so back, which means more time will be spent doing projects outside. Anyways, the first corner repair was tacked in place, and the other side was made and fully welded in. The rear of the door is in much better shape. Tonight I will get the bottom lip replaced and hopefully start on the skin pieces.
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pamike
Well-known member
Nice work. Can you explain the process you used to make that corner piece? I have a lot of experience on a pressbrake bending sheetmetal but no experience doing work like you are doing with the radius's and transitions.
Thank you. I will do my best to walk through the piece. Please see the attached photo for reference.
The first piece I made was the top green one. This started out as a simple "L" shaped profile, where the bottom flange was rough trimmed. As you can see, it tapers off to being flush. With the flange being a bit larger than needed, it was off to the stretcher to put the curve in the piece.
Next up was the bottom yellow piece. I cut out a square roughly 6"x6" to make this part. The bead roller was used to put the kick in the part. Going along the vertical run, the bead is full depth, but down on the horizontal, I had to back the pressure off as I went, due to the feature transitioning to flat.
At this point, it was time to weld on the small blue piece. The top green piece was finish trimmed before attaching the blue piece. This was again left over size to be finish trimmed after welding.
The last step was attaching the top half to the bottom. A fair amount of filing and grinding was needed to get the fit just right, but once satisfied, I scribed a line on the bottom square to cut the arch. This seam was first fused together on the back side, and because it was an exposed inside corner, I went back and made a fillet weld on the other side.
Other than that, some bumping around with body hammers and some metal finishing with sandpaper finish out the part. I had about 3 hours in making this part, but after doing one, feel confident that it could now be made in 2 hours. If I had a tipping setup for my bead roller, the part cold likely be made with only 2 pieces, further reducing time.
Thanks for the interest!
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pamike
Well-known member
Very nice work, and not that time consuming. What gauge metal did you use?
20 ga. was used.
bradpac
Well-known member
Probably the most time anyone has spent on a lowly Dodge truck. Nice work.
This will be the final update on the doors, which I'm happy to say. It's been a good learning experience, but I'm glad they are finished. I was able to make the small patch panel on the top go all the way out to the edge on this one, thanks to a piece of radiator hose to act as my soft lower wheel in the bead roller. I think a motorized bead roller with a nice compliment of dies is going to be the next tool I make.
I've got some more projects lined up after I drop these doors off. Certainly more fun and interesting than rust repair!
Here the lower lip is tacked in place.
Drain detail.
Inner structure complete, inside view.
And from the outside.
Outer skins finished and welded on.
I still need to fill in the 2 mirror holes, and hem the one edge before heading out with these tonight. Attending a metal meet over in Dennison MN tomorrow and will be delivering the doors to the customer along the way.
I've got some more projects lined up after I drop these doors off. Certainly more fun and interesting than rust repair!
Here the lower lip is tacked in place.
Drain detail.
Inner structure complete, inside view.
And from the outside.
Outer skins finished and welded on.
I still need to fill in the 2 mirror holes, and hem the one edge before heading out with these tonight. Attending a metal meet over in Dennison MN tomorrow and will be delivering the doors to the customer along the way.
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zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Fantastic repair. As good if not better than new.
MP&C
Well-known member
Nice job Bryan, enjoy MN!
Thanks much Mike and Robert.
Looking forward to learning some new things. Should be a good time!
sqznby
Well-known member
I certainly will, once it arrives haha.
There's been a delay with the mail for some odd reason. I think it has to do with the location of that particular hub.
As soon as I get it, I'll let you know.
Thanks again for everything
Man, you do some amazing metal working. That door looks incredible.
A welcome change from rust repair has been keeping be busy the past few days. These will be bed side supports. The flanges with PEM nuts in them will be welded on to the bed sides.
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zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Very nicely done.
Looks like you've been a bit busy.
Looks like you've been a bit busy.
Very nicely done.
Looks like you've been a bit busy.
Yes sir, I stay out of trouble that way.
Thanks Mike!
rmack898
Well-known member
Nice work as always.
JustinS
Well-known member
That steering column looks great
pirana
Well-known member
Absolutely gorgeous! I wish I had those skills. And the equipment.
HMCFab9
Well-known member
Just started looking on the forum again after not being on in a while. First thing I see is a local guy building cool stuff! That's good to see more from the area posting here!
I'm from the other side of Appleton & do metal fabrication / auto restoration
I'm from the other side of Appleton & do metal fabrication / auto restoration
OOBER
Well-known member
You sir are an artist.
What do you use to so uniformly sand the ends of your roll cage tubing? Just a belt sander or some kind of super ninja trick?
What do you use to so uniformly sand the ends of your roll cage tubing? Just a belt sander or some kind of super ninja trick?
Thanks much you guys.
Always good to see a fellow fab guy, and even a local one! If your ever in the area and need a cold beer, stop on by.
Artist might be pushing it, but I appreciate the compliment! The ends are just sanded by spinning the tube with one hand and holding a folded piece of sand paper in the other. I often find that a simple approach works the best.
Great work as usual! Okay now! I'm usually pretty good at puzzles but I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how these are to be used?
Thanks
Thanks Bears fan! Here's a shot of the braces in place.
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Stooge
Well-known member
Now the bedside supports make more sense! Drag truck or bagged truck?
That steering column is ****!
That steering column is ****!
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
That makes much gooder sense. I was trying to figure that out as well but the puzzle wasn't making sense in mine head.
I was trying to figure that out as well but the puzzle wasn't making sense in mine head.That makes much gooder sense.
Haha, sorry Mike, guess I should have posted the installed photo sooner to help clarify!
Spot on, though I don't recall the exact year of the truck. And yes, the headers are also for the same truck.
Thanks for checking things out!
I finally got around to finishing this project up this past weekend. It seems that I just needed a friendly reminder of how much I despise working with wood. To be fair, it wasn't that bad considering it was pre sanded veneer sheet. 7-8 coats of poly, lots of sanding, and lots of buffing later, it was ready for assembly. The frame work was the quick and easy part!
The wife is happy, and it's one less thing cluttering up the shop, so I'll take it.
The wife is happy, and it's one less thing cluttering up the shop, so I'll take it.
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MP&C
Well-known member
Nice!