Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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They are designed to temporarily hold two pieces of metal together, such as attaching two pieces of 18 gauge floor sections until you can weld them. There is a pair of pliers that squeezes the fastener (there is a spring inside each fastener) until the tip comes out. You slip that into a hole you drill into both pieces of metal, and when you release the pliers, the tip expands and clamps them together.

They come in sizes for either 1/8 inch holes, or 3/16. Probably other sizes too. They are the cats meow for holding pieces together, especially in places where you can't get a normal clamp. It saves you having to put a screw or something else there until the parts are welded solid. The 1/8 is the most usefull.

Here is a picture of the tool and a fastener. If you push in that shiny silver button on the left side, the prongs on the right side come out and shrink down to fit into the hole. When you release the button, they contract and swell up to grab and hold the pieces together tightly.

Don

Don,
I love looking at good metal work and that is some very nice work. It takes a lot of patience and talent. You must get a lot of enjoyment working with them. My hat is of to you
Ken

Couple of questions for you Don, What type of resin were you using on the body? Polyester, vinyl ester or epoxy? Also is there a specific reason for using matting as opposed to E-glass?

I've done some fiberglass work on wooden boats and use epoxies and E-glass. I've found both to be very easy to work with and not nearly as nasty as polyester resins. Epoxies are also waterproof, polyester resins can allow some water in over time potentially allowing the wood to rot underneath. Probably less of an issue with a car, which will only see occasional splashing as opposed to a boat.

BTW, quick and dirty fairing compound, and less expensive than "tiger hair" or "Mar Glass". Mix fine sawdust, They call it "wood flour" in the boat building hobby, with the resin until it reaches a peanut butter consistency. Probably doesn't have quite the same fiber strength that the chopped strands do in Tiger Hair, but good enough for fairing and filler. Cheap too.