Joel OF Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 I'm working on a well cover at the minute & because of the construction method (riveted steels that sort of weave) & because it's made from 30 x 6mm flat bar rolled on edge (manually by me) I thought it might be of interest to some. I'm a fair way through it but still got to do a few bits and bobs, including removing all the bolts to replace with rivets. I've been putting the odd video of the making on YouTube & taking production progress snaps. The idea of the hatch design is so that my clients can lower in their well pump & close the hatch back down without the hatch pinching on the pump hose. It was mutually designed, I started the ball rolling with a few ideas & we went from there. The flat bar in the hatch was bent hot & the smallest diameter hoop of the 4 outside hoops was rolled nearly all the way, then finished off hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME1149 Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Nice design and execution. I look forward to seeing the finished product. My other thought was that's a lot of rivets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave51B Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Joel, are you going to make all 82(?) rivets ? Surely not...... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 6 hours ago, Dave51B said: Joel, are you going to make all 82(?) rivets ? Surely not...... Dave Haha, compared to rolling the flat bar on edge the riveting will be a walk in the park. I buy snap head rivets with 1 head pre formed so you just rivet the tail. Given that the vast majority of them won't ever be seen I won't bother rounding the heads to match the pre formed size, I'll just whack them down till they hold. I'll round up the ones in the underside of the hatch as they'll be seen when it folds back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Nice, I like it. Aren't you going to use a rivet buck? You won't need to clean up the visible heads if you buck them rather than do it on the anvil. Use a buck and a set and it'd peened round and just about as fast, just one more tool to pick up but you make up for it with a heavier hammer and only a couple blows. I look forward to seeing it installed. Well done. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 I forgot to take pics of the simple flat bar tongs I forged for pinching the rivet shank just below the head but I took a couple pics of the hardy tool I made for resting the rivet head in. (I have 2 hardy holes in my big Peter Wright anvil & the one nearer the bick tapers from square into round). I've got a young chap with me at the minute working as my "apprentice" before he goes off to blacksmithing college in September - today we did all the 64 outer rivets in 2 hours. I recorded some video which I'll upload to YouTube later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I really like it--though it seems odd to me to have an open-grid well cover which would be quite rare in my area. Curious as to what your rolling jig looks like. That's a tough bend until you get to some better equipment so I was wondering what ended up getting the job done for you. A better roller is one of the toys on my long term list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Yes sir, that's a rivet buck alright and a nice one. The rivets look good, darned attractive. . . Blacksmith COLLEGE!? Dang, now I'm suffering school envy, curse you. Link your videos when you get them up please. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Gotta leave room for the tourists to drop money in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 Posted riveting video links but have since vanished. For rolling on edge videos & riveting videos go via previous YouTube link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 13, 2016 Author Share Posted August 13, 2016 The quick and dirty tongs as mentioned. Designed to have as little surface contact area (to reduce heat sink) as poss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 YouTube video showing it working vanishes so pics instead... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Man, that is a beautiful piece of work Joel. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Cheers. Handles to lift the hatch: The hole in the left hand handle is so they can padlock it down if they want. The tabs at the sides are the fixing points as it's going to be fixed within the well, not on top. I would have just continued some of the weaves out & up to fix through them, but too many line up badly to the brick courses so I deemed this to be a method that would give a better guarentee of safe fixing as for each "corner" I have a choice of 3 fixing points & will probably use 2 per "corner". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Yes. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnie Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Impressive. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 With nothing for scale the words "wardrobe malfunction" seeped into my morass of a mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 9 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: With nothing for scale the words "wardrobe malfunction" seeped into my morass of a mind. On 8/11/2016 at 3:07 PM, Joel OF said: That would be one heck of a wardrobe malfunction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Statue of Liberty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueGeek Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 I found your videos on YouTube. VERY Nice. We'll see if this link disappears https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaSu3LjKXiz35_k1vqYVYdQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Dummy run install to sort fixing points went well. Off for blasting, zinc spraying & vinyl top coat now & hopefully ready for final fit next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 It is gorgeous as it is. It seems a shame to cover that raw beauty. I hope the final finish complements the rugged (almost steampunk) aesthetic. Amazing work either way and I imagine your client is well pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 Cheers. Well in this country everything rusts instantly unless it's got a decent weatherproofing, and of the outsourced finishing methods, zinc flame spray & vinyl top coat seems to be the best. There's probably finishes I could do in the workshop that I'd prefer aesthetically, but they wouldn't last as long & it's cheaper for the client to have the better long lasting zinc + vinyl than my shorter lifespan less rust protecting attempts as whatever I do will take me longer. The firm I use for finishing a.t.m do the blasting, zinc & top coat so it's ideal for me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Wow; it's almost like you live on a rainy island surrounded by salt water! Local climate makes a big difference in how things need to be finished. Things you could just ignore here in the desert will rust away fast on a beach house patio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Yeah, I was aware that coating it would be a necessity...I was just mourning the loss. I also held on to the minor hope that someone here would jump in and give a quick course in some amazing method of finishing and protecting steel from the elements using alchemy or some other mysterious art! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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