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Old 09-06-2018, 10:08 AM
cliffrod cliffrod is offline
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Default Holman Moody Ford Cowl Plenum Breather

This is my first real project. The previous thread about the general project and buck is linked here http://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=17882 Spare time has been limited in the past few months and this project needs resolution before new ones start.

This is a pic of one of the original versions. There were several variations, but this is the general part-



Some mistakes were made... including one big one. Thankfully none were more fatal than instructive so will be posted to help others avoid the same problems. major goals with the project were
  1. making accurate parts that would fit together
  2. be properly circular and concentric
  3. be of proper assembled height to receive the filter element
As a sculptor, making accurate circle and/or properly concentric circles can be very challenging because they are instantly perceived by any viewer as success or fail. Since all parts were based upon circular form, I decided to try making radius hammerforms.

Using scrap hardwood crating lumber planed to dimension and similar scrap steel, a hammerform for the lid was made before the buck was built to see how well it would work. A small hanger bolt with wing nut & washer was used for the center pivot.



A simple pointer was made to help align the steel shoe so the circle would be true.


I measured several 1960's OEM Ford air filter housings I have and found them all to be 24g crs. When I asked nearby NASCAR Legend, mentor and friend RockHillWill about sourcing some 24g crs for the project, he generously donated a piece he had. This means a lot to me, since it gives some real connection to racing for the project. We're not sure whether this crs is AKDQ or not, but given the pounding it tolerated, it may be.

So- A quick run over to Rock Hill & back, some cutting and I was making dents.



I used a small pad of the same metal to cover the vise grips where it touches the work. I have to protect polished stone while working and it's generally considered same for like to touch like without risking damage. Whether or not it's necessary here, there were no scratches during the project.

With no prestretching, it got a little out of shape so some hammer and stump work plus a little wheeling and all was back to level






Then I started on the beading around the edge. This was done without a bead roller. Not too difficult but I expect the next one to be better.










Once the radius hammerform had been proven viable, I made the actual buck (previous thread) and then made two more radius hammerforms. There were three in total- one for the lid, one for the top half and one for the bottom half. Once the wood was dimensioned by saw & planer, I laminated (screws) pieces side by side.



Then I used a router with trammel, pivoted by the hanger bolt, to develop the necessary profiles into the wood for both open space and proper register for the metal shoes.

To develop the metal shoe portions of the hammerforms which would take the greatest abuse, I cut and welded various pieces of mostly 1/8" and 1/4" scrap steel.









Since I have no metal lathe or mill, I broke out the red makita drill with grinder stone and an eye bolt tensioner from an old screen door. Pretty sure this method is from the same school as MP&C Robert McCartney's vise-mounted jigsaw.... After roughing in the built-up welds by hand, using that hanger bolt as the pivot helped me get a reasonably consistent form on my built-up welded metal for the most dramatic profiles.









In the end, there were three radius hammerforms that worked very well.






Next came the major mistakes portion of the project.....

I started on the top half of two parts that are held together by a folded seam. Clamp the blank on the hammerform and start swinging. Trying to think through shrinking the folded edge to the buck and then having to stretch it back into a flange, I jumped into first working the metal over the edge.



Following Peter's advice, I used a polished flipper and all was going well. To help with puckers and shrinking, I thought about the HVAC crimpers on the shelf. It kinda worked but I learned those lines NEVER come out. Mistake #1.






The bigger issue was that I could not get the part to tightly conform to the buck. It flared away from the hammerform and buck. The metal was so abused I didn't think more tucks & shrinks could be done without cracking.




These parts made it to the Redneck Roundup and led to some head scratching about how to do it better. I got another piece of known plain 24g crs as a remedy but never cut it. In the meantime, I took this apparently junk top half and tried to see how much stretching it would take as an experiment for the bottom half. It stretched a lot without failing, approx 2 1/2" deep. Of course I stretched it in the easiest way I could reach it. It was junk anyways...(actually not- more on that later)








Very cool. I had thoughts of making a separate 16" open element filter top and bottom as souvenir of my failed first attempt, somewhat matching the old Ford 14" breather on the wall.





Lots more to come..
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Old 09-06-2018, 11:43 AM
cliffrod cliffrod is offline
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Between the Redneck Roundup and Labor Day weekend, I bought a set of the first 5 books by Timothy Barton from AMS member Steve Colby in Alaska. In Book #5, hammerforms are discussed.

In order to keep a piece of metal tight against a form when it needs to end with a flange, it is recommended to turn the outer edge of metal in the opposite direction. In simple terms, it will look like a gutter or channel. Then a corking tool can be used (I used a hardwood tool) to form the metal tightly against the hammerform. I believe this allows the metal to be stretched to the form instead of being shrunken to it, which is what I thought needed to happen but didn't know how to accomplish.

Needless to say, it worked great. When I started the next blank for the top, it was finished almost as quickly as it started and turned out pretty good. As a result, there's not as many pics as before.







It went so fast that I thought I might have time to do the bottom half. Sitting there not wanting to cut new metal and looking at the failed top half from earlier, I realized that if I flipped the failed top half over, it would already be bent in that upturned channel around the perimeter. It was already scrap, so I gave it a shot. I'm glad I did. Here's the failed top half-



This is the same part, after about an hour of work-





For a completely flogged piece of metal, it turned out pretty well. I literally flipped it inside out and only had two small cracks on the edge. Very fast to accomplish, too. The surface would probably be smoother if I had any idea this experiment was going to work out so well. I really didn't think it was going to be any kind of success.



I hit these with the gas torch and a scrap of trimmed metal for filler and that seemed to work well.



Now that the top and bottom were getting close, I spent some time trying to smooth things. A couple of dollies (including one nice comma dolly I got from Dan Shady at the RR because I thought it looked exactly right for this project) and a polished flipper/slapper I made from an old file and surfaces are much better.



These will be painted, not polished. No abrasives yet and they're not perfect, but are getting better.

While I still had a long but uneven edge on the top half, I needed to turn a flange on the top part (per original) of consistent width. I made a tipper with a stand-off length on one side equal to the desired flange width. Another experiment, so I used a piece of scrap hardwood. It worked good enough that I would make others in more durable metal.





After the top flange was turned, the bottom was trimmed and trial fitting proceeded until things were acceptable.

I had an ongoing concern about how flat the pieces were & weren't, especially the top. they were close and I thought/hoped things might relax once I cut out the hole in the top half. Patience was the right approach. When I cut out the top and turned the flange, it settled down a lot.





Assembled, most of the fit is pretty good at present. The only problem is the filter protrudes above the top near the front of the assembly, up to 1/4" max. The bottom ring where the filter sits is not adequately level, so I'm going to stretch it a little deeper before I finish joining the top & bottom halves.






Some of the originals had spot welds to supplement the crimped flange. I'll add those after the fit is resolved and more is planished smooth. There will be more posted as it wraps up, but this is it for today.
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Old 09-06-2018, 01:10 PM
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MP&C MP&C is offline
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Clint, thanks for compiling the pictures for your project, looks like you're making some good progress!
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Old 09-06-2018, 02:29 PM
galooph galooph is offline
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That's a neat trick with those radius hammerforms, one to remember! Ingenious use of the drill too, who needs a lathe?
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Old 09-06-2018, 03:23 PM
Jaroslav Jaroslav is online now
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Amazing work really, but it hurts my hands already according to photos .....
Can not use bead roller? Or, for the EW method, see http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=18071

Lot of energy
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Old 09-06-2018, 04:57 PM
cliffrod cliffrod is offline
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Thanks for the good words, guys. So many have posted info that has helped me and I greatly appreciate it. Maybe something here will help someone else.

Jaroslav- Bead roller parts for a build are accumulating. So are more parts for my EW, as well as planning about how to fit that bead roller and a lathe & mill into my shop to expand my options. No matter, this is infinitely more gentle on my hands & body compared to my day job. Check out my website & watch a few videos...

The radius hammerforms are very simple to make and use. When building them, I used three pieces of wood, with two screwed together and the metal shoe(s) attached on one end to the outer of these two pieces. The third piece was pre drilled before being tightly clamped into position, so I could tap it in/out to adjust it before it was also screwed into place.

For the minor steel shoes with only a single step of steel, I did the bevel by eye and used a pointer to keep the center tight to the desired radius and making the outer edges slightly flared by comparison. Regardless, beveling or rounding the edges on left & right of all metal parts so there are no sharp edges or corners is necessary to keep from making bad witness marks. Even if you don't strike the edge or corner, the metal stretches against them and it makes more work to clean up.

Trying to figure out how to resolve the initial fit issue with the top, I thought about making longer hammerforms or extending the ones I have to hold the metal so it could be stretched into place. Finding better information in Book 5 solved the problem before I made them.

Spent some more time working on it this afternoon. I was able to gain the needed depth. I also opened up a couple of cracks where I had scarred the metal, which I suspected would happen. So I've been trying to uncrack them....

Things happen pretty fast when welding Well-hammered 24g. Pictures aren't needed amongst friends. Looks like the next step will be to weld in a couple of patches. Lots of good practice before I give in and make a new bottom half.
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Old 09-07-2018, 12:27 PM
Turbo57 Turbo57 is offline
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I think this is really good, ty for sharing
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Old 09-07-2018, 02:40 PM
Jaroslav Jaroslav is online now
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Beautiful work, but a little scary. I recently crossed sometthing disease and I was close to ... ... your business.
I recently drove around Stuttgart - Germany. At the road to the right in the house and on it a Psychologist sign. Under the road to the left, the sale of monuments to graves. Great place for a psychologist's place ..... I believe he gives people nice lessons. Something like: if you did not understand me, make a visit place under the road .......

Black humor, why not ....

To your work about sheet metall. I think you're using a very demanding way. That was my comment.
Your results are very good. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 09-07-2018, 05:31 PM
Charlie Myres Charlie Myres is offline
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I think this is the best instructional post I have read on this site!

Cliffy you have a natural talent, not only with your hands, but also with the pen.

Fantastic work too by the way!

Cheers Charlie
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Old 09-07-2018, 06:16 PM
cliffrod cliffrod is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Myres View Post
I think this is the best instructional post I have read on this site!

Cliffy you have a natural talent, not only with your hands, but also with the pen.

Fantastic work too by the way!

Cheers Charlie
You didn't have to be that kind, Charlie- you had me at "Cliffy"! Two old friends always call me Cliffy- especially when we were drunk...- and I hadn't been drinking with either of them for years. You really made me smile. Thanks, man.

I'm sure there are easier ways to do this work. I spent several hours today cutting a granite cross with my favorite 6 lb hammer, 4 lb handset and 2+ lb chisel. swinging a little metalwork hammer what weighs less than my chisel is not hard by comparison. Metal gives a lot easier than stone does, too. totally different feel and experience.

This project was an experiment to see what I (or others) could do with as few "big" tools/equipment as possible. My studio is well-equipped and supported. metal like this is still a hobby. my Hand Built EW from Peter is my only significant dedicated metal tool. Didn't really need the EW for this project and hoped by showing what I did & how that it might help others here accomplish more with less dedicated metal working machines.

carving stone/wood/etc means removing material. Clay sculpting/modeling means adding material. Metal work is simply moving the already-present surface into place. The minimalist approach, tools included, means a lot to me. Nothing like making your tools to use to make your work. Very cool stuff.

Just gotta get this one done to justify starting on my Guzzi Corsa project.....

Thanks again, guys.
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