Bedford TK

[mylesdw]

Sounds good, can you describe the process? I don't know much about sheet metalwork.

 

[KimB]

Sounds good, can you describe the process? I don't know much about sheet metalwork.

So he's saying. Carve in wood the shape of the part, you'll end up with what is essentially a die and punch, the punch is male and the die will be female. The punch essentially fits inside the die but when doing so it'd have the steel between both parts forming the shape of the cut out section.

Hope that makes sense

 

[mylesdw]

Thanks Kim. Presume the wood would have to be quite massive. Then sandwich the whole thing between steel plates in a press?

 

[Chris Stevens]

Measure the depth of your pressing, female part needs to be a little thicker than that. Plywood would probably do the job ok. Get a jigsaw cut out the outline of your pressing in it, and after shaping you can use the blank you have cut out as the male press tool. Should be able to press it on a bench press of around 10 tons, but would need to use relatively thin material if you have wooden tools.

 

[jpmillermatic]

Ive seen some folks use a big sandbag and hammer out the shape onto something that can conform to the shape. Might be your best bet. or, as you say, you can do it in sections. Perhaps if overwhelming, you could farm that part out to a metal shaper and do the rest yourself?....(personally, I would at least have a go at it...)

great project!

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

thinking more about this...I like the plywood idea...layer your plywood cut to shape as if the old tank part were sitting upside down inside it. It may take 2-3 layers of 1/2" plywood. The pattern can be further smoothed out with grinding wheels, sanding discs, ect......For shaping the metal, heat may be your best friend. heat it, shape it, heat it shape it. Im thinking hammer work as opposed to a press. Cut the final shape of the part AFTER you have formed it. (Im thinking the plywood will look something like a bathroom vanity sink...)

JP

 

[mylesdw]

So encouraged by my forum chums I did some research and decided to have a go at hammer forming.

I made a form out of MDF and also a steel plate to keep the top from bowing

This then bolted together with a piece of 1.4mm steel sandwiched



Then take to it with a ball-paen hammer, the shape starting to show



Continue using the hammer and a piece of round bar



Then finish the return with a rounded off chisel



I took it off the form and built a small anvil to finish it off a bit



I'm reasonable happy with that



I ran the sander over it to see the low spots and it didn't photograph well after that. It's good enough for what I want, as long as I can get it welded in without it leaking

The main thing I learned was that any old ball-paen is much too rough for this job; it look smooth(ish) but put pocks in the surface that I could not hammer out.

 

[Chris Stevens]

You need proper body hammers for jobs like that, but looks fine for the bottom of a tank.

 

[mylesdw]

I have not seen any body hammers nearly as rounded as a ball-pein; they are all much flatter. Perhaps I should have used something like this

 

[Chris Stevens]

Had a look at the price of proper body hammers, wood and steel?

 

[awemawson]

Well done that man

It's always satisfying to try a 'new to you' technique and get a good result.

 

[mylesdw]

Had a look at the price of proper body hammers, wood and steel?

They certainly are dear, and so many shapes and sizes it's difficult to know where to start. Earlier in the build I bought a selection from the local secondhand shop but even the one with the most domed head is nothing like a ball-pein.

 

[RichardM]

I use std hammers but have polished the ball peen head, big bearings are also good to use - make a piece of rod with a concave end to go on the bearing and hit the other end- saves you fingers

 

[jpmillermatic]

man, those are some very good results. perfect for what you need.

JP

 

[mylesdw]

Nothing too exciting. Fitted a new torque link and bushes.

 

[mylesdw]

Got on and finished the tank repair.

I have no access to the back of the patch (obviously)



so I made up some flanges and plug welded them on





I also needed to fit a drain plug so I turned one of the old air fittings down (3/8" NPT)



and a friend with a TIG glued them on. I'm not very good at welding round tight corners with my MIG, especially with the material thicknesses being rather different.



Then I welded the patch to the tank



Well that was cheaper and more interesting than replacing the tank!

 

[Alan Gregory]

I've just acquired this non-runner-

so this topic is going to be extremely useful to me, though my intention is only to get it running for farm use, not to do a beautiful restoration like milesdw.
The globes are 24V, so I'm assuming that it is a 24V system. Can anyone tell me the specification of the two 12V batteries?

 

[mylesdw]

I'm guessing it's a diesel; I have not heard of 24V petrol but that doesn't mean much. I don't think battery spec is critical; any pair of decent batteries that will fit in the tray. Two decent size ones of the sort you might find in a Landcruiser. What engine is yours? I like the sun visor.

 

[Alan Gregory]

Not sure what the engine is, other than it's a 6 cylinder diesel.
Yes, I like the sun visor: haven't seen many around, so I might remove it and check any rot.
My first guess was batteries of the type fitted in my Hilux, JCB, and FE35 tractors, but I'll try to get a better guess: too small, and I'll have starting problems, too big I'll have bank problems! I have a Fiat 45C dozer with a 4 litre engine, and that only has two batteries of the size fitted in a car (a proper car battery, not the titchy ones fitted in newer cars).

 

[jpmillermatic]

nice progress...looks great....

JP