Preview: Metalworking Techniques, Part 1 – Heat-Bending Metal Rod for a Traveler

27 Responses So Far to “Metalworking Techniques, Part 1 – Heat-Bending Metal Rod for a Traveler”

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  Allen Sawyer says:

  Thanks, Erica,

  Great video! I love the term “wonky”!

  Looking forward to the next in the series.

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  Chris Shields says:

  Thank you Erica for the great tutorial, I learned a lot, and look forward to seeing more of your metal fab expertise. And thanks to OCH for including another informative video. The money I have saved by following your videos has payed for my subscription many times over.

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  Thomas Dalzell says:

  Don’t wait to jump into metal work. I have always done a small amount of it, but I didn’t really invest in it until the internet broke it open and local sales sites made it really cheap. It hasn’t taken over in my shop, but every now and again I will need something, and I can just make it, and get it faster than I can order it and always a lot cheaper. This is particularly valuable living outside of the US, as getting stuff here is a lot harder than it would be in the US.

  To be able to make most tools, I use a small drill press, a small HF stick welder, and a portable bandsaw, With those tools I made a forge and a 2×72 grinder.

  Later I added a lathe, mill, etc… It is hard to resist when people are literally giving these machines away. But machining is to satisfy a whole other set of needs. The tools above will get you a long way. Particularly making woodworking tools, and boat parts.

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  Robert hatcher says:

  Any chance she”ll teach some classes?

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    Steve Stone says:

    Hi Robert. She teaches a class each summer at the WoodenBoat School.
    https://www.thewoodenboatschool.com/related-crafts/metal-work.php

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  Henrique van Deursen says:

  Impressive and very didactic
  Congratulations
  H.

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  peter strietmann says:

  This is awesome! It looks like Erica is working with mild steel. I need to make a horse out of bronze. I think it is tricky to get the heating of the rod correct for bronze. Any tips for that? Thanks for another great video.

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    Thomas Dalzell says:

    There are a million websites that cover casting topics where you might more readily find an answer.

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      Thomas Dalzell says:

      I should also mention there is a lot of information on melting bronze rods on welding sites, and bicycle frame making sites. In many cases it doesn’t require much tooling to cold bend these products.

      • 

        peter strietmann says:

        Thanks Thomas.

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    Erica Moody says:

    Hello Peter,
    In this video, I’m silver brazing stainless steel, not mild steel. You can silver braze mild steel, as well as most copper alloys (brass, bronze, copper…). Silver brazing melts at a lower temperature than these metals, which allows it to flow and joint without melting the ‘parent’ metal. The tips for melting the silver brazing wire is same for all metals…balance your heat evenly on your pieces, and watch the properties of the flux. When it looks like water, not past, start flowing it. For larger works, using a oxy/acetylene torch and ‘general purpose brazing rod’ works well for joining small stock, but this is not the same as silver brazing. Good luck!

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      peter strietmann says:

      Thanks Erica! You make it look easy, I think I will need a bit of luck as well.

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  James Turner says:

  Eagerly awaiting Part 2

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  John Franks says:

  Once again another great video.

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  Mark Baldwin says:

  Excellent! I’d like to hear how Erica or others have temporarily but strongly mounted a vise either in the cockpit or below.

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  Lansing Hays says:

  How little I know about metals after a lifetime of sailing is humbling. As in the previous series about wire rigging I am grateful for professional craftspeople like Erica Moody. I hope she includes casting bronze in this series, something I have always been curious about while concentrating on wind and oceans.

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    Erica Moody says:

    Hello Lansing – thank you, and as for casting, not my forté although I have dabbled in it. But I won’t be covering it in this series.

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  St.John Starkie says:

  Very promising.
  Will there be an episode about kit? I’d like to know what torch Erica is using.
  Thanks

  • 

    John Hughes says:

    That looks like a pretty standard Mapp Gas torch, something like this one: http://www.truevalue.com//catalog/product.jsp?productId=76502&parentCategoryId=5&categoryId=79&subCategoryId=2579&type=product&cid=gooshop&source=google_pla&9gtype=%7Bifsearch:search%7D%7Bifcontent:content%7D&9gkw=%7Bkeyword%7D&9gad=%7Bcreative%7D.1&9gpla=%7Bplacement%7D&ctcampaign=4680&ctkwd=%7Bproduct_id%7D&ctmatch=&ctcreative=%7BCreative%7D&ctplacement=195438-43411605579

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    Thomas Dalzell says:

    Not to quibble it looked like a Bernzomatic to me. I have owned quite a few over the years, and they all seem to crap out pretty soon. While this more expensive model is mainly cool because of the lighter function, that no longer works on mine. However the valve system doesn’t seem to be as shortlived as the standard Bernzo, and it just keeps on working. I’m glad I have mine, and given how temporary these things seem to be, I would wonder about cheaper versions. Could be one of those deals where the 2 dollar ebay unit is eternal, or might be all a bernzo is and a lot worse.

    https://www.bernzomatic.com/Products/Hand-Torches/Instant-On-Off/TS4000

    The real step up in my opinion is one of these, and they aren’t any more expensive:

    http://hybridburners.com/

    Oh my bad, they have added a 100 dollars to all the prices. There are lots of online sources for making these out of plumbing supplies and such, but they end up being surprisingly expensive unless you can find the right O/A torch nozzle for nearly free on Ebay, or cut out the middle man and steal one from work yourself. Not something I can do in any sense.

    Apart from being way better, you can run them off BBQ cylinders which is a lot better in a number of ways. If the only concern is the cost of gas you will find dozens of retailers selling a thing that allows you to recharge propane cylinders from BBQ cylinders, be sure you get reliable instructions on the process.

    MAPP is hotter, but I found it very dirty, which processes such as hard brazing do not appreciate. In fact propane will melt steel the trick is containing the eat, for which I recommend searching out videos on “1 brick forge” or “coffee can forge”.

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    Erica Moody says:

    Yes, it is indeed a standard MAPP gas found at your local hardware store, and they are often sold with the torch head that quick starts (not needing a striker).

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  Keith Cheney says:

  Great video! I am really going to enjoy this series! Would it be possible to talk about whether it is necessary to do anything about the change in hardness (softening or hardening) as a result of the heating of the metal. Are the bending jigs available commercially? I’m excited to learn more.

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    Erica Moody says:

    Good question – yes, with heating metals they do tend to anneal, or soften. Quenching copper alloys does not harden as it does with steel. Quenching steel is not a good idea, as it not only hardens it, but makes it brittle. Spritzing (not quenching) stainless though apparently does help keep more of it’s ‘stainless’ properties that otherwise can be compromised with too much heating and oxidizing. As for when a metal gets too annealed to be worthy of its purpose, it depends on the design of the project…I think for most small hardware projects it shouldn’t matter, from my experience.

    As for the bending jig, I don’t know of any available commercially. You can make one with hardwood dowels secured to a thick board, and then slip over them steel pipe so you don’t burn your wood. I haven’t tried that, but think it should work. Good luck!

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    Kevin Hart says:

    There are ready-made bending jigs for sale on ebay. The ones that I have seen are made to fit in the hardy hole in an anvil, but the could be used in a vise. Of course, you are limited to whatever size pins/pipes the maker has chosen.

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  Gregory Ross says:

  I have an old bronze porthole i am trying to replace the glass and the threads are siezed. Any ideas?

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    Thomas Dalzell says:

    I would google removing stuck bronze fasteners. Other than that, the two normal processes are to soak in penetrating oil, you can look for super penetrators, like break free. WD-40 is go to, but it is a water displacing agent in principle. The other option is to heat the female. So if you have bolts into screws, you want to shock the nuts. a bare steel wrench you make out of steel, or a shape like a thick walled tube, anything you can heat then press against the nut or frame that has the threaded hole in it. You don’t want to transfer heat to the bolt. This swells the female away from the male . If will sometime break the corrosion at the interface.

    Normally penetrating oil is lower impact. And you can keep hitting it every few days. If you aren’t in a rush, try it on one fastener. With heat, you run some risks, but it is normal to try heat. However, if you use some space age penetrator, heating it after you give up on the oil may release some very nasty compounds. Plain oils should be reasonably safe. But that is why you don’t want to hit every fastener with penetrators first. Do a test on one, that way if you have to switch to heat, you aren’t burning the material out of every socket. If heat doesn’t work, then you can soak that in penetrators, you may have mostly cracked it open, now the oil will go deeper.

    If you have plastic not actual glass in the portholes. Sometimes it is effective to bush off the haze. There may be a way of doing that with glass, but that is out of my field. If I wanted to try, I might look at what products they use to make lenses for home built telescopes. The serious ones that really reach out to the stars.

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      Thomas Dalzell says:

      If you can’t buff the glass, or release the bolts. You may be able to drill the bolt head out. If it has a free nut on the other side you can drop the assembly out. If the bolt goes into the frame then all you have to work with is a stud sticking up, though the fastener won’t be loaded. That may not be easier to remove than when it had a head on it. Worst case with a frame, you can flip it over and drill out the studs, and retap (very easy) in a larger size, this assuming you can get the replacement lenses in a large screw hole size, or enlarge them yourself.

      You might need a drill press for this but you can normally pick up a small one for 25 bucks off craigs.

      I should have mentioned that another way to loosen screws is by hammering on the bolt. This you can do on the side that is supported on the frame. That will not break the glass, normally. If the glass is unbreakable, or you just don’t care, you can also work it from the other side. Use a punch so you can get surgical with your force. If you think you might eventually end up drilling, make sure the punch marks on the bolt head side are where you want to start your drill, right in the 10 ring.