Needs Pictures: 0
Picture(s) thanks: 0
Results 1 to 15 of 49
Thread: F-clamp restoration
-
11th February 2024, 12:20 PM #1New Member
- Join Date
- Feb 2024
- Location
- Sunshine Coast
- Age
- 62
- Posts
- 1
F-clamp restoration
Hi all,
First post so hope I'm in the correct forum...
Finally restoring a set of oldish inherited F-clamps. Stock standard with wooden grips.
Odd question maybe, but what do you call the 'pin' that passes through the collet, handle and screw shaft? I've got as far as 'cutlers rivet' but might be on the wrong track. Pin calipers at 2.9mm (probably 3?).
Appreciate any advice (where to buy would be handy too).
Many thanks.
-
11th February 2024 12:20 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
- Age
- 2010
- Posts
- Many
-
11th February 2024, 03:20 PM #2
-
11th February 2024, 03:56 PM #3Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2023
- Location
- Tasmania
- Posts
- 73
As burraboy said but if you want to add a bit of design, use 3mm (or other size) bronze welding rod.
It's soft enough to peen over.
Don't leave too much protrusion but don't cut to short.
Allow for extra if use pliers to cut. Need to start with square end, not wedge shape from pliers cut
I find that welding rod has many creative uses other than its designed intended purpose
-
12th February 2024, 11:28 AM #4
-
12th February 2024, 01:11 PM #5
Welcome, Adam
Good advice from Burraboy and Avondale.
If you go the nail route, suggest that you anneal the nail to make peening much easier. If the pin is a little loose in its hole, then suggest that you get a slightly thicker one, and re-drill the hole.
-
13th February 2024, 04:44 PM #6Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2017
- Location
- Éire
- Age
- 39
- Posts
- 300
Find some nails you can cut with a heavy pliers, some galvanized ones are softer than others, i.e seek the ones with the heavy coating and no hint of shine to them.
(these are the type used for roofing slates)
Cut off the pointy bit, keeping it longer than needed, and then place the head of the nail down onto your anvil or sledge/club hammer
(what's over the leg of the bench I might add)
a few taps will form a tapered profile of the cut end nicely, holding it with said pliers, as not to bend the nail...
and then chop the head off and pein the other end thereafter.
All the best
Tom
-
13th February 2024, 09:12 PM #7
Graeme, unless you try using a concrete nail or other hardened type you do not need to anneal an ordinary nail, in fact I seriously doubt you can make the bleeding things any softer than they are already. It often says 'bright' steel on the packet, but as far as I can ascertain, that refers to surface finish and nothing else, they are essentially mild steel & don't contain enough carbon to harden. Ordinary nails should peen very nicely straight out of the packet.
I've used nails for rivets many times so I'm pretty confident of that assertion. e.g.: Brass_ironwood laminated.jpg
P.S. I certainly wouldn't use galvanised nails, the zinc will flake like crazy when you start peening & apart from that, the diameters are quite variable & you'll have trouble fitting them to any drill size. If you can get a nail that closely matches a convenient drill size so the nail is a good fit, it makes peening easier. And leaving the head on gives you a good start for peening one end....
Cheers,IW
-
13th February 2024, 10:39 PM #8Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2017
- Location
- Éire
- Age
- 39
- Posts
- 300
These aren't for nice planes though Ian
Cheers on the tip about the carbon content advice.
I wouldn't think twice about using the heaviest coated galvanised nails I could find,
but perhaps I've just got a magic hammer!
5.JPG
-
14th February 2024, 10:21 AM #9GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Oct 2018
- Location
- Dandenong Ranges
- Posts
- 1,906
Like everything there are clouts and there are clouts. A good soft sheet nail (with a thin, easily squished flathead) would be perfect. My plumber also gets really nice thick clouts from his plumbing supplies mob which don't seem to have heaps of zinc.
-
14th February 2024, 02:52 PM #10
-
17th February 2024, 01:23 PM #11
I was thinking the same about new nails and how soft they already are. And was also thinking what it would be like if ordinary nails were hardened. It could be good?
I just watched this on Instagram and was surprised to see a heat treatment water process happening in old style nail production.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3bbs...I1OWc0b3BuNQ==
-
17th February 2024, 03:28 PM #12GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Nov 2007
- Location
- melbourne australia
- Posts
- 2,657
I wonder what happened to Adam? I hope he's OK.
-
17th February 2024, 06:19 PM #13
Rob, I wonder if that heat treatment is simply to blue the nails & make them a bit more rust-resistant? I've extracted & re-used quite a few old cut nails, and lots of blued tacks & all of them were soft like wire nails. But p'raps some were hardened for special purposes, in which case they ,they would have to have at least 0.3% carbon, which is 10 times that of mild steel (~0.03%).
If they are using a hardenable steel, they'd surely need to temper after the water quench, a step not shown in the video if they do...
Dunno.
CheersIW
-
18th February 2024, 10:55 AM #14
Ian , That could be why its done . Every cut nail Ive seen has the blue to black looking heat treatment and they don't rust like plain modern ones seem to. They get totally covered in surface rust. The cut nails do have a hardness as in they don't bend well compared to modern nails. They will usually snap if bent 90 degrees.
I went and got three 2.5 inch and took pics Up against a similar size modern which is Gal coated. It was the first one I saw to grab.
The old cut nail and the modern one feel the same to file. And I filed a flat steel scrap bar to compare and they all felt the same .
The old cut nails snap every time they were bent 90 degrees and the modern don't do that they just bend. I don't know if that's a hardness thing or a product that's not fully developed yet. Probably the later. The old cut nails have a flaky laminated look to the break.
IMG_5757a.jpg IMG_5760a.jpg IMG_5762a.jpg
Rob
-
18th February 2024, 10:56 AM #15Senior Member
- Join Date
- Feb 2023
- Location
- Perth
- Posts
- 408
Still making them, as I sure your know. Couldn't see a post heat treatment process but pretty sure the plates are hot when cut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL9HSmIzWIs
Similar Threads
-
KANT-TWIST Round Handle Clamp 3/4", Clamp Mfg 396
By MWF FEED in forum METALWORK FORUMReplies: 0Last Post: 9th August 2019, 06:00 PM -
Panel clamp, sash clamp, pipe clamp, steamed clam-ps?!
By gatesy in forum WOODWORK - GENERALReplies: 2Last Post: 10th June 2018, 12:03 AM -
F clamp or bar clamp instead of expensive hold fast.
By woodhog in forum HAVE YOUR SAYReplies: 2Last Post: 4th November 2014, 07:51 AM -
Clamp/G Clamp Storage.
By Scott in forum WOODWORK - GENERALReplies: 0Last Post: 7th December 2011, 08:11 PM