Builds Rebuilding a 40 but no longer in a 1 car garage.

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Every now and then, when I’m feeling good about something I just fabricated I come back to this thread so my mind can be blown by what real metalworking looks like. You do some truly incredible work! I think I asked this before - but how are you forming these pieces - is it all hammer/dolly or do you have bead rollers and English wheels and shrinker/stretchers at your disposal?

Thanks for the props but I am no more than an amateur at this.
I currently own all of the above but most are entry level equipment.
Most of the work can be done with basic stuff and the more you learn the less you need. I would love to have a hammer forming machine where I van make dies to create profiles like for the top of the rockers.
First on my list is probably a deep throat shrinker.

 

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Back on the floor.
Stared shaping the PS floor rear corner.
First shape,

I used the DS part as a first template, but mirrored.
The naked front tub.

After the first round of hammering, shaping, welding and grinding.

And after more masaging.

 

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Next cleaning and painting the hollow area‘s.

Weld the part in

Next I took the cross brace out, and cut out some pitted area‘s.

Made a nice patch.

And welded it all in. Cleaned up the floor Underneath the cross brace and mounted it all back.

 

[middlecalf]

Sweet!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

So once you’ve got this one done are you going to start building tubs for the rest of us?

 

[waiting for time]

So once you’ve got this one done are you going to start building tubs for the rest of us?

I am thinking 20’s boat tale with wood frame, if I ever get these two done.

 

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Got the DS floor patch welded in and did this.

Finaly!

 

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Just to give you an idea how the tub is connected to the rotisserie.
here it is standing straight.

It is now connected to 4 mounting points that are exactly at the same position in 3D as they would begon the chassis.
The other points are going to be added to the frame later.

 

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These pictures show why I am taking the tub further apart.
This is the outside of the B pillar. Everywhere there is overlapping panels there is rust in between them. This will eventually come out.
Here is the remainder of the rear fender taken from the B pillar.

On the bottom the rust had found its way to the outside.

Next I’m taking the outside skin of the B pillar off.

And here is the rust inside the B pillar and on the lip where the skin was folded around.

 

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An here is the upper part of the outside rocker removed.

It was a bit challenging to het it off.

Now I have to decide if I want to make a completely new rocker ans B pillar skin.
First I straitened out the old pieces.

And laid the out on the table.

 

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I then started to experiment with the bead roller how to make the profile. This profile is similar to that on the top rail of the rear fenders so I might decide to fabricate some rollers for it.
This is the result of a bit of experimenting.

And a second test piece.

 

[secretsquirrel]

looks like a good match for the rocker edge. your mill screen looks good to. I got a bridgeport variant(super max) mill waiting on a phase converter.

 

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Thanks, the screen is still waiting for an actuator.
The profile is a decent match but the inside corners get damaged by the sharp edge of the die.
For apearence it would be better to form the profile with one set of dies, equal spacing and such.

 

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After fitting the actuator to the mill it was time to do some sheet metal experimenting.
Took a piece of sheet metal and made a drawing on it.

Then I used the same sizes and tested it on a small test piece.
Here it is on the old outher rocker.

Overall it looks better than the previous test pieces.
Here it is on the inner rocker.

Looks like the adventure can start.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

I really wish I knew how to use half the tooling you have. Example - what’s an actuator and what does it do in a mill?

 

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I really wish I knew how to use half the tooling you have. Example - what’s an actuator and what does it do in a mill?

A lineair actuator is just an electric lift for the screen to go up and down. If you don’t want the metal parts and oil to be thrown around the workshop you use a safety screen. To move the screen Out of the way I opted for an electrically operated lift. Now I can swing it out of the way manualy or raise it up.

With the tooling you just want or need to make a part and start with investigating how it can be made. Then you start to look for the tooling you think is best to use but fits in your space and budget. Sometimes it is better to fabricate it yourself than to buy it.
There are always tools that would be better and more efficient for a job but every tool, besides a price tag and a space requirement, has its own learning curve too. Then if you buy a tool it also needs tooling which in most cases costs about the same or more than the initial tool itself.

 

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Started with he B pillar.

made the deep ridge first, tried a bit too much and ripped the metal.
Still continued with the part to see where the chalenges would be.
Made the rest of the shape.

Here a picture from the other side. You can see the tear in the steel.

 

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Tried to mount the piece on the tub.

The biggest issue I had in the bends, it needed more hammering. I think I will make a steel die to get the final shape in.
Or use wood to hammer form the tough pieces.

 

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As the first one cracked at the bend I started making a new one. I used a different upper die in the bead roller.
This gave me the wrong profile on the outside face.

Therefore started a third one.
This is after the first bead, I used the sharp dies for the first two passes and then switched to the round upper die.
Here is after the first pass.

You can see some distortion of the panel already, after some experimenting with the Ewheel I later used heat to shrink some area’s to get it flat.
Here are the three tries together.

I used two wooden templates during the forming of the corners of the middle bend.
After some more shaping. I used the pneumatic hammer to form the corner.

Next step in forming.

 

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Added heat to shrink the panel back to flat.

Then cleaned it up.

Test fit on the B pillar, once in position I could mark the bend line where it folds around the lip. You can still see the waviness of the rear of the panel.

Here is a picture from the rear That shows how the panel fits to the pillar.