1936 P/U Metalshaping

Your power hammer did as good a job as a Pullmax. I can't see how it's made but it is certainly working well for you.
 
Just saw this thread, very impressive metal shaping. Your welds are pretty long did you have any trouble with warping? Are you going to make the cab corners also ?
 
29A said:
Just saw this thread, very impressive metal shaping. Your welds are pretty long did you have any trouble with warping? Are you going to make the cab corners also ?
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Thank you. Everything is TIG welded and I try to weld as long and fast as possible. Naturally the metal moves and shrinks when heat is applied, but I correct it as I go with hammer and dolly, stretching the weld back out and making sure everything is as it should be before I continue with the next weld. Sometimes I’ll follow up with a planishing hammer if I really want to flatten the weld. I will most likely make the cab corners since they’re not available and what’s left of mine isn’t worth saving.
 
OldGold, what are you using for filler rod for welding sheet metal? Thanks for all the beautiful work, I am looking forward to the cab corners you come up with.
 
I used .045” ER70s-2 filler rod. Gap between panels is tight. I push the puddle and not much filler rod is used. Being a small TIG weld, this allows me to flatten the weld and stretch the shrunk metal simultaneously. I’ve used smaller filler rod from my 110v mig wire, but the .045” is readily available and I get good results with it.

I’m still hoping to come up with some cab corners. I don’t have much time to work on my pickup so buying some would move me along faster. Thanks
 
I wondered if you might be using some softer wire, like RG45, thanks for the information.
 
The RG45 is a lot easier to work. The ER70 stuff is pretty hard. It has to be to survive the wire feeders. A tight joint won't need much filler though. A lot depends on the gauge thickness of the metal.
 
I do not like RG45 rod for TIG welding. It is a rod more intended for O/A welding anyways. I have used ER70 for 20+ years. When TIG welded, it is plenty soft enough to flatten the weld by hand and effortless when smoothing the weld via planishing hammer or power hammer. So many people these days are looking for alternative filler rods that result in softer, more malleable welds or welds that grind easier rather than learning better techniques. A good sheetmetal TIG weld will require very little welding, if any at all.
 
great post, i enjoy seeing how this work is done. wouldn't tackle it myself, i have great respect for metal shapers.
 
I´m using 0,032 Mig wire when Tig-welding sheetmetal and like OldGold said not too much of work after welding . I was wondering what kind of plastic wire did you use when you 3D printed those dies ? How do they hold together with CR steel ? And what kind of program you used ? I'm not familiar with 3D and was thinking is that something worth learning....
well, new skills are always worth learning....
 
vilanar said:
I´m using 0,032 Mig wire when Tig-welding sheetmetal and like OldGold said not too much of work after welding . I was wondering what kind of plastic wire did you use when you 3D printed those dies ? How do they hold together with CR steel ? And what kind of program you used ? I'm not familiar with 3D and was thinking is that something worth learning....
well, new skills are always worth learning....
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I used PLA filament just because that is all I have but there are better choices that would hold up better, such as ABS. The PLA worked fine but any sharp details are lost after a few pieces are made. Since I just needed one, it worked fine. I have some repairs to make on my fenders and will make the pullmax tooling from steel or aluminum to retain the sharpness present in the outer bead. I got my 3D printer about a year ago and don’t regret it. It’s been great for quick tooling, prototyping, shop organization, toys for the kids, etc. I use SolidWorks or Fusion360 for modeling. Fusion360 is really easy to take from drawing to 3D print. I’ve been looking for foundry that is willing to do lost PLA castings in steel and aluminum. This will really make the printer worthwhile to me.
 
Thanks for the response. I thought also that with steel the life of the die will be limited. I work a lot with alu, so with that they should hold better. I have made some dies out of POM
and it works great with alu. Making Pullmax tooling out of steel with milling machine and grinders is time consuming task , but they last long time even without hardening.
That foundry thing would be awesome...
 
vilanar said:
Thanks for the response. I thought also that with steel the life of the die will be limited. I work a lot with alu, so with that they should hold better. I have made some dies out of POM
and it works great with alu. Making Pullmax tooling out of steel with milling machine and grinders is time consuming task , but they last long time even without hardening.
That foundry thing would be awesome...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I really don’t like to make pullmax tooling out of metal because they do take a bit of time. It’s nice taking 10 minutes and program some dies and then let the 3D printer do all the work. I need to take some time and learn more about filaments because there might be a better choice for die material. I do have a cnc plasma and that saves on time, but profiling the lead in/out and clean up still takes more time than I’d like to spend. I’m always looking for ways to speed things up.
 
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