[TheForge] slitting chisel / drift

[ries]

I think a jig is needed- doesnt need to be complicated, just a mig  
welded one wave section, made of flat bar curved the easy way, and  
supported from below with a bunch of verticals- imagine a 2x4 wall,  
only with a curved top plate.
$30 worth of steel, a couple hours fabbing it, and you could even only  
make 1/2 a section, and flip it for each half wave.
Me, I would probably cheat, and punch, cold on the ironworker, a  
smaller hole, either square or round, while the metal was still flat.  
That way I could get nice even spacing. Then I would put the wave in  
the flat bar- I use a hossfeld, with fixed radius dies, so the curves  
are all the same. Then, I would hot drift the holes at the appropriate  
angle, on the jig.
Another trick, which also requires high tech- is to just punch or  
drill round holes, then plug weld the pickets in thru the holes. Of  
course, if the design is based on upsetting the square picket above  
and below the wave bars, this wont work.

Ries




On Jan 22, 2008, at 12:36 AM, Dave Mudge wrote:

Friends, I need a little advice on two issues.
1. Although my new shop is not up and running yet I have a temporary
set-up in the machine shop where I work.
Air hammer, gas forge, anvil, swage blocks etc.
We have a job coming up where I will need to slit & drift 1/2" square
holes in 3/4" x 1-1/2" flat bar on 6" centers.
I have no identifiable tool steel (other than automotive coil springs)
from which to make the slitting chisels and drifts.
Can someone give me the process for hardening & tempering forging
tools made from automotive type coil spring?

2. This is a railing. Imagine the afore mentioned 3/4" x 1-1/2" flat
bar as a wave running the length of a section of railing.
The 1/2" square pickets will pierce the wave on 6" centers.
The holes to be slit & drifted to size will have to be on an angle
that would be on tangent with the straight pickets and the
curves of the wave. Piercing the bar on the flat would be one thing,
but piercing it on an angle is quite another.
Any advice on how to do this would be appreciated.
thanks,
dave mudge
Bogalusa, Louisiana
dave at magichammer.net
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Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist
http://www.riesniemi.com/