BULKHEAD (partial) DAY TWENTY NINE

Bit of a failure today - chasing my tail trying to get the parts to fit.

Two days ago the plan was to use the rivet gun and elephant's foot to blat the two bits together...



...I think I need to learn the lesson: Every time I do this I end up ripping the metal. I think I need to make the proper metal forming holders and use Delrin stock instead of metal (but that'll be another tangent).

Despite the air assisted blatting the gap between the two pieces is too great for spot welding (I fear).

So - tangent time - probably - I reckon I need some sort of combination arbour press and joggling pilers to press the parts up against each other



I might just start with the press (which I don't have yet) and some stock - actually better still I might just start with some square stock and see if it works at a slower pace in my hydraulic press {Sorry thinking out loud as I type}

Like a recovering alcoholic - tiny almost imperceptible steps in perhaps the right direction =>



More for me than for you! I need to remember the height I set the under piece at before I adjust



...then of course realised the workshop needs some serious re-jigging and repositioning of stuff so I can fit it all in - 70 square metres doesn't half fill up quick!

I just had a thought - may be you guys here will know

Has anyone here used speedtaps before?



(Ignore rather enthusiastic host - look at results)

Got to be better than fiddling with the traditional three tap set when making new threads in virgin holes (I reckon these would be a bad thing to use as thread repair though so the trad hand set is still needed)

I've tracked them down for sale in Europe here =>

http://holemaker-technology.com/products/speedtap-impact-taps

There's also different old money type thread makers at the bottom of the link in case you're interested in UNC/F and BSP

So what to do with a buggered old 2.25 litre flywheel?

Use #1

Make a stand

(weebles wobble but they won't fall down



)



(Bit of lightweight RSJ was in my workspace before I moved in - knew it would come in handy)



Stand is for the cheapo hand press I've just bought for flattening sheet metal - only a one ton version - could be a bit of a poof - might have to upgrade to a larger version (but only when they're on special offer)



Lucky that RSJ was a good length - turned out to give a nice working height...



...all is good the planets have aligned...

...and I managed to delay a bit of metal going off to the scrap dealer again (the scrap dealer always wins in the end but it is best to make em beg for it eh?)

Must be seasonal adjustment disorder - no progress...

...anyway better than Black Friday (fake sales) Toolstation sent me a 25 euro off voucher which helped me bite the bullet.

It is official: I'm almost a "proper" Land Rover owner - I now have an air rivet gun



(Just need the hairy arse and I'm done!)

Look at that beauty - proper job - Rodcraft 6700 - rated at 1200kg / 12kN pulling power - better than the usual sub 900kg efforts (I hope) - sucks up a bit more air of course but hey ho you don't get something for nothing. I've been keeping my eye on this model on toolstation since I bought the station wagon - hoping it would end up in the clearance items bin. I reckon the 25 euro discount has more or less given the same effect.

Friday nights are not gonna be the same - from now on I'll be out pulling (rivets)

BULKHEAD (partial) DAY THIRTY

=> Blinking heck day 30 already? I've got a feeling I've only touched the surface of this iceberg

Anyway after a short break in England seeing friends and family I'm slowly getting back at it. Forgot my 10.8V batteries for the cordless tools of course and it goes with out saying I forgot the camera too so it is only clever phone pictures today I'm afraid.

I felt like I needed to melt stuff today so I went back to this part on the front of the bulkhead near to that blinking A post (that's been causing trouble)



Black and Decker powerfile to the rescue



(But don't forget that hand tools are often more controllable!)



After a bit of cocking about I got the replacement bit to fit in there with out falling out - as always more gaps than I'd like (still you have to let go of these imperfections in your cutting abilities I find)



Clamped and ready to go



I could not be arsed finding an extension lead so I uncoiled a hose instead and went for the gas welding kit



(Sorry about the blurriness - either clever phone being too clever or me leaving clever phone in pile of crap that makes external lens a bit misty)



^^^^^
Knocking the welds flat on the shoemaker's anvil

#####

Got a bit of a problem after the welding - I seem to have a bit of a dish near to the far corner of the new bit as shown below =>



This needs to be straightened / flattened out before I weld the sides and put the stiffness back into the panel

(guess what)

To be continued

Wondered what you were up to - was missing my online fettling and fabricating lessons

Headtester said:

Wondered what you were up to - was missing my online fettling and fabricating lessons

Click to expand...

Lessons? Oh dear I'd better put some more effort into this then!

Post trip to England: Had a week of being ill after getting back. I've concluded that sitting in long tubular metal constructions with forced air environments is not good for the health. I picked up some sort of intercontinental lurgy that has resulted in zero Land Rover effectiveness

#####

So today I took it easy and looked at the latest late night purchase.

The reason for purchasing the thing below is that whilst the bead roller with two flat rollers is really good at squashing / flattening flanges (that have been welded / formed) =>



When it gets to curvy bits with radii smaller than the rollers you end up forming the radii - so another plan is needed.

Hitting curved radii flanges with hammers on anvils also has a similar flattening effect.

So I was thinking "perhaps a pincer-like motion on the ocean would do it".

I saw this for sale and thought I'd give it a go =>



So now I've got something that'll reach in an squash a small area...



It is alright - it helps a bit. Not a 100% solution but a good start.

Back to the drawing board

(That hopefully won't involve expensive domed stakes and mushrooms that I'd rather not have to buy)

That looks old - has it got WD with an arrow stamped on it?

Headtester said:

That looks old - has it got WD with an arrow stamped on it?

Click to expand...

Looks like it could be that I agree. But it is definitely 100% civvy - my guess is 1970s technical college. It has been really well made with proper hardened steel where it should be

Not bad for thirty something euros delivered

(shop-a-holic that I am)

Right time for a bit of an update for the bulkhead - I've tried to stop grinding to a halt but it looks like I need to zoom off back to a tangent I started a few months back.

First a statement of the problem:

=>

(All very management BS business-like eh? If this wasn't on a forum I might treat you to a power point presentation with a laser pointer - and perhaps coffee and cake afterwards)

Problem - the bloody corner of the bulkhead is a bit wobbly.

This seems to be a typical thing - "they're all like that" I hear you say - still - I want a flat bit there instead of a wobbly bobbly mess that usually sits to the side of the bulkhead vents

I'm going on about this bit shown earlier in case it isn't clear



Before I start to weld up the sides (and fill in the gaps in the parts that have already been welded) I want to get the surface of this panel as flat as possible

So I've made up a bit of a flat surface to fit around the large curved rib strengthener on the front of the panel (don't want to remove that!)



Just so happens I've got lots of scrap "wagon wheels" after making that saw dust centrifuge extractor - so ignore the roundness. The point is the slot for the curved rib and a relatively flat surface upon which you can hammer bobbles flat



There you go =>



As always - "it helps a bit" - but - "it needs a bit more help"

The surface is pretty curved as well as wobbly / bobbly as shown below =>



The curve isn't too much of a problem

I find it is best not to get too distracted by the big "problems" at this stage of the game. I'm concentrating on the smaller lumps and bumps first because I have a feeling the curve will change as I flatten the smaller imperfections out.

####

Ideally I'd like to whack the flat part between two rollers like this =>



...but the bead roller hasn't got enough of a gap in its throat to allow all of the bulkhead panel to pass through.

Trying with the new(ish) 1 ton hand press helps a bit (and as expected the curve is no longer as curved as it was!): Helps a bit again but - again - the throat / reach of this press isn't big enough to reach all parts of the panel...



...so...

...buggerdy buggerdy bug...

...looks like I need to finish off that blinking English wheel project I started months back so I can have a deep throated wonder with two forceful rollers doing the business...

(Rollers seem to be better and more controlable than hammers and dollies in my experience - and yes I've had a go with those too!)

Liking the wagon wheel plinth thingy for flattening, the English wheel sounds is if it will help but who knows until you try it....

The festive season is gone.

Thank goodness for that!

Being the #1 caterer in the house where I live has meant a whole heap of shopping and cooking for the last few weeks. I've got the post festive season blues and can no longer be arsed with anything...

...still I had a look at the English wheel today.

As you can see I've sprayed a load of Hammerite over it to try and stop it rusting before I've finished building it.

It is still a work in progress - most bits are tacked in place at the very least - there's still a lot of smoothing out and tidying up to be done but I want to make sure the silly thing actually works before I spend even more time on this tangent.



Now I'm not sure if it was a smart move but I decided to make the upper and the lower anvils adjustable.

My reason for doing this was to allow for adjustment and repositioning of the main players within the frame. Almost all of the other designs I've seen have got just one sliding part for the lower anvil. I could have made this too complicated - we'll see how the adjustment goes.

Today I wanted to see how far I could get the arms of the frame to move whilst applying a clamping force via the sliders. The maximum I can get them to move at the moment (no hand wheels fitted) is 5mm - that seems quite rigid to me - with this force applied at the anvils there is no way a 1mm sheet of zincor can be stabbed between the rollers (anvils). So that's already way past "normal use".



With a looser pressure applied to the anvils (rollers) it is easy to see that a fair amount of adjustment needs to be done =>



It isn't far far out of whack - but - what happens is - when you get a sheet of metal in there between the rollers and you try and roll it backwards and forwards you get a sideways force effect that pushes the sheet sideways out of the rollers. Once I've got the anvils aligned properly then I'm sure it will come good.

Still that means more drilling and welding and positioning of screws that will push the plastic packed sliding mechanism into alignment.

If you made up some shims from very thin steel could you slide them up and down on the opposite side from the securing bolts to straighten out the rollers? From the last photo it looks like the bottom roller is leaning over to the right.

Alibro said:

If you made up some shims from very thin steel could you slide them up and down on the opposite side from the securing bolts to straighten out the rollers? From the last photo it looks like the bottom roller is leaning over to the right.

Click to expand...

Just as you were posting I was trying to find some blinking pens that would work!

Explanation for the adjustment in the English wheel frame I've built =>



(As you can see - virtually every colour has been used and they're all running out - two nine year olds and their Ozobots will do that)

If you look down into the slider you can see the plastic slide elements and some screws which can push the inner post one way or the other.

Here's a side view (of sorts) =>



So when reduced to bare bones - back of a fag packet stylee - you can get the inner post to sit where you like within the constraints of the outer box section.



The picture shows a very poorly adjusted inner post. I need to make some adjusting screws on the other sides so I can make the relationship shown above

Clear as mud?

Did the fag packet drawings help?


{The point is that shimming should hopefully not be necessary as I can adjust the position via the screws on the outer box section}

I was thinking if you shimmed it out from the other side you could work with adjustment screws on one side only but you're the one looking at it so you'll know betterer.

Alibro said:

I was thinking if you shimmed it out from the other side you could work with adjustment screws on one side only but you're the one looking at it so you'll know betterer.

Click to expand...

That would mean I got the welding right in the first place!

May be this is superfluous - but - the point I'm trying to make is that I designed in the idea that I'd have to reposition the sliding parts to get the rollers / anvils to play ball.

Think of a spoon flopping about in an empty knickerbocker glory glass



You could use two sets of four pressure points to reposition the spoon within the glass like this =>



You can twist the flat top of the slider (so the angle between the rollers is altered) via adjustment.

I just need to put in some more screws to do this.

Flippin 'eck anybody else noticed just how expensive decent G-clamps have become?



This is also code for the real problem - how on earth does one get motivated in January in the cold?

More bad news for Land Rover progress I'm afraid:

I've just bought one of these =>



(Picture's from Wikipedia so not showing the state of what I've got!)

WOW - why??