I was trying to heat a spring to reduce some of the pressure it took to compress it. This did'nt go to plan. I've tried quenching it to turn it springy again but it has no effect. Any suggestions? It's a small spring from a domestic appliance ..read more

Hi My son wants to make some strongman equipment. Currently he wants "Dinnie Stone" handles (basically a round steel ring handle with a hanging tube for silly heavy weights). There are large and small stone "classes" so rings seem to be: Large 3/4 " rod ring 125mm internal diameter Small 9/16 rod 100mm id. Looked at DC iron etc and Boat Chandlers but they don't have rod diameter and ring diameter. If anyone can offer a couple of each I'd be pleased to pay . They can be open join... Read more ..read more

I’ve been very fortunate to have some slip rolls land in my lap. I haven’t really got a clue how to use them properly. They are (I assume) fairly old with ‘buck and Hickman London’ cast on the legs and are about 3 feet wide and unlikely to blow away. They seem like a fairly straightforward/foolproof piece of equipment, but in my hands all bets are off! So is there anything I should watch out for when having a go? First thing that I’m not sure of is which way the back roller works. Most... Read more ..read more

Finally I’ve reached the front of the foundry queue ..read more

Just unboxed this 18" bead roller. The reduced diameter on the end of one of the bars is longer so the die can't be bolted tight. No idea if this is another Vevor quality issue or is normal ..read more

I don't have much metal forming experience. I'm going for aluminium panels to build the floor, firewall and cabin area of my trials 4x4 buggy. What sort of bead spacings have you found to work? I'm planning on using a cheap eBay/Vevor bead roller. I'm keen to keep the weight low, as it's more of a half go-kart hybrid than a true 4x4. The 2.0 Fox shocks loose effectiveness the closer I get to their ~200kg per corner capacity. What's the thinnest alu I can get away with? I think modern cars... Read more ..read more

This is a photo of one of the tailgate hinges from my 1970s Vauxhall Magnum estate. It has a torsion spring (if that's the correct name) to help lift the tailgate up. To explain the orientation, the bracket with two holes that you see in the top left have the tailgate bolted to the far side of it, and the four holes nearest the camera, near where it says "N/S", are where it bolts upwards into the mounting panel in the back of the roof. The loop to the right sits in a channel in the roof... Read more ..read more

Been thinking of getting a cmz6 powered swager for a while, heaviest material will be 2mm aluminium, does anyone have any feedback on them? Either that or a cmz7r or 8, a 6 will take up less room and the wheels should be smaller ..read more

Hello all. Looking at box pan folders. found one at 4ft, so wide enough for my jobs etc. Yet to go and have a look at it, but before i do i wanted your in put. Most of the time I'll be folding up to 3mm thick, maybe 2ft wide. Im assuming a machine rated to say 2mm at full width (4ft) would manage 3mm at half its max capacity? Or is it not that simple? Also would need to fold 4mm at about 150mm wide, possible? All mild steel. Machine would be manual with counter weights. Dont really have... Read more ..read more

These punch well above their weight ..read more