Pault17 Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I have been taking a "stick 101" course at the locak tech college (wife gifted it to me for Christmas). I asked the instructor if I could "practice my beads on some of my own scrap metal" and he said sure. This started out as two pieces of 1/2" scrap plate from a place that makes big steel beams, and a small section of heavy angle-iron from a construction site. After using up 10+ thin cutting discs with my 4.5 inch grinder, several mason jars of elbow grease, a lot of filing with a 12-inch mill file, and a bunch of hack-saw work, I ended up with this. I know the welds look rough. I was under a tight time frame, and I still have to weld on the hardy post. I have several more of the plates to make die sets from. As I don't have a powered band say or other cutting rig, I use a lot of the little cutting discs. The dies are 1/2" by 2", with the bottom being 2-2.5 inches and the tops being long enough to stick out the top. The backing plates for the dies are pieces of angle iron that provide both the bearing surface for the top and bottom, and lateral support to keep the whole thing square. I cut the dues from the plates and made them a little big, so I can fit them more precisely. When I fitted the bearing plates, I used a scrap piece of plate with a business card for fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveh Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 looks good to me,nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 If it works that's what counts. Looks pretty nice to me! Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I sure don't see anything wrong. You're really going to like what having a magician in the shop will do for you. Nice job. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yesteryearforge Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Nice job pault17 looks a little familiar Like Frosty said you will find almost endless uses for it in the shop Takes me about 30 minutes to make one start to finish minus the paint but I make them in batches of 50 at a time. They are available through IForgeIron auction, store, or contact Glenn. Mike Tanner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Hi pault. Looks good! The welds look better than mine, but I used 6011, which is kind of ratty. I "hard faced" my dies with 11018 chrome manganese rod and bits of rail clip. They should last a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pault17 Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 mike, Yours was the final idea or plan that most appealed to my uses. I promised my wife not to prowl the forum until after Easter , or I would have known who to mostly credit. but, thanks for the great inspirationafter the fact! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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