TimDorn Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Hello all, this is the second topic I have started on this website. Despite searching for hours, I can't find any good information on ram guide material for a homemade tire hammer. I know that most people end up using the high density molecular whatever, but I'm trying to do most of this with what I have, and I have two ideas that I want your opinions on: 1) Melted/ remolded HDPE (milk jugs, soda caps, etc) 2) Flattened PVC pipe Alright, for the HDPE I was doing some experimenting with melting it and molding it and I can get very flat material for basically free ( milk cartons, soda lids, etc) all I have to do is melt it down in my oven. It feels very dense and hard and is slippery on other materials such as plastic and steel. The PVC is a bit more on the skeptical side, but just imagine it: get a large pipe diameter, heat it up in the oven, and then flatten it. Maybe even make a few layers of plastic per side and then you have a decently thick ram guide material. I can't vouch on the properties of it to actually be a ram guide, however. I originally made the ram guide out of pure steel ( rectangular tubing) but this was an immediate failure as the steel of the ram and the steel of the guide like to stick sometimes and create friction. This ended up with a ram that would sometimes go up but not down as fast as the ram arms so the two would collide. Any advice or recommendations would be great. If you would like to see pictures of the power hammer just ask. I'd say its about 93% done.Thanks and have a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Basics: the same material rubbing the same material is generally a bad idea. Remember solid phase welding can take place at pretty much *any* temperature above absolute zero. So steel against cast iron or brass/bronze or plastics engineered for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimDorn Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 Thanks for the quick reply. I imagined that the steel was not going to work out anyways. I will probably end up using the HDPE plastic as I have more of it and dont have to worry about layering it like the PVC sheets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 PVC is not a bearing grade of plastic, UHMW is. You can find inexpensive UHMW at thrift stores in the form of some cutting boards for pennies on the dollar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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