Thread: Some new toys for the shop

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I came into some unexpected cash and decided to buy some new toys. A fellow I've known for many years stopped by to discuss an engine he was wanting to build. He spied the 383 that I had that was ready to be assembled and asked if I would sell it. I didn't really have a need for it and gave him a price which he jumped on. I probably could have asked more., but gave him a fair deal.

I've been wanting some equipment for sheet metal fab and used my newfound cash to buy some. I got this brake from Woodward Fab. It's rated for 48" of 16 gauge. That is definitely pushing it, but it will bend it. I added the wheels and jack bolts.



I picked up a Harbor Freight bead roller and made a few modifications to it. Most people do. I studied a bunch of internet stuff about bead rollers and finally settled on the mods a fellow named Jere Kirkpatrick made on a bead roller for Gene Winfield. Yea, that Gene Winfield. I figured he knew a lot more about this that I did, which is pretty much nothing. Here's the story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra2-A-IuT-Q

I used my own version of pretty much all of the working mods he made, but used my own power system. I have an old pattern torch that used a DC gear motor. I had a spare motor and borrowed the power supply since I don't use the torch very often.



The base for the power supply was the first thing I made with the brake.

I've been playing around with the bead roller, but it's not quite as easy as the YouTube videos make it look.. I'm making progress though.

I also picked up a shrinker/stretcher setup from HF, but haven't used them yet.

I would like to show some pictures of the awesome artsy parts I've made, but most of it is pretty industrial looking. I'll be posting some stuff I built for the Spyder in that thread.

you can never have too may tools

New tools and equipment always make a day in the shop a great one.

Originally Posted by chopt50wgn

you can never have too may tools

My Bride will debate that with you.

.

Nice new tools! Once I get a bigger shop, these are on my list as well.

Originally Posted by Rrumbler

My Bride will debate that with you. .

My wife says I have enough tools and equipment to build an aircraft carrier!


I told'er no, but I can take it apart!

Those things have been on my wishlist for a long time. It would have made more sense for me to buy them before my project. I'm anxious to hear how the harbor freight stuff works. Their stuff can be hit or miss.

Seth, I expected the bead roller to need some work since most everything mechanical from HF usually needs to completely disassembled, lubed and adjusted. From what I had read about them, most folks usually beef up the frame because it really isn't stiff enough.

However, mine seems to have been made from mostly reject parts. Luckily I had the tools to basically remake the whole thing. There is not a single part except bolts that I did not have to redo to make it work. After I stiffened the frame up, the thing wouldn't turn at all if the bearing blocks were tightened down. The bearing blocks were all different heights as well as out of square and had to be remachined. The shafts were both warped and I had to make new ones.

Even the gears had to be refaced because the bores weren't square with the faces. Because the gears locate the shafts, this meant the clearances had to be very loose to allow it to turn and this meant the rolling dies would not stay adjusted center to center.

I spent about a week of shop time working through the various problems, but now it works great. Jere's mods make sense now that I have been using it and it will roll .060 aluminum with no problems.

I had not read about anyone having the quality issues I did. I may have just got the one that unluckily wound up with a bunch of bad parts. My advice would be to inspect it carefully and return it if it's really bad.

That is some awesome stuff to have out in the garage. What are you planning to build with it?

I'm currently working on a 62 fiberglass Austin Healey. It's an old 80's kit car that I'm rebuilding like you would a street rod. I've been fooling around with pre-49 stuff for a long time and wanted something like a Cobra.

The build thread is here. Some of the early pics aren't working due to the photobucket mess.

Project Sebring GT Spyder