make your own stuff (metal work post )

[BIGYIN]

I used to post crap like this on the NSRA forum but thats history for us guests, then decided that what I had to say wasnt really that interesting to anyone, so stoped posting altogether, but I think this post might encourage some folk to have a go at a wee bit of metal bashing.

Please dont post the usual one line responces unless you think the work is shit or can offer up some disscussion to make things better for all concerned, Im up for critisism and help / advice..

I was asked to make a pair of front wings for a vintage alvis. Ive never actually made a complete wing before but the fella that wanted the job done had more confidence in me than I do in myself. I reluctantly agreed to give it a go, his is how I done it, there are variatons obviously but I think this method is accessible to anyone wih limited tools and a healthy dose of enthusiasm for this kind of work.

First off I took a look a some pictures of what he wanted and got a good idea of the shapes involved. Fortunately he brought a wing he had knocked up from scrap to provide some depth to his idea.

this is the car and the sample he brought .

[BIGYIN]

Once I had the general shape worked out I made up some MDF formers to shape the sheet aluminium over.

Bought 2x 8x4 sheets of 18mm MDF from B&Q had them cut to size in store.

I decided that the front opening and general shape should be similar to the original rear fender.

I made some paterns from masking tape and duct tape to get the over all size and profile of the rear wing edge. I also made a cardboard profile gauge as a guide for the outer radius of the wing

from that patern I flattened it out over the MDF shet and scribed a rough line which was cut out with a cheap jig saw. I cut 4 of these which were all glued and screwed together to make a substancial double sided former.. whch was radiused by a local joinery place in a spindle moulder ( whatever that is )

[BIGYIN]

I cut some ali sheet to size of the outer radius. This was placed i the former and a blank secured with screws ovr the top. This sandwich ensures that the metal is forced to stretch where you want it with as little distortion to the rest of the panel. Take it easy and work aroud the outer edge of the panel gradually form it over the former shrinking in the tucks that appear as you go.

dont hit things to hard just go easy.

I used a home made fliper which is basically a part of an old road spring bent to shape and cleaned up on a linisher to prevent to many marks being transferred to the metal.

[BIGYIN]

I made up 2 of these part for the outer edges of the front wing, using the same reverseable former both parts should come out prett much identicle.

The first one I formed I didnt anneal the alloy which made forming it slightly more dfficult, in so much as it took more time to shrink and stay where i wanted it. The second one I annealed ( softened ) and this eased the shaping and shrinking process.

T anneal ali sheet blacken the area with soot from an accetelene torch then burn off the soot carefully with a welding flame and a big nozzle. be carefull though the soot burns off just below the melting point of the ali.. keep moving

[BIGYIN]

The centre top section of the wing has a swage line that I dont have a former for, so I glued 2 pieces of MDF together and cut a 45 degree V groove up the middle the edges of the V were sanded to rounds as the first tests were to sharp.

To keep things in line I screwed two guides to the former and cut two sandwich plates to keep the sheet as flat as possible while it was being formed.

Forming was done with some firm whaks on a bolster chisel ( suitable blunted and rounded) .

[BIGYIN]

With 2 of these formed and 2 outer sections made up I bent the top sectons over my leg to conform to the shape of the sides and clamped them together for a look see. So far it looks fine but some work to go.

The idea of the post wasnt to show a compete wing but to show some ideas on how to shape stuff...

Hope its of some help to those of you who want to have a go..it the same process for steel panels, you just need to hit it harder.

[nobody]

very nice.
simular to doing say rear tubs and puting a radius in ,instead of having a sharp corner.
if the radius isnt to large you could do that yourself on the mdf with a router.

is there a reason you used a flipper instead of say a regular hammer.

how will you weld that being ally.gas or tig and finally what grade/thickness ally do you use.

and post the rest of the pics to the end.:

[BIGYIN]

Its 1.6 3103 H14, it will be tig welded, Th fliper covers a larger area so makes less marks on the metal the flipper blows do more per blow and are less concentrated in one spot, with a glancing blow it shifts the metal with ease and not much effort.

will update the post when there is more progress posible the next couple of days.. unfortunately the radius was to big for a standard router.. which was a shame as I cold have kept it all in house.

[Stitch]

Lovely job mate , look forward to the updates

[capriac]

well done! shows what can be done using your head and thinking it out