michakaveli
Well-known member
That looks Great!
Show off your sheet metal fab projects
- Thread starter Jim Stabe
- Start date
crewone
Well-known member
A friend of mine let me use his bx24 backhoe to do some digging. He had some rocks come over the top of his bucket and broke his hood. I don't know what a new one cost but he said it was way to much so I made him a hood for the use of his tractor.
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PCO6
Well-known member
^^^ Nice. I like yours better than the original. 
Here is a pig I made for my brother for his birthday. It is cut into its meat cuts. It mounts to the wall with a bracket that can be mounted to the wall and the pig hung on the bracket. It is about 30 inches long. I carved the letters for the stamps out of wood. The last pic is before it was cut up. I made a little one for the wife.
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Did you use a bead roller to get the definition in the metal?
Looks very good by the way.
Yeah, I made some dies for it to do tighter curves.
I used the english wheel to get the slight curve in it.
NASTYZEN
Well-known member
I was gonna ask if you used a wheel. The shine gave it away. looks great.
NASTYZEN
Well-known member
More amature hour... but i'm awful proud.
You should be proud, that's great fabricating right there.
MP&C
Well-known member
Need to get this thread back up top!
A few weeks ago one of the local Studebaker owners needed some panels made for the dash of his truck (1947 M5), he's revamping the dash gauge/radio arrangement and needed some fresh metal to work with. Here's the existing:
Where the factory panel has a recess, and since he has plans for installing a couple gauges in that panel, the new will be made without the recess. The flat panel above for the DIN radio will be replaced as well, with the sides tipped for uniformity.
The old panel has seen some previous holes, for whatever reason.
Where the rubber tire on top of the e-wheel does a nice job of forming a radius across a panel, the upper portion of the panel was a bit tighter than the 3" radius anvil will provide.
Having just set up my bead roller with the skateboard wheel for tipping, I thought to use this with a beading die to form the tighter radius.
Here's the results of "rolling" the panel
The panel has about an 1/8" lip around the perimeter, so the radius die was changed out to one for tipping.
With only just over 1/8 of extra to tip the flange, this process was not that effective. Hindsight, about 1/4 left over and trimmed afterwards would have been more effective. But since the panel matched so well, lets try other persuasive devices.
The tipping wheel did do an adequate job of marking the crease location....
And the "vice anvil" and a ******* was used to fold the straight lip over to a 90....
A different anvil was chosen for the radiused edges...
And a punch used to form the 4 corner radiuses...
And once complete, the comparison.........
Then the same process was used for the upper plate. The folded edges on this will make it match the lower panel a bit better and make it look more as an original piece...
And the two together...
For now, we are leaving the mounting holes out. It may even get some studs welded on the back side, for a clean look. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
A few weeks ago one of the local Studebaker owners needed some panels made for the dash of his truck (1947 M5), he's revamping the dash gauge/radio arrangement and needed some fresh metal to work with. Here's the existing:
Where the factory panel has a recess, and since he has plans for installing a couple gauges in that panel, the new will be made without the recess. The flat panel above for the DIN radio will be replaced as well, with the sides tipped for uniformity.
The old panel has seen some previous holes, for whatever reason.
Where the rubber tire on top of the e-wheel does a nice job of forming a radius across a panel, the upper portion of the panel was a bit tighter than the 3" radius anvil will provide.
Having just set up my bead roller with the skateboard wheel for tipping, I thought to use this with a beading die to form the tighter radius.
Here's the results of "rolling" the panel
The panel has about an 1/8" lip around the perimeter, so the radius die was changed out to one for tipping.
With only just over 1/8 of extra to tip the flange, this process was not that effective. Hindsight, about 1/4 left over and trimmed afterwards would have been more effective. But since the panel matched so well, lets try other persuasive devices.
The tipping wheel did do an adequate job of marking the crease location....
And the "vice anvil" and a ******* was used to fold the straight lip over to a 90....
A different anvil was chosen for the radiused edges...
And a punch used to form the 4 corner radiuses...
And once complete, the comparison.........
Then the same process was used for the upper plate. The folded edges on this will make it match the lower panel a bit better and make it look more as an original piece...
And the two together...
For now, we are leaving the mounting holes out. It may even get some studs welded on the back side, for a clean look. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
bggrnchvy
Well-known member
I had to design a shroud to mate a 36" fan to a DT466 radiator for a cooling skid I built. I had the panels themselves shot out on the plasma table, press broke the trapazoidal ends, ring rolled the edge flange and then worked out some method of fixturing the 18ga to weld it all up. It was definitely a learning experience.
Done and powdercoated.
It's not fully operational yet as it's waiting on some other items, but the plan is to build a clamp on wire shroud to shield the blades.
Done and powdercoated.
It's not fully operational yet as it's waiting on some other items, but the plan is to build a clamp on wire shroud to shield the blades.
NASTYZEN
Well-known member
I love this thread. Nice work guys.
FakeName
Well-known member
MP&C
Well-known member
Time to bump this thread back up....
A few months ago, I put on a metalshaping demo for some of the Stovebolt guys in the area.
Some of the vintage tin that showed up:
In order to have a specific fabrication project to work on, we chose the panel just above the windshield of the Task Force trucks (1955-59). This is an area commonly plagued with rust issues due to condensation inside the roof:
Where they are now reproducing complete cabs, or roof panels with this panel attached, they have yet to market this panel alone. Since I had just set up my bead roller with the tipping wheel, I thought it would be a good candidate for fabricating this panel.
We did start the demo by showing some basic metalshaping, including tuck shrinking using modified vice grips..
One of the questions posed was whether it was better to use and modify poorly fitting reproduction panels or attempt fabrications from scratch. To demonstrate how "tweaking" of reproduction panel creased edges could be accomplished, the following was shown: Two folds were installed in a panel to simulate a factory bend, and then lines drawn in to move the bend to a new location. Hammering gradually from one side to the other did a fairly good job of moving the crease to the new location.
Moving on to our project fabrication, we had brought in a sample cab for fitment. As chance would have it, one of the local guys did have one of these panels in NOS form to also use as a pattern. He has it slated for installation in his own project truck later this year.
Using some rigid flashing material, a template was made of the upper portion of the NOS panel, and then also compared to the sample cab.
The pattern was transferred to some 18 ga with extra material left on the bottom to make the various folds, and then cut out with snips.
The upper portion is flanged where the roof skin folds over the leading edge, so the flaging dies were used in the bead roller...
Next we moved on to the tipping dies for the various folds.
Some areas were touched up with a shrinker and stretcher to help get the panel to better conform to the front of our sample cab...
.....and compared to the NOS piece.....
All ready for install........
I also did an end piece using hand tools only, to show it could be made either way. (Someone shouldn't be intimidated for lack of fancy tools).
Layout of the end only "patch panel"
To form the upper flange, a shorter piece had been cut out and clamped to the back side, and a slightly dulled chisel used to form the offset.
The pattern was clamped back onto our work piece to mark the bottom bends/lower edge for cutting.
Next, as we will be hammering, I chose to use the tipping wheel on all the bend lines simply to make a better mark and keep the marks more visible.
"Custom anvil"
Used a body hammer on the flatter areas, and a dead blow in the radius to minimize any stretching....
First bend at a full 90, seems to pull the panel to fit the radius pretty well.
Continuing to the other bends, still using the round stock anvil, I did get to where I had to go back to incremental bends again when I got deeper into the radius...
After a bit of Lancaster shrinking along the edges, it was fitting pretty good..
The hammered version would need a bit more cleanup work, but a comparison between the two shows it definitely would be a viable option for someone without the bead roller.
********************************************
Now you guys have got to be working on some sheet metal fab work to add in here......let's see it!
A few months ago, I put on a metalshaping demo for some of the Stovebolt guys in the area.
Some of the vintage tin that showed up:
In order to have a specific fabrication project to work on, we chose the panel just above the windshield of the Task Force trucks (1955-59). This is an area commonly plagued with rust issues due to condensation inside the roof:
Where they are now reproducing complete cabs, or roof panels with this panel attached, they have yet to market this panel alone. Since I had just set up my bead roller with the tipping wheel, I thought it would be a good candidate for fabricating this panel.
We did start the demo by showing some basic metalshaping, including tuck shrinking using modified vice grips..
One of the questions posed was whether it was better to use and modify poorly fitting reproduction panels or attempt fabrications from scratch. To demonstrate how "tweaking" of reproduction panel creased edges could be accomplished, the following was shown: Two folds were installed in a panel to simulate a factory bend, and then lines drawn in to move the bend to a new location. Hammering gradually from one side to the other did a fairly good job of moving the crease to the new location.
Moving on to our project fabrication, we had brought in a sample cab for fitment. As chance would have it, one of the local guys did have one of these panels in NOS form to also use as a pattern. He has it slated for installation in his own project truck later this year.
Using some rigid flashing material, a template was made of the upper portion of the NOS panel, and then also compared to the sample cab.
The pattern was transferred to some 18 ga with extra material left on the bottom to make the various folds, and then cut out with snips.
The upper portion is flanged where the roof skin folds over the leading edge, so the flaging dies were used in the bead roller...
Next we moved on to the tipping dies for the various folds.
Some areas were touched up with a shrinker and stretcher to help get the panel to better conform to the front of our sample cab...
.....and compared to the NOS piece.....
All ready for install........
I also did an end piece using hand tools only, to show it could be made either way. (Someone shouldn't be intimidated for lack of fancy tools).
Layout of the end only "patch panel"
To form the upper flange, a shorter piece had been cut out and clamped to the back side, and a slightly dulled chisel used to form the offset.
The pattern was clamped back onto our work piece to mark the bottom bends/lower edge for cutting.
Next, as we will be hammering, I chose to use the tipping wheel on all the bend lines simply to make a better mark and keep the marks more visible.
"Custom anvil"
Used a body hammer on the flatter areas, and a dead blow in the radius to minimize any stretching....
First bend at a full 90, seems to pull the panel to fit the radius pretty well.
Continuing to the other bends, still using the round stock anvil, I did get to where I had to go back to incremental bends again when I got deeper into the radius...
After a bit of Lancaster shrinking along the edges, it was fitting pretty good..
The hammered version would need a bit more cleanup work, but a comparison between the two shows it definitely would be a viable option for someone without the bead roller.
********************************************
Now you guys have got to be working on some sheet metal fab work to add in here......let's see it!
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NASTYZEN
Well-known member
Awesome work MP&C.
Here is a little project for my kayak that pulls to the right a little. Not much, but enough to be a pita.
Gonna make an adjustable fixed rudder to compensate for the pull.
First off, a cardboard template.
Next, a little fitting.
A little more fitting.
Final fit before adding the bushing.
Final fit before polishing.
All mounted up. Can't wait to try it out!
Here is a little project for my kayak that pulls to the right a little. Not much, but enough to be a pita.
Gonna make an adjustable fixed rudder to compensate for the pull.
First off, a cardboard template.
Next, a little fitting.
A little more fitting.
Final fit before adding the bushing.
Final fit before polishing.
All mounted up. Can't wait to try it out!
MP&C
Well-known member
Nice work Claude, you'll get some strange looks next time kayaking.....
NASTYZEN
Well-known member
Got to try it out.
Finally the thing goes in a straight line.
But it does nothing for stability getting in and out. Right after I took this shot, I fell over and filled the kayak with water trying not to spill my beer......
Guess my next project will have to be a beer holder.
Finally the thing goes in a straight line.
But it does nothing for stability getting in and out. Right after I took this shot, I fell over and filled the kayak with water trying not to spill my beer......
Guess my next project will have to be a beer holder.
MP&C
Well-known member
I fell over and filled the kayak with water trying not to spill my beer......
Guess my next project will have to be a beer holder.
Of course, you'll have to fashion the beer holder after a gyroscope to prevent any spillage..
MP&C
Well-known member
Well after about three months travelling for work, I finally was able to get back out in the shop and get some dust off the lathe today. The last time I used the bead roller I made a dash insert for a Studebaker truck. It had a considerable roll added to it, which was much too tight a radius for using the go kart slick on the wheel.. This was done using the skateboard wheel and a 1/2" wide bead roller
But this seemed to leave pronounced creases from the beading die, and I wanted to replace this with one with a wider radius.
and a relief cut for the shaft nut...
A few passes with some 18 ga......
Outside has less noticeable marking.. Yeah, this should work!
But this seemed to leave pronounced creases from the beading die, and I wanted to replace this with one with a wider radius.
and a relief cut for the shaft nut...
A few passes with some 18 ga......
Outside has less noticeable marking.. Yeah, this should work!
41ratrod
Well-known member
MP&C
Well-known member
This isn't exactly sheetmetal, but should help someone in that regard..
Credits: (and all that legal stuff) this is a slight variation on a similar tool by Per (Metalman Sweden) and Bill Gibson, as shown on Metalmeet.
This is a tool for tipping flanges, as one would do on door skins or inner doors, offered as a low buck alternative for those who may only need a one-time/limited use of such a device. I started with 1/2" key stock, which came in a one foot length. The gave me enough material for two, if I ever get to finishing both.
The short leg was marked at about 1-1/2" in, clamped in the vise, heated with a rosebud torch and persuaded to a 90 degree angle with a hammer.
Used the bandsaw to cut some notches about an inch in. These should be about twice the thickness (or so) of the metal you plan on using, to allow some free play in using the device.
The short end had a #21 hole drilled through the slot and tapped for 10-32 screw to use as a "distance stop". The long end would use a tapped hole to secure a separate stop device.
The second tool was used as a drilling/milling fixture for making the stop device for the long arm. A tight clearance hole was drilled centered on the 1/2 stock, a cap device was bent to fit snugly and come down the sides past the slot, and it was clamped in the vise at the various marks shown to start the slot. Although I neglected in-process pictures of this step, follow along with the descriptions.
Then, to clean between the holes, a dremel with an 1/8 diameter ball end burr was used as a "milling" bit. Be sure to extend a good (safe) amount of the smooth side, so the cutter has less tendency to eat away at the drill guide. Then with the dremel bit inserted, place stop device over and work back and forth to open up the slotted hole. Repeat for other side of the slot, as this cutter is considerably smaller than our clearance hole.
Use caution with moving fingers in close proximity of metal cutting devices, as I did draw a bit of blood (note pictures 4 and 5). Your results may vary, better or worse, so take appropriate precautions. (have band-aids handy or 911 pre-dialed, depending on how your luck runs)
Short 10-32 screw and washer added to secure the stop at dimension desired.
Here's an "inner door" sample I whipped up real quickly, sorry for the lack of detail
After panel and folded edge is cut to correct size for the application, mark desired flange width and adjust tool stops accordingly.
Bend slightly, working from one end to the other. Repeat repeatedly.
Two-ended tool allows you to use whichever end provides best leverage.
All ready for the "door skin" ............
Credits: (and all that legal stuff) this is a slight variation on a similar tool by Per (Metalman Sweden) and Bill Gibson, as shown on Metalmeet.
This is a tool for tipping flanges, as one would do on door skins or inner doors, offered as a low buck alternative for those who may only need a one-time/limited use of such a device. I started with 1/2" key stock, which came in a one foot length. The gave me enough material for two, if I ever get to finishing both.
The short leg was marked at about 1-1/2" in, clamped in the vise, heated with a rosebud torch and persuaded to a 90 degree angle with a hammer.
Used the bandsaw to cut some notches about an inch in. These should be about twice the thickness (or so) of the metal you plan on using, to allow some free play in using the device.
The short end had a #21 hole drilled through the slot and tapped for 10-32 screw to use as a "distance stop". The long end would use a tapped hole to secure a separate stop device.
The second tool was used as a drilling/milling fixture for making the stop device for the long arm. A tight clearance hole was drilled centered on the 1/2 stock, a cap device was bent to fit snugly and come down the sides past the slot, and it was clamped in the vise at the various marks shown to start the slot. Although I neglected in-process pictures of this step, follow along with the descriptions.
Then, to clean between the holes, a dremel with an 1/8 diameter ball end burr was used as a "milling" bit. Be sure to extend a good (safe) amount of the smooth side, so the cutter has less tendency to eat away at the drill guide. Then with the dremel bit inserted, place stop device over and work back and forth to open up the slotted hole. Repeat for other side of the slot, as this cutter is considerably smaller than our clearance hole.
Use caution with moving fingers in close proximity of metal cutting devices, as I did draw a bit of blood (note pictures 4 and 5). Your results may vary, better or worse, so take appropriate precautions. (have band-aids handy or 911 pre-dialed, depending on how your luck runs)
Short 10-32 screw and washer added to secure the stop at dimension desired.
Here's an "inner door" sample I whipped up real quickly, sorry for the lack of detail
After panel and folded edge is cut to correct size for the application, mark desired flange width and adjust tool stops accordingly.
Bend slightly, working from one end to the other. Repeat repeatedly.
Two-ended tool allows you to use whichever end provides best leverage.
All ready for the "door skin" ............
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ChevyShak
Member
Started with this on my blazer
and ended with this
I used a metal brake for this piece
I ran the piece long and with some clever pie snips, formed the end of it.
hand formed wheel well piece
used 1/4 panel to replace the bent 1/4 from a side roll over (not of my doing. Ebay find)
Thinking back, I should have coated it with por-15 before welding the 1/4 on. I didn't have any and the idea didn't strike me til later.
and ended with this
I used a metal brake for this piece
I ran the piece long and with some clever pie snips, formed the end of it.
hand formed wheel well piece
used 1/4 panel to replace the bent 1/4 from a side roll over (not of my doing. Ebay find)
Thinking back, I should have coated it with por-15 before welding the 1/4 on. I didn't have any and the idea didn't strike me til later.
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caper150
Well-known member
This was my last project
Full build thread here.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172716
Full build thread here.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172716
Tucko
Well-known member
machine_punk
Well-known member
Aero Guitar Stand I just built for a relative, who teaches guitar, for Christmas...
Kev
Kev
Wings custom made for some old Crosslé Formula Fords.
Funny how there just welded to the gear box cover.
Fine Northern Irish engineering.
See John Crosslé got an MBE there recently, well deserved in my opinion.
http://www.stopastride.com/news/item/17-john-crossle-mbe
Tucko
Well-known member
Here's some more work from the R1 Rhino.
I had to redo the rear shock mounts since the guy that built the chassis didn't know how to.
All pieces were either hand cut on my band saw or on my shear and dimpled using my JMR dimple dies. The shock tabs are 3/16" CRS and are TIG welded. The shock mounts and cross brace are all 11ga CRS are MIG welded.
The Shock mounts:
The Shock Tabs:
The Cross Brace:
Those are some mighty impressive looking welds...
MP&C
Well-known member
This is a mod I had discussed with the owner quite a while back, and she asked about it again last week, so I guess we're on the hook to shave some fender seams..
The bolting plates are cut out of the way, and the folded flange is trimmed, leaving a bit of extra to allow for fine tuning the weld joint.
Bottom of the fender is cut loose from the bolting plate using the cutoff wheel. Then sanding the face of the fender leaves a contrast at the bend of the flange for a good guide for trimming with snips....
Planishing out the fold to fill the gap....
Clamps used to test fit. Still needs some fine tuning for zero gaps, but we'll finish that another day..
The bolting plates are cut out of the way, and the folded flange is trimmed, leaving a bit of extra to allow for fine tuning the weld joint.
Bottom of the fender is cut loose from the bolting plate using the cutoff wheel. Then sanding the face of the fender leaves a contrast at the bend of the flange for a good guide for trimming with snips....
Planishing out the fold to fill the gap....
Clamps used to test fit. Still needs some fine tuning for zero gaps, but we'll finish that another day..
MP&C
Well-known member
Got to trimming today, little to no gaps....
Used the new ER70S-7 wire. Looks to me like it lays out a bit flatter...
Used the crowned hammer to planish the welds. This stuff appears to planish out a bit easier as well.
After planishing, 1/16" wide cutoff wheel used perpendicular to the weld for grinding the welds with minimal contact patch and less heat buildup. Ground welds just proud of the metal surface, front and back, to make room for planishing the next set of weld dots. Then rather than weld the next dots in the middle, I overlapped each of the previous welds to help eliminate missed spots and pinholes. Weld, planish, grind, repeat.
Then I got on a roll and missed some in process pics, but here is the result after dressing out all the welds...
Back side....
Yeah, I like this much better....
Used the new ER70S-7 wire. Looks to me like it lays out a bit flatter...
Used the crowned hammer to planish the welds. This stuff appears to planish out a bit easier as well.
After planishing, 1/16" wide cutoff wheel used perpendicular to the weld for grinding the welds with minimal contact patch and less heat buildup. Ground welds just proud of the metal surface, front and back, to make room for planishing the next set of weld dots. Then rather than weld the next dots in the middle, I overlapped each of the previous welds to help eliminate missed spots and pinholes. Weld, planish, grind, repeat.
Then I got on a roll and missed some in process pics, but here is the result after dressing out all the welds...
Back side....
Yeah, I like this much better....
ChevyShak
Member
I like it better with no body joint there too. did you mig it or tig it? it metal finished out real nice.
MP&C
Well-known member
Mig using .035 wire
ChevyShak
Member
I've got a sanp-on mig 220 coming with a spool gun and a tig kit. $3500 due to some clever pencil whipping by my dealer to get a $500 rebate instead of a $250 rebate. it should last me a lifetime.
krivasgarage
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2010
- Messages
- 196
Gorgeous. Following your posts gives me confidence to try to pick up a skill I never thought I would have.
MP&C
Well-known member
Thanks, hope it helps.
Ah, this thread needs a bump anyhow...
I was going to start the shave on the driver's side, but a few stumbling blocks along the way...
Mocked up all the front sheet metal just to see it together again.. Gotta love that hood bird..
Here's the factory seam to compare to the shaved version...
Bumper filler panel had been tweaked at some point in the past 50 years, so let's see what we can do to straighten it out some....
Used a combination of the flat and crowned body hammers, the donut dolly, the 5" dia shot bag, and a round hunk of steel.
Much better...
Next on the list before the next shave, a bit more rust to attend to...
Used a wide sweeping radius on the cut to minimize any extra shrinking that occurs inside tight corners.
To get a good, consistent profile on the patch, I used the go kart wheel...
Laying out the pattern..
One last test fit before tipping the flange...
Dumb mistake number one....don't cut the patch so small you can't get leverage to force the flange to tip...
Well, we do have a good crease to work from now. Some hammering on the 2" round anvil will work
Trimmed to fit...
Welded and dressed...
Hey...the light even fits
Ah, this thread needs a bump anyhow...
I was going to start the shave on the driver's side, but a few stumbling blocks along the way...
Mocked up all the front sheet metal just to see it together again.. Gotta love that hood bird..
Here's the factory seam to compare to the shaved version...
Bumper filler panel had been tweaked at some point in the past 50 years, so let's see what we can do to straighten it out some....
Used a combination of the flat and crowned body hammers, the donut dolly, the 5" dia shot bag, and a round hunk of steel.
Much better...
Next on the list before the next shave, a bit more rust to attend to...
Used a wide sweeping radius on the cut to minimize any extra shrinking that occurs inside tight corners.
To get a good, consistent profile on the patch, I used the go kart wheel...
Laying out the pattern..
One last test fit before tipping the flange...
Dumb mistake number one....don't cut the patch so small you can't get leverage to force the flange to tip...
Well, we do have a good crease to work from now. Some hammering on the 2" round anvil will work
Trimmed to fit...
Welded and dressed...
Hey...the light even fits
NRDave
Active member
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.
What kind of press are you using?
NASTYZEN
Well-known member
Just a simple home made 10ton shop press.
Case IH
Well-known member
What is the point of dimple dying something like what ZT built??just astetics?
I at work I build calf milk pasteurizers and when I build the tanks it's rolles sheet metal and I have to weld the seam and a cap on one end, and the holes all get pulled out like dimple dies do but for us it's so we can weld ferrals on cleanly since it all gets purge welded. So that's the only reason I see those used....
I at work I build calf milk pasteurizers and when I build the tanks it's rolles sheet metal and I have to weld the seam and a cap on one end, and the holes all get pulled out like dimple dies do but for us it's so we can weld ferrals on cleanly since it all gets purge welded. So that's the only reason I see those used....
NRDave
Active member
Details, pics....?
zmaxmotorsports
Well-known member
You guys are my heroes!