Cutting things out of blocks of steel

[Matty F]

As some of you may remember, I often need to make one-off parts out of steel. It's too expensive to have them cast, and they'd need to be machined afterwards anyway. And I don't have CNC machines.

This is a sort of hinge, and a block of steel to make another hinge from:

And the finished hinge after a bit of hacksawing and grinding:

I still need to drill a couple of holes, and find some 60mm rivets. Do I really have to heat the rivets red hot or can I just pound them cold?

[Nightjar]

On 02/06/2013 11:20, Matty F wrote: ...

The main reason for hot riveting is that the rivet contracts as it cools, clamping the parts together even harder. It is, of course, also easier to form the head when red hot.

Colin Bignell

[Tim+]

Good to see you back. I thought you had forsaken the group!

Tim

[Dave Baker]

Beautiful job. Very impressive for a hand fabrication exercise.

[Onetap]

eel. It's too expensive to have them cast, and they'd need to be machined a fterwards anyway. And I don't have CNC machines.

I think that would probably be a forging, rather than a casting.

Nice job.

IMHO the rivet heads would work-harden and crack if you were to try to do i t cold. I've done no hand rivetting, so may be wrong.

You must have a blow-torch, why would you do it cold?

I borrowed a book from a library 30+ years ago, 'The Use of Tools' I thin k. The author had been an artificer in the Dutch merchant navy before WW2, when there were Dutch colonies in the Far East. On starting his apprentices hip, he'd spent the first 3 months hand filing, which he stated to be the m ost difficult workshop task. A lathe or milling machine removes the need fo r some of the hand-eye skills.

The graduation project task was to fabricate the valve gear for a steam en gine from steel stock, using only cold chisels and hand files.

[RayL12]

I agree, beautiful work. I had a friend who was a panel beater during the war years. He worked on some plane wings. At his home he formed the metal plates that are fixed to the end of kitchen work tops after he cut a section out for an appliance.

I asked him how he formed the beautifully rounded top edge/lip. Hammer and peen, he said. I could not believe how smooth the finish was with a hammer. Though, he did(with partners) design and make the 'Rochdale Olympic' car.

[harry]

eel. It's too expensive to have them cast, and they'd need to be machined a fterwards anyway. And I don't have CNC machines.

tinypic.com/2kldea.jpg

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The easiest way to make this sort of stuff is by hand forging ie like a blacksmith. You can weld in the fire as well and avoid some rivetting. Worth thinking about if you do a lot of this sort of work.

[harry]

steel. It's too expensive to have them cast, and they'd need to be machined afterwards anyway. And I don't have CNC machines.

it cold. I've done no hand rivetting, so may be wrong.

think. The author had been an artificer in the Dutch merchant navy before W W2, when there were Dutch colonies in the Far East. On starting his apprent iceship, he'd spent the first 3 months hand filing, which he stated to be t he most difficult workshop task. A lathe or milling machine removes the nee d for some of the hand-eye skills.

m engine from steel stock, using only cold chisels and hand files.

Cold riveting is perfectly viable but the rivets are not steel but iron. You can buy them, round or countersunk heads at model engineering dealers. If you want to form round heads you will need to make/buy a dolly.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You could have them water jet cut out of plate - at least for one elevation. Not expensive.

[Matty F]

Thanks. Now that I have a new PC with Linux, everything works again, even Google Groups! Answering other's suggestions, I have Dupuytren's contracture so cannot forge anything without making my hands worse.

I have mostly used copper rivets for small work. I do look after a stock of iron rivets which I've almost never used. I'll get the experts to rivet the hinge on since I don't have the gear.

[harry]

Google Groups!

orge anything without making my hands worse.

of iron rivets which I've almost never used. I'll get the experts to rivet the hinge on since I don't have the gear.

All you need is a ball pein hammer for cold countersunk rivets.

[Nightjar]

...

anything without making my hands worse.

...

Do try to read and understand posts before you reply Harry.

Colin Bignell

[Nightjar]

On 02/06/2013 23:46, Matty F wrote: ...

Google Groups!

anything without making my hands worse.

That does make the work you do amazing, as opposed to really rather good.

Colin Bignell

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

The author had been an artificer in the Dutch merchant navy before WW2, when there were Dutch colonies in the Far East. On starting his apprenticeship, he'd spent the first 3 months hand filing, which he stated to be the most difficult workshop task.

Some of us had apprenticeships which started with similar. Fortunately, 3 months wasn't the length of time devoted to the one technique, else I think there may have been armed revolt. However, I did learn how to file and it's something that's never left me. Otoh, I hate filing, even though I know what can be done with it.

[harry]

ink. The author had been an artificer in the Dutch merchant navy before WW2 , when there were Dutch colonies in the Far East. On starting his apprentic eship, he'd spent the first 3 months hand filing, which he stated to be the most difficult workshop task.

The first thing I had to do was to file a ring spanner out of a block of tool steel. We made a whole set of hand tools.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Should have got a better job so you could afford to go to Halfords and just buy them.

[harry]

The idea was that by the time you had your full set of tools you were familiar with all hand tools (especially files) and most machine tools. Nowadays you get an NVQ if you're lucky and know f*ck all at the end of it.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

Oh, yeah. Six-Month Wonders. Not a new thing, either. I recall some of them back in the 70s, who'd done a training course and called themselves mechanics.

[meow2222]

Might also be handy to have a 3d printer that does bakelite & ebonite.

NT

[Gefreiter Krueger]

Couldn't blame him with you in it.