Page 71 - Issue 44

have used concrete stairs to form 90* bends, Pipes for Step 8: Final mounting and/or fastening
cylindrical shaping, mailbox post, 2x4’s and different There are many different ways to fasten/mount
shaped/radius’d boards. A bench top vise usually has your new part. Again, this depends on the application.
multiple contours/options for shaping and bending My number one tip, when welding, is to make sure the
purposes as well. material never gets too hot to touch with your bare hand
(warping). The best way to do this is with compressed
Tip: Sometimes relief cuts or pie cuts are needed to air blowing around the weld. I plan to write more on
get certain bends in certain places. “Welding” in a future article

 For this example I’ll be using: A Mittler Bros  For this example I’ll be using: Large headed 1/8”
Sandbag (Shot bag) & hammers, a piece of round x 1/8” zinc plated steel rivets that I ordered from
steel bar and the edge of a steel table. Fastenal (They can order hundreds of different
types/sizes of rivets for almost any application)
Step 7: Fine tuning & test fi t
Fine tuning is what differentiates average metal Step 9: Final fi nish is application specifi c.
work from good metal work. The attention to detail What is the desired outcome of your new part? Will
and fi nal fi t is entirely up to the patience of the you be painting it? Does it need fi nish “Bondo work”, etc.?
builder. Often I will test fi t things many, many times
until perfect. But some stuff I just eye-ball it and call it  For this example: I wanted the fi nish to be “rough”
good. or “steampunk” in the sense that it is unique and not
something that is seen on all patches.
Tip: Did your part end up slightly too big to fi t? Don’t The fi nished product shown below was done with a
be afraid to keep taking off material slowly, it’s Mittler Bros beadroller and some other various tools.
easier to take off small amounts of material at a
time than it is to add more material if you cut off These images show work outside the realm of
too much the fi rst time. “beginner”, but it provides a preview of the next article:
which will highlight the differences between beginner and
 This is where Clecos, side grip clamps or vise grips advanced techniques and tools. If you need additional
(Erwin) come into place as effective tools for resources, feel free to visit my YouTube page for in-depth
temporary & accurate fi tment without having to “how-to” style videos, including some dedicated to metal
constantly drill out rivets or cut tack welds. work! https://www.youtube.com/tinman2kustoms

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