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Tooling For Shrinking

8K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Doright 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi Guys
For some time I've been trying different ways to cut down the time it takes to repair the area around where I shrink. When you shrink metal, wether it's tuck shrinking, shrinking with thumbnail dies in a reciprocating machine, or even a stump, or Lancaster, hand or foot operated Shrinker, it causes a strain or disruption that appears as a raised area right behind the shrunk area. A lot of times I will wait till I get the panel fastened down so I can ether use a dolly and a slapper to (off dolly) shrink. It's a slow process and still needs cleaning up. Well I was cleaning up the garage at the house and found this 7 plus inch round cast ball. This thing had a large round eyelid welded to it. So I took it to the shop and cut the hook off, and welded an inch and a half piece of tubing to it. I put it in the lathe so I could spin it and sand it with the d.a. This thing is heavy ! !

Ball with tube welded.


After clean up and some hammer tone paint.


Ready to use.


So here is what the strain looks like after the shrink.


Now here is a row of them, and the more you shrink, the more they appear.


This is one I shrunk, which will help unlock the strain.


So, having this mass size of an anvil, and being round, I can control the panel and drive the raised area into it self.




Now with all the strains worked out, in row A, they slightly moved to row B. This will easily wash out with light planishing.


Now after planishing with a wooden hammer lightly over the anvil, the metal has flowed out smooth. I placed a strip magnet so you could see how the metal flows.



All the other edges on this test panel were shrunk souly on the stump.


 
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#3 ·
Wow is right. It's almost fluid. Sort of like a wrinkled bed sheet. I tug the sheet for cover and it smooths out. My wife hits me in the head with the cast iron skillet and pulls the sheet bringing the wrinkle back inward and I need cover again.
:).
Steve you're amazing.
 
#8 ·
Isaac, thank you. :) since my last post, I have compiled some other small bits I have been working on. I made a few more dies for my recip hammer, some work ok and others I'm not sure at the moment, well mostly because I just finished machining and welding them 10 minutes ago. I'll post more maybe later today. Again thanks..... :)
 
#9 ·
I really wish I could see these pics clearly
I am really into metal working myself and trying to learn what I can

I have joined and pay for Photobucket at 40-50 a year to keep my pics up.
 
#11 ·
The arbor press is a great tool, and a lot of uses. I have a small bench top arbor press I use mostly for pressing small parts. I wish it was a big one like the video as it would be more versatile. If a guy had a big arbor press and a metal lathe he could build all the dies needed to do what they're doing in the video.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I also have a small Arbor press I wish it were bigger like the one in that video.... Some day I will get a bigger one.

I have a Small Lathe albeit I am NO expert or Master with it and while I do have quite a bit of tooling for it I lack the tooling to cut a Round ball end like that shown.
I want to get a Mill next like a used Bridge port
 
#13 ·
It looks like the punch in the arbor press video has a flat bottom. I would think a trailer hitch ball could be chucked in a lathe and have the sharp edge between the round ball and the flat top softened with a file and emery cloth to make a similar punch. There are also small balls for sway control bars on some hitches.
 
#14 ·
I was thinking more along the lines ofa 1 inch steel ball bearing welded to some square tubing that would slip over the shaft of the Arbor press with a set screw.
The next problem is creating the BOWL to press the metal into? to get the Tucks right. again special tooling for a Lathe.

Been looking at Holdridge Radius cutters that cut convex and concave radius but they are expensive
 
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