Show off your sheet metal fab projects

[NASTYZEN]

I just spent at least a half hour reading this thread from post #1. I have dabbled in many of the processes shown here as a hobbyist. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a kludge by comparison. But, having tried makes me appreciate what I've seen even more.

However, you guys are so good at your craftsmanship that I'm afraid a lot of GJ members won't post here for fear of being embarrassed.

So, let me open the gates to others that struggle along and show you something I did several years ago in the beginning of my foray into metal work and car restoration (or mostly rust repair as many have pointed out is the bulk of the work).

This is the lower portion of the rear quarter of a Porsche 911. It's a common rust repair that comes with replacing the rockers, lock post and sills (already done).

This is the worst pic and it shows every flaw in the work. When finished, it looked fine and painted out well. You can see I missed the radius that matched the door. I was able to save that with a little more work with a hammer and filing a bit off the door. the door was from another car ad Porsche doors don't always fit the same anyway.

The piece is rolled to fit the body contour. Then I formed the flange. I had read about a trick and I did it. I cut a slot in the end of a 1/2" steel dowel that fit over the thickness of the sheet metal and cut it to the depth of the flange.

By slipping it around the inner circle and bending a degree or two at a time, eventually you will get your 90 degrees. I remember that winter and my carport/shop was wet 24/7. The rust looked like that overnight even with Ospho. But I got 'er done and went of to some interesting "rustoration."

So you guys that are just readers here, post up some stuff. The guys that are the best in the business would be the last guys to criticize you and I know that.

Thank's for your comments Milt. That's what this thread is about really,show us stuff that you've done in your garage.
I don't want to scare off any GJ members by posting. I happen to be a fabricator by trade and do all of this in my home shop. It shows that you can do anything out in the garage if you put your mind to it.
I remember when I first started out on my own in a tiny garage with almost no tools. My first project had been a set of front wings for a Formula Ford. I cut out the sheet with tin snips,bashed the ribbs out between two pieces of plywood with a claw hammer and used a broomstick and a scuba tank to pre bend the skin. I drilled out the rivet holes with an ancient B&D drill and pulled the rivets with a hand rivet puller. It was hell and took me days but I got her done.
Oh btw, nice (rustoration)

 

[NASTYZEN]

OK, so something a bit different.
A dual industrial cement mixer! I'm such a weldin whoore.

When they brought it to me, all the shafts were bent and someone had made a sad attempt to attach this huge pneumatic motor to the tubs.
Re made the motor to tub brkt's,impellers, shafts. Modified the old existing ROPE shaft seals.
Because of the torque of this monster, I idiot proofed all moving parts with sheet metal and put screens to keep stuff and body parts out of the mixer impellers.
Lastly I added some framing with attach points for on site transport.

 

[MP&C]

Milt, thanks for posting. Keeping those radiused door gaps consistent is definitely a challenge..


Nasty, I'm starting to realize you and I both share the inability to say no to a job... You work on anything!

 

[NASTYZEN]

Gotta pay the bills. You and I both have an edge on the Chinese. This kind of business, they could never move in on us.

 

[z28snksknr]

Question for the fabricators:

What tool are you using to get those nicely radiused holes in your steel? I asusme you cut the circles out to save weight, and then radius (if I'm even using the correct term here) the holes to add strength to the piece, but I can't think of how you accomplish the task.

Wwould it be possible for a hobbyist goof like me to form those using a hammer and a large curved surface?

 

[z28snksknr]

I'm talking about these circular holes. I realized I describe that like a 4 year old would.

 

[wishihadatalon]

You would use a dimple die and a press to do those holes.

 

[z28snksknr]

You would use a dimple die and a press to do those holes.

Is there a DIY version of this?

 

[MP&C]

Is there a DIY version of this?

http://www.straightlineinnovations.com/dimple-die-sets.html

 

[Jim Stabe]

Is there a DIY version of this?

Yes

You can buy pipe size dimple dies from Barbed Wire Offroad that can be used with the Harbor Freight hydraulic punch set. HF also sells a 3" punch (3 1/2" actual hole size) for ~$20.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=815221

I made my own dies for the 2" and 3" sizes to be used with the HF punches.

 

[NASTYZEN]

A picture is worth a thousand words.
This is how I do it.

Ta da!

It can be done with hammer and dolley or back die. But that requires a lot of practice to get right.
Where your part will go also determines the method of dimpling.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Yes

You can buy pipe size dimple dies from Barbed Wire Offroad that can be used with the Harbor Freight hydraulic punch set. HF also sells a 3" punch (3 1/2" actual hole size) for ~$20.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=815221

I made my own dies for the 2" and 3" sizes to be used with the HF punches.

Aw man! another tool I need to get.

 

[Jim Stabe]

I really like the triangular flanged hole - nice work!

 

[914forme]

Nasty, is that MDF you are using for that flare die? Great Idea for an occasional die. And thank you Jim, I keep thinking about the Harbor Freight Punch set, I have an entire set of british punches, and a few green lines. But now that I see that setup, and I can build flaring dies for it, dang it, wish I never saw it.

Milt here you go. I redid my sway bars on my 914 to full roller bearing pivots in the body, and reinforced the front mounts. So I have some nasty pictures of my functional yet unattractive work.

I welded nuts onto the inner bearing support. And welded that to the inside of the 914, now I don't have to pull the gas tank to swap out sway bars.

First shot is the hole saw guide, I had to move the bar down a little to get clearance under the tank. So I welded in the inner bracket, and made this guide, bolted it up and ran a hole saw down it.

2nd pict show the 16 ga outside reinforcements I built to make sure the new bar would not ripe the 20 ga shell out. Next two are the close to finished products, sealed from the elements then painted with Eastwood Corroless. Next one is assembled so you get an idea of what I was doing. And the last one is a rear toe adjuster for the rear suspension. And if any of you like Milt and I own old cars you know what happened next. I opened up the other side for that toe adjuster and found no real metal to attach to. Which lead to a logitudal replacement. Not sure where my pictures are of that project.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Nasty, is that MDF you are using for that flare die? Great Idea for an occasional die. And thank you Jim, I keep thinking about the Harbor Freight Punch set, I have an entire set of british punches, and a few green lines. But now that I see that setup, and I can build flaring dies for it, dang it, wish I never saw it.

Milt here you go. I redid my sway bars on my 914 to full roller bearing pivots in the body, and reinforced the front mounts. So I have some nasty pictures of my functional yet unattractive work.

I welded nuts onto the inner bearing support. And welded that to the inside of the 914, now I don't have to pull the gas tank to swap out sway bars.

First shot is the hole saw guide, I had to move the bar down a little to get clearance under the tank. So I welded in the inner bracket, and made this guide, bolted it up and ran a hole saw down it.

2nd pict show the 16 ga outside reinforcements I built to make sure the new bar would not ripe the 20 ga shell out. Next two are the close to finished products, sealed from the elements then painted with Eastwood Corroless. Next one is assembled so you get an idea of what I was doing. And the last one is a rear toe adjuster for the rear suspension. And if any of you like Milt and I own old cars you know what happened next. I opened up the other side for that toe adjuster and found no real metal to attach to. Which lead to a logitudal replacement. Not sure where my pictures are of that project.

Yes that is MDF.I only had three parts to make.
Nice job on the sway bar.
Looking at your trailing arms, I see they are only in single shear. You might want to upgrade to a double shear setup similar to what ZTfab has done for his buggy.You don't have to go as heavy gauge, maybe 14G. or so.

 

[slowmo5o]

I make these candle holders and each hole needs a 3/4" pilot hole to use the knock out punch mentioned above. It takes quite a while to drill all the pilot holes so I made a punch to punch them out in the shop press instead of drilling. It is still a work in progress but it works.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Looks good and works too! I did the same when I first started.Soon your going to make yourself a 3/4 and be even more efficient.

 

[slowmo5o]

Looks good and works too! I did the same when I first started.Soon your going to make yourself a 3/4 and be even more efficient.

The one in the picture is 3/4". I think the next step I will take is fitting the dies from the knockout punch to the one I made.

 

[914forme]

Yes that is MDF.I only had three parts to make.
Nice job on the sway bar.
Looking at your trailing arms, I see they are only in single shear. You might want to upgrade to a double shear setup similar to what ZTfab has done for his buggy.You don't have to go as heavy gauge, maybe 14G. or so.

Yeah for three parts MDF is the way to go.

I have thought about running double sheer, the lower arm mount is double sheer. But yes the upper is single. Thinking about it the double sheer would lighten the part. Sounds like a great project for in a week or two. Right now I am cleaning my garage after a huge house renovation. I hate a messy garage.

Now I am wondering what it would take the make that part out of a lighter material. My rear bar uses Aluminum arms. But the force generated on them is so little poundage wise that the Aluminum could do the job.

 

[MP&C]

Had the day off today and picked up some fresh sandblasting media so I could finally finish the inside of the gate. One thing I noticed, even though the weld dots were planished as we went, you could see where the metal had shrunk from welding around the lower perimeter of the bead detail. As the inside (bottom) of the bead did not shrink, this caused the metal to deform in the shape of an arc, or concave bow.

To help to remedy this situation, and since we had already stretched the welds a bit, I thought I'd try my hand at shrinking the bottom area of the bead detail.. I put the heat tip in the trusty dent puller....

.......And working alongside the lower edges of the bead.....

....was able to get most of the deformation out.

Some of the other shrinks outside our repair area were to help flatten out where the "loading side" of the tailgate has been used and abused over the years.

Test fitting some of the internal components:

Why is it I always miss something.....one more piece to bend up.......

 

[MP&C]

For today's progress, here's some more pictures showing the shrinks and the results in straightening the bead details.....

Checking the angle to form up the second stiffener brace.....

In the booth for a good coat of epoxy primer before all the parts get welded together......

 

[NASTYZEN]

Nice! As usual.Lately I have no time for play,just work.

 

[NASTYZEN]

A two element front wing replacement for a Historic 79 Shadow F-1 car.

 

[MP&C]

Nice! But what was wrong with the old one?

 

[NASTYZEN]

Nice! But what was wrong with the old one?

The old ones are covered in bondo repairs and are starting to get heavy. Now there gonna be spares.There also filled with foam that also adds to the weight.

 

[NASTYZEN]

These wings and deflector plates were made to fit a racing simulator.
Yes some people have more money than they know what to do with...
The tire was only to test clearances and the white on the wings is a pvc film to protect the bare Alu.

 

[MP&C]

Yes some people have more money than they know what to do with...

Can you send one or two of those guys down to MD?

 

[toms73novass]

In the booth for a good coat of epoxy primer before all the parts get welded together......

Robert, what brand of epoxy primer is that?

 

[MP&C]

House of Kolor KP-2CF.

FYI, not compatible with Ospho type rust conversion coatings. But I've used it on Steel, Aluminum, carbon fiber, and F/G. Good results on everything I've used it on other than Ospho.

 

[JC23]

House of Kolor KP-2CF.

FYI, not compatible with Ospho type rust conversion coatings. But I've used it on Steel, Aluminum, carbon fiber, and F/G. Good results on everything I've used it on other than Ospho.

What happens when you weld on it?

 

[MP&C]

Just prior to welding, I will clean the epoxy primer out of the hole (for plug welds) using a drill bit the same size as the plug welds, that I have flattened and backfaced to form a cutter similar to an end mill. Does a nice job of cleaning out the plug weld hole, and by the end being flat, it is has little to no tendency to drill into the adjacent panel:

I've found that if the epoxy is allowed to cure for about a week there is less damage from heat, mostly just discoloration. If the metal has been media blasted for better adhesion, especially so. (Of course, I can only speak to the EP I am using, I have not tried this using other brands) But I can say there is a noticeable difference in how the EP will react to heat from welding from a one day cure to a one week cure. With the discoloration, normally hitting it with a piece of scotchbrite reveals the green paint again on the cured stuff. For other than plug welds, you will need to clean as much paint back to allow the weld process. This stuff is not a weld through primer.

 

[SWT Racing]

Here's a spoiler I made for the back of my twin turbo '72 Vega drag car. All 5052-H32 Aluminum with 4130 strut supports. The wickerbill is fully adjustable from 1/8" to 3/4":

 

[NASTYZEN]

Here's a spoiler I made for the back of my twin turbo '72 Vega drag car. All 5052-H32 Aluminum with 4130 strut supports. The wickerbill is fully adjustable from 1/8" to 3/4":

Sweet. Nice work.

 

[ckpitt55]

Here are some pieces I made for my buddies Chenowth Explorer Dual Sport desert car. These are the spring plates that go on the end of the rear torsion housing and are setup for coil-overs, basically eliminating the torsions just providing a pivot point for the trailing arm.

The originals were made by another shop (that is now out of business for obvious reasons). They failed on the second trip with the car.

I re-did them using 3/16" Cold rolled Steel for the main plates, 11ga CRS for the cap and laminate washer. I also made them a double-shear mount rather than single.

The new ones:

zt your welds are unreal. i feel like it would be a sin to cover them in paint or anything that would hide them from view.

some serious craftsmen on this site, my hat goes off to you all. hopefully one day ill be able to hold my own

 

[ZTFab]

zt your welds are unreal. i feel like it would be a sin to cover them in paint or anything that would hide them from view.

some serious craftsmen on this site, my hat goes off to you all. hopefully one day ill be able to hold my own

Thank you very much!

There are definitely a lot of talented folks here.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Wings custom made for some old Crosslé Formula Fords.

Funny how there just welded to the gear box cover.

 

[ZTFab]

Nastyzen...you can be my "wing man" anytime!!


Nice work!

 

[Shawn 007]

Here are a few parts I have made for customers this year..

 

[NASTYZEN]

Nastyzen...you can be my "wing man" anytime!!
Nice work!

Thank's ,there a real PITA to make. I had to make 5 sets of those...

Here are a few parts I have made for customers this year..

Hey Shawn, nice work!
I new this thread would drag out some more fab talent.Welcome aboard! Show us some more.

 

[mjozefow]

.

You and I would get along. I see a nice Charles Parker vise and I think I see a Walker-Turner radial drill press. You sir have good taste.