141 replies to this topic

[4laneron]

Here'a my homemade bending jig.

Attached Images

• 

[Duffy]

Those clamps scare me...as soon as you remove the clamp, the piece goes "sproing". Rods should lay relaxed, not under duress....same as retro

That's tony p's first rule of chassing building. No clamping. He just hold rails down with his fingers.

Oh. Being Mikey and building no-stress layups out of lifelong habit, I never thought to mention that step! Y'mean, there're people who DON'T think just like MEE?

That's why the sponge-lined clamp works so well (IF all the rods are flat straight and true in relaxed state)--just enough hold to keep everything in place while you tack, not enough to distort.

I don't find I need a jig for drop arms--just bend a rod around your Widget, stack rod up inside and out, clamp down (holddown screw & nut thru Widget right on your jig, and foam clamp midway) and tack. Bend kink after. (Rob, look in your mailbox about Tuesday...)

I've shown this before, but--somehow, I just considered a little math as part of the Dieux Toupee of Jaildoor; I made up this silly vernier-graduated bending jig to do all my rods, and it's come in handy for a whole lot more since.



The left & right hand holes are a different spacing, giving me three gradiations of distance: straight-line's one spacing, with a 1/32" advance in each row; then angling across the rows of holes is two more. values. Closer to Infinite than I'll ever need, but I'm that kind of overthinker.

I figure my bends as wheelbase length minus rod diameter, because with a staggered-upright array you'll always have the uprights going either in front or abaft equal-diameter bearing tubes; then minus my radii, either .218" for the locknuts shown here or .156" for stripper bolts. I have my rationale for large-radius bends, it may even be true.

I was gonna sum up by saying that JD is really just its own set of challenges, that will become commonplace once you get the learning curve and have tooled up for the job to suit yourself. Then I realized, it seems easy to me because I've really tooled up to do JD the best way for me, I guess.

Duffy

[Pablo]

Am I the only dinosaur left who uses a Sharpie, Pliers, and eyeballs to bend things ?

[Duffy]

Welcome to the Pleistocene, Pablodon. Here's your Falcon II hand-warmer. Bundle up.

[Bill from NH]

A red Sharpie shows up best!

[Mopar Rob]

Decided to paint instead of soldering.

I have a tentative trade going with Ramcat Larry so I painted the Lotus and McLaren in his colors. I've know Larry since 1991 and he usually prefers to paint his cars white with florescent red. I figured the neon color wan't in the "spirit" of JD, so it gets a normal vintage red.


It was time to stop painting when I put my thumb on the F1 exhaust. Just a little more detail on the mclaren engine tomorrow and repaint the exhaust and I'm calling it done in regard to the paint work.

Attached Images

• 

[Duffy]

Decided to paint instead of soldering.

Not a good idea. Paint, even the epoxy-based kind, does not have the strength of good ol' solder, and these chasses may not survive the first wall shot.
They'll be colorful while they're still around, though.
Duffy

[Mopar Rob]

Am I the only dinosaur left who uses a Sharpie, Pliers, and eyeballs to bend things ?

I gave up eyeballing it in college when..................... onetime I was over served and eyeballed it to get out of the parking lot, End result I ripped the side of my car off on an SUV

[endbelldrive]

Am I the only dinosaur left who uses a Sharpie, Pliers, and eyeballs to bend things ?

You use a Sharpie?

[Bill from NH]

Here'a my homemade bending jig.

Ron, the simplicity of you jig is amazing!

[Pablo]

Pssst hey duf, for brass rod curves I use a wooden fid and meaty fingers

[Duffy]

Pssst hey duf, for brass rod curves I use a wooden fid and meaty fingers

...AND "Sharpie, Pliers, and eyeballs"...'s that ALL, now? The list keeps GROWING, Pablo! Y'ready to get Honest with us now, Mister Multi-Equipment Guy? Anything else t'add? Y'wanna make poor One-Shiny-Brass-Block-With-Many-Holes Mikey feel all inadequate with your folksy retro-abundance and arrogant repletiations? Hmmmm?


Besides, Real Men use BRONZE rod. (Neeener-Neeener-Neeener!!!)


Duffy

[Mopar Rob]

Besides, Real Men use BRONZE rod. (Neeener-Neeener-Neeener!!!)

I agree

Nothing better than brazing rod, besides it's cheaper. Picked mine up from McMaster Carr.

[gascarnut]

I bought a pound of 1/16 low fuming bronze brazing rod today.

Can you believe they charged me a $3.95 "hazardous material" fee?????

Once I got home I opened up the MSDS that's in the tube and the first sentence under Section 3 - Hazard Identification says:

"There are no immediate hazards with these rods"

Welcome to California, I guess.

[Pablo]

Besides, Real Men use .......

REAL MEN build using FIRE

[Duffy]

Nothing better than brazing rod, besides it's cheaper. Picked mine up from McMaster Carr.

I bought a pound of 1/16 low fuming bronze brazing rod today.

What're you guys paying for the stuff? I got my stock as a 5# tube from MSC Industrial, who're currently getting ~$75 for that item--and why would a 10# tube be $167? They regularly have online sale days with 35%-40% off, so if you time your purchases it's not so bad. That MSDS stuff happens on the Right Coast too.

Duffy

[The Bugman]

hmmmmm, i bought a pound of Lo Temp Brazing rod(3ft pieces) a couple years ago from my local welding shop, for $25.00 it was straight and came in a sealed square plastic tube too, has it gone up that much in price since then ?

[Duffy]

hmmmmm, i bought a pound of Lo Temp Brazing rod(3ft pieces) a couple years ago from my local welding shop, for $25.00 it was straight and came in a sealed square plastic tube too, has it gone up that much in price since then ?

Well, hold on, I'm hoping you mean $25 for a five pound tube! I got mine (five pounds) around last June, for ~$39 ($55 at 30% off) I think. I know metals have skyrocketed in the last couple years, mostly blamed on fuel costs. I blame the the lack of demand as US manufacturing goes down, but I'm just a grouchy toolmaker.

Duffy

[Mopar Rob]

I'm not a modeler so I'm calling this done in regard to paint.

Attached Images

• 

[MantaRay]

Did I miss seeing the drop arm? Or is that the last step

[Mopar Rob]

Ray:


Last step, I'm waiting on some tooling to bend the drop arm

[gascarnut]

I bought a 1-pound plastic tube of brazing rod, with tax and the hazardous materials charge it came to a grand total of $20.90.

[Prof. Fate]

Hi

My high tech special tool is a round nose jeweler's pliers!

Locally, no fees on the rods that I remember.

most of my survivors from the day have a sheet drop arm. I do have a couple rod drop arms, but they were the exception. These were done along the lines of "if everyone is doing it, maybe I ought to try it.

Fate

[4laneron]

I get my bronze rod here at www.terrys.net $5.00 lb + shipping around $6.00

[gascarnut]

Here are some shots of my drop arm jig: