Thread: Help - Need to find tapered drift (Lathe helper?)

I'm not sure about the diameter your starting with and what you want to finish it at ?

I'm not quite sure how you will hold the tube when trying to force a tapered thingo into it.

But what I have done in the past is to put a suitable piece of round stock firmly in the vise with a radius
ground on the end, heat the tube, tap tap tap tap, turn a bit, tap tap tap tap, turn a bit, tap tap tap tap,
reheat, tap tap tap tap and so on till you expand to the right size all the way around, you will have to go
around a few times tho and develop the technique as you go

Not sure what type of finish you are after either ? Do you like the dimpled look ?
A flap disc and emery tape and a bit of polishing could remedy the dimples


Maybe have a practice first, also, you can only grow it so far.

john

Originally Posted by shedhappens

I'm not sure about the diameter your starting with and what you want to finish it at ?

It really depends on the piece. The piece I was trying to reshape last night had an ID of 35mm. With a mandrel tapering from 33mm to 45, I have scope for different sizes. The reason I am not looking at say under 33mm is that if you lengthen the mandrel taper then it protrudes into the pipe too far and can get caught on the bend. So the shorter (within reason) the better.

Originally Posted by shedhappens

I'm not quite sure how you will hold the tube when trying to force a tapered thingo into it.

I have made a jig out of Aluminum to hold the pipe in place whilst I try to re-shape the end.

Originally Posted by shedhappens

But what I have done in the past is to put a suitable piece of round stock firmly in the vise with a radius
ground on the end, heat the tube, tap tap tap tap, turn a bit, tap tap tap tap, turn a bit, tap tap tap tap,
reheat, tap tap tap tap and so on till you expand to the right size all the way around, you will have to go
around a few times tho and develop the technique as you go

Thanks for the suggestion. I have tried hitting on just a round aluminum bar inside the pipe, but had no success at all in getting it to reshape.

Originally Posted by shedhappens

Not sure what type of finish you are after either ? Do you like the dimpled look ?
A flap disc and emery tape and a bit of polishing could remedy the dimples

Dimples are a no-go. The work is somewhat decorative so anything that will dimple the pipe is not favorable.

Originally Posted by shedhappens

Maybe have a practice first, also, you can only grow it so far.

I think the mandrel is really the only way to go. I have read reports of success with this technique so it looks like it might be the only way for a hobbyist. I do not need to stretch the pipe much. Usually 1mm would be tons. I can try some heat with a mandrel and see if this works.

If you can give a more specific location (Australia is a bit broad) there may be someone near by that can assist.

Michael

Originally Posted by Michael G

If you can give a more specific location (Australia is a bit broad) there may be someone near by that can assist.

Michael

Thanks for the tip Michael. I am down in Tasmania. A member has kindly sent me a PM with an offer to make the mandrel. I am fortunate there is such a great community here. I was really hitting a dead end at every stop.