[TheForge] making d-rings

[Peter Fels And Phoebe Palmer]

Hi Terry;
Are we talking D rings like for strapping or belts for quick 
release fastenings. These would be literally D shaped?
I like to make a mandrill, ideally slightly tapered, out of pipe 
or shafting, with one flat side. The flat side can be forged, 
sawn, torch cut or ground.
Grind a matching flat on the side, by the bottom to fit your vise 
or hardy hole.
Cut a notch or weld on an L shaped pin just above the vise flats 
to hold the stock against the mandrill.
Clamp the mandrill soundly in the vise.
For small stock, copper or brass you can bend it cold often. 
Stick the end of the stock between the mandrill and pin ( or in 
the notch) .
Then wrap the stock around the mandril ,pulling both around and 
lengthwise on the stock. When you come to each edge of the flat 
side of the D, help the stock lie flat with a wooden hammer, 
while pulling on around.
Keep going around till you run out of stock, heat or patience.
What you have now is a spiral of D rings. You can cut them free 
with nips, a cut off wheel or chisel.
Flatten and align them on the anvil. Then solder, braise or weld 
the ends together.
With a little set up, it's possible to crank out a bunch of them 
pretty quickly...
Hope that was your question...pf


terry l. ridder wrote:
> hello;
> 
> i have the occassional need for a pair of d-rings.
> my occassional need may become more than occassional
> if i were able to make my own d-rings. d-rings, are
> simple items. as the whether the d-ring is welded or
> not would depend on its intended use. the small size
> d-rings could be formed cold.
> 
> a while ago i watched an old movie about forging chain.
> the movie showed a length of hot steel/iron being placed
> in a hydraulic bender. formed the chain link in a short
> time and one heat. a properly geared handcrank model could
> easily make d-rings. that is the key though a 'properly
> geared' handcrank model.
> 
> whether it is making a link for a chain or a d-ring,
> basically it is just link bending pipe.
> 
> when prototyping a device or even a project, what do
> you use? wood, acrylic sheet, plasticine clay?
> 
>