51 Papy Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Not a fail but not a success. First pair attempted. I had filed the two legs flat and to thickness. The two washers were filed flat and the same thickness. I used a 5/16 round for the rivet. When riveted they froze up. I expected that. I then stuck them in the fire got them red and worked them so all the faces mated up and then tightened the rivet up. I did this a couple of times. Resistance seemed to be about the same through the range I wanted them to open so I lightly set the rivet and let cool. Needless to say they were either froze solid or did not have enough friction to hold the dividers/calipers in place. I know I did something wrong just don't know what. The legs started to get thin and the rivet broke. They now have a thumb screw going through the two legs and into a backer plate. They work fine just not what I was hoping for. Anybody want to tell me what I did wrong? Thanks Papy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Once the frozen joint was loosened up from working hot, I would have let the whole thing cool completely before fine tuning the rivet. You tighten the rivet hot, what happens when it cools? That's right- it shrinks and tightens up. All my friction calipers just need a little cold tappy-tap on the rivet when they loosen up. That should do it for you. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Ayup, you messed with it too many times. No biggy, we've all done it. Stash has the right of it. What causes it to tighten up is the section that has been punched, the arms of the calipers in this case, shrink more than the rivet. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51 Papy Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 Yep. Sounds about right. I knew it was something stupid I was doing. Thank you gents! Guess that will give me an excuse to build some more. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Just keep at it. You don't learn the limits, unless you push the limits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51 Papy Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Quote No problems there Irondragon. I still have wall space for the "firsts". I hang them up and smile when I make one that suits me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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