Deep Throat Kick Shrinker-Stretcher Group Design/Build

[Librarian]

The History behind the Deep Throat Kick Shrinker-Stretcher Group Purchase is a long and convoluted series of steps that evolved into the current version of the machine. There have been many folks involved in the process, and the chronology is fuzzy at best, but I will try to piece the events together the best that I can. The original information was unfortunately lost in the black hole that is the Metalmeet Dark Ages, and is being recreated here with the help of the original contributors.

The story begins back in 2002, when there were some discussions between Wray Schelin, Dutch Comstock, Ron Naida, and Jay Hayes around the possibility of building a 12” throat machine using Eckold shrinking dies that Ron had on one of this machines, and really liked using. At the time, the Eckold dies were only available installed on machines, not separately, so Jay was going to look into reproducing the urethane inner pieces, and some of the other parts as well. Jay visited Ron at his shop, and borrowed the set of Eckold dies to research. Also, Dutch has a prototype military version of the original Marchant style Kick Shrinker-Stretcher, so Dutch disassembled the machine and made up a set of drawings of the original components. Jay Hayes did some modifications to the original design to accommodate all available dies, Erco, Eckold, and of course Marchant. Jay was also working on the necessary material thickness for the various components, because the original was a military version, and was grossly overbuilt. Dutch supplied Jay with a standard Marchant Die set, and he had Ron’s set of Eckold dies to work with. There was also some discussion about adding air power to the new design, because the original had been fitted with air. As far as I can determine, that was as far as the project got at that time.

The project was resurrected in 2006 when Bob Baisden, Bill Firth, and James Bowler became interested in building machines, and tracked down the original tracings and notes that Dutch and Jay Hayes had produced. They took up the mantle, and began the project anew. Bob Baisden took the original drawings and information that Dutch and Jay had compiled, and converted them to AutoCAD designs of the machine. Bob told Bennett Chapmen about the project, who in turn mentioned the project to Kerry Pinkerton who jumped in along with James and Bill, and negotiated the purchase of three sets of Eckold dies from Tom Brotz at Klassic Tool Crib, for use in the first generation machines. Bennett Chapman, using Baisden’s drawings, arranged through Chris Jeffers, a friend of Bennett’s who worked for O’Neal Steel, to have a set of steel blanks flame cut and delivered to Bennett’s shop in Carrolton Georgia. Chris converted Bob’s AutoCAD drawings to cut-profiles needed to work on his company’s flame cutting machine.

The 1st Prototype Build was done at Bennett’s shop, and produced the first Prototype machine. Bob, Bennett, and Kerry did all the machine work required to assemble the 1st Prototype Machine. There were some refinements done to the design, and the Prototype Machine was fitted with Eckold Shrink dies. The machine went home with Kerry, and Bob went about updating his CAD files. See Post #2 for pictures of the work on the 1st Prototype.

The information gathered from the Prototype Build was incorporated into the design, and, the First Production Run of 10 machines was ordered through Chris at O’Neal Steel. It was decided to outsource the bulk of the machine work to Ray Ferguson, a machinist friend of Kerry’s, in Huntsville Alabama, to take advantage of the price break that Ray was able to offer because of the number of units being done. See Post #3 for pictures of the work being done in Ray's shop. Ray converted the Cad design to be compatible with his CNC machinery, and he worked with Kerry setting up the jigs, and getting everything right. Satisfied with the process, Ray went ahead and finished the work on eight of the 10 machines, two each for Kerry, Bob, and Dutch, one each for Bennett and Joe, with Gator opting to do the machine work on his pair himself. Joe Hartson worked with Ray to put together a Parts Kit, to support the machine work being done by Ray. Ray also created drawings for an adaptor to make Eckold dies work on the new design.

The 1st Production Build was done at Kerry’s shop, where he and Joe took two newly machined sets, and produced the first Production Machines, using both the Marchant and Eckold style die sets. See Post #4 of this thread for the detailed Build Documentary of the 1st Production Build. The members of this first group, including Bill Firth, kicked in a little extra for their sets, and they went on to build two machines for Dutch, and presented them to him at the 2007 International Meet in Oblong.

An additional run of 5 machines was begun immediately, in response to the continued interest in the machines spurred on by the ongoing Group Build Documentary. Machine blanks were supplied once again by Chris Jeffers, which were then hauled to Ray Ferguson’s shop in Huntsville by Bennett Chapman. When the machine work was finished, the sets were picked up by Joe Hartson, and hauled to Oblong. Two sets for Rick Tucker, two for Bill Firth, and Joe kept one for himself. Gator had decided to have Ray do the machine work on his pair, and those were delivered to him at Oblong at the same time.

There have been other group purchases, but the details are sketchy, so I'm not going to try to figure those out here.

If "anyone in the know" has additional information, please feel free to PM me so that I can incorporate it into the Documentary. Either pictures or historical commentary would be appreciated. Thanks

AMS Librarian

[Librarian]

Here's a few pictures of the First Prototype Build at Bennett's shop. Appears to have been fitted with an Eckold dieset.

[Librarian]

Here are a few pictures of machine work done by Ray Ferguson, on the First Production Run. No particular order, and no commentary, just an idea of the processes used.

[Librarian]

Group Build Deep Throat Shrinker/Stretcher

Introduction:

The following is supplied free of charge on Allmetalshaping.com for anyone that wants to build one of these machines. Considerable effort has been made by many people to design and build a deep throat Shrinker-stretcher that can be used to help shape metal parts. The builder accepts all responsibility for making sure that the machine meets his or her requirements and that they possess the skills and knowledge to build the necessary parts and safely assemble the machine. Neither Allmetalshaping.com, nor the authors or those involved in the development of this machine accept any responsibility or liability for the design, build or use of these machines. This machine is for private use only and is not to be used for commercial purposes or profit.

Note: All suppliers mentioned in the following documentation are the ones used to procure materials, parts and services used to complete Prototype and the 1st Production machines. Anyone choosing to build one of these machines should shop around for the suppliers they want to purchase their materials from. The authors of this document have no connection with any of the vendors or supplier other than being a satisfied customer.

Anyone considering building one or more of these machines should be aware that this is not a complete kit that you can buy and assemble. The builder is responsible for all of the parts and hardware needed for the build. Suggestions will be made as to what is needed and where to purchase these parts, but they are only suggestions. The builder will make the final decisions on what to use and where they purchase or obtain the parts and materials needed.

There are some safety items that the builder must recognize when building one of these machines.

The parts on this machine are heavy and there are some close tolerance parts that have to be made and fitted. You will need some kind of lifting device and a good size sturdy worktable to assemble this machine. There is machining required, (lathe and mill work), welding and assembly of the parts required to build the machine.

These parts are heavy enough that if you use your fingers to check for hole alignment and something slips, you could be minus a finger. Use the proper tools to align the components.

Putting one of these machines together by yourself can be a problem and it is recommended that you have a helper that is familiar with working with the builder and knows how to work on machines of this type and size.

The safest way to build this machine is to assemble the unit on a table and then using an overhead lifting device to mount it on its base. The following documentation shows what is needed to assemble the machine and how it was built. This is not the only way to build the machine but it is one way to check the fit and proper operation of the parts during assembly. It also helps you understand the operation of the machine and the interrelationship of the parts and how they work together.


Build documentation:

The first production or non-prototype machine was built at Kerry Pinkerton’s shop August 15 –17, 2007. A couple of minor problems were found during the build and were corrected. Ray Ferguson has made the changes to his drawings. The changes made position the front edge of the kick arm even with the nose or front of the machine. This allows the operator more room to work the machine and shortens the operator’s leg reach into the machine base.
There were some minor modifications made to the front gib and additional grease points were added for the dog bone. Additional modifications were made to the top rocker arm, and to the kicker arm. See pictures below for details of the modifications.





Following are some pictures of Group Build Shrinker/Stretchers. There is one machine from each of the three builds. From right to left 1st build, 2nd build, 3rd build. Note the difference in the foot pedals. The third build machine has a slightly different base frame to give more clearance and an 12" adjustable foot pedal. Each machine has a different dies. I still have to relieve the jaw section of the head to give more clearance on the new build machine. The older build machines have 50 pounds of weight on the foot pedal and the new build machine has 60 pounds. I closed the clearance on the back legs on the new machine so I couldn't use the 25 pound weights because they wouldn't clear the legs.




This is the head of the new build with Eckold dies installed.



This shows the foot pedal of the new build with the pedal retracted.



This shows the foot pedal of the new build with the pedal extended 12".



Eckold dies installed in new build machine. The adaptors are some that I made.



These are the Marchant style shrinker die that were purchased from Neil Dunder at Gitzit.



These are the Marchant style stretcher dies that were purchased from Neil Dunder at Gitzit.



These machines work very well and for the price of the build you just can't beat them.




















Where the Materials are used:



Item 1 In the head assembly the hold alignment of the side and center plates.

Item 2 In the head assembly to hold the head assembly together.

Item 3 4 used to bolt the head assembly to the base plate of the stand.
2 used to bolt the front gib to the nose.

Item 3a 1 used to bolt the bottom die to the lower jaw.

Item 4 Used to bolt the brass ends to the center section of the dog bone.

Item 5 Used to lock the pivot shafts in place. One is in the kicker leg and one in the top rocker arm.

Item 6 Used as the adjusting screw, it screws into the barrel nut in the top rocker arm.

Item 6a 4 Used in the front gib for adjustment and allow for tightening of holding screws.

Item 7 These are the pivot pin bushings that are pressed into the head assembly and reamed to size.

Item 8 Pressed into the top rocker arm. The barrel nut will fit in this bushing and has to be installed prior to the
hole being machined in the top of the rocker arm where the adjusting screw fits.

Item 9 These act as the pivots on the end of the dog bone.

Item 10 This is the center section of the dog bone.

Item 11 One is used for the base plate to mount the head assembly to and will become part of the stand. One is used
for the foot pedal and is welded to the kicker leg.

Item 12 This is used to make the barrel nut and is tapped 1”- 14tpi for the adjusting screw. This part can be
Purchased from Ray Ferguson.

Item 13 This is used to make for front gib that holds the die place. It is a machined part and is fitted to the machine to hold the upper die in place.

Item 14 This is used to make the rear gib that fits behind the die.

Item 15 Used to hold weighs and is welded to the kicker leg.

Item 16 These are the return spring for the upper die and fit in holes drilled in the nose of the head assembly.

Item 17 This is the hand wheel that is attached to the adjusting screw.

Item 18 Four are used in the ends of the pivot pins so the pins and bushing can be greased. Two are used to grease
the dog bone one in the kicker leg and one in the rocker arm.

Item 19 These are used to level the machine and stop it from moving around during operation.

Item 20 Mounted on the kick arm to give additional force to the dies.

Item 21 Used as front and rear stop for the kicker leg to contact and give rebound and stop over travel.

Item 22 Used to position and hold the weights in place on the kicker leg.

Item 23 Mounts in the mouth of the machine. It is up to the builder to select the type and style of dies.


Depending on where you live most of these items can be found locally at your fastener supplier, steel supplier, bearing supplier or hardware store. McMaster-Carr, MSC, Enco or other catalog supply house can also supply the materials needed.

If you're having Ray Ferguson machine your frames, you'll need to either provide him with, or ask him to supply the hardware needed to assemble the head. This includes the bushings, bolts, dowel pins. He'll charge you for his time and costs. Some of the raw material he has in his stock but you'll still have to pay for it and any machine work. Ray can be contacted at ralrinc@hiwaay.net.



Parts build:

Overview of machined parts required.




Pivot pins:

The material used is 1-1/4” cold roll steel. The length of the pins is 4.540” long. Each end of the pin is drill 1” deep and tapped for the ¼”- 28 tpi Zerk grease fittings. The shafts are cross drilled all the way through with a 1/8” drill at ¾” in from each end to intersect with the hole drilled in the end. A 1/8” x .030” deep groove is cut around the shaft. If desired the Zerk fittings can be counter sunk into the ends of the shaft. In the center of the shaft is a 1/2” wide x .030” deep groove that allows the pin to be locked in place after it is installed in the machine. The groove position should be marked on the end of the shaft so it can be aligned with the set screw.




Mounting plate for base:

This is the mounting plate that the legs for the base will be welded to. The plate is ½” x 6” x 13” long. Four 9/16” holes are drilled on a 3” x 10” spacing about the centerline of the plate. The centerline of the drilled holes, on the flat end of the plate, are located 1” from the end. The groove at the end of the plate is 1-5/8” wide x 3-1/2” long and cut out along the centerline of the plate. This cutout is to give the kicker leg clearance to operate.



Foot pedal:

The foot pedal is made from a plate ½” x 6 x 12” long and will be welded to the kicker leg. The pattern machined in the plate is not needed and is just there to look pretty.



Hand wheel and adjusting screw:

The hand wheel in the picture was purchased as a rough casting and then machined. I would not recommend this unless you don’t mind spending hours cleaning up the lathe because cast iron makes a big mess. I would purchase a finished and chrome plated hand wheel from MSC or others that will only require the center hole to be machined to fit the threaded rod. There are many ways attach the hand wheel to the threaded rod. The way shown with the key is an overkill but that is the way I chose to do it. It is recommended that the radiused end of the shaft be case hardened to reduce ware and deformation under use. This can easily be done by heating the end of the shaft and using Kasenit following the instructions on the can.

Other options that work just as well, include threading the hand wheel to match the threaded rod with a nut on each side. Another would be to put a set screw in the hand wheel and tighten it up on the threaded rod. There are a lot of ways to accomplish the same thing.



Front stop:

The front stop is on the machine to cushion the pedal on the return stroke. A piece of 2” x 2” x 4” long Urethane was use and bolted to a piece of 2” x 2” angle welded to the base mount. That is what we had so we used it. Anything that will cushion the return can be used.



Gibs:

The front gib can be made out of either aluminum or steel. What we used was a ½” x 3 x 4-1/2” long piece of 6061 aluminum. The outside edges were relieved, undercut, .062” leaving the raised section 1.400” wide. Two 9/16” holes were drilled on 3” centers to match the holes on the nose. Four hole were drilled and tapped for ¼ - 20 x ½” long set screws. The holes were located so that the screws will contact the face of the nose. The set screws were a modification. This was done to allow the gib to be adjusted and allow tightening the two ½” socket head cap screws that hold the gib in place. It was found that if the screws were only hand tight they would loosen over time and the gib would then be out of adjustment.





The rear gib is made from a piece of 16 gage sheet metal 1-3/16” wide that is formed to fit over the end of the spacer plate that is behind the top dies. See detailed pictures of the shape and installation of the rear gib in the Machine Assembly section.

Dog bone:

The dog bone is what transmits all of the force between the kicker leg and the top rocker arm. It takes all of the force put into the machine by the motion of the operators leg. It is held in place by the machines side plates since a small portion of one of the brass sections fits between the side plates.

The brass sections are 1.123” in diameter and fit into the 1-1/8” open holes in the kicker leg and the top rocker arm. The brass has a ½” wide groove cut along its center half the depth of diameter. It is bolted to a ½” x 1.123” wide x 2” long steel using 10-32 x 5/8” long socket head cap screws. The heads of the socket head cap screws must be counter sunk below the surface of the brass.

Modifications have been made to the Top rocker arm and the Kicker leg to allow grease fitting to be installed to lubricate the dog bone. Without proper lubrication the brass will wear quickly.






Weight bar and shaft collars:

The weight bar is a piece of 1” cold roll round stock 24” long. The shaft collars are made from 2” diameter cold roll 1” long with a 1” drilled hole through the center and clearanced to fit over the shaft. A ½”-13 x 1” long set screw is installed in a drilled and tapped hole. Two shaft collars are required to position and hold the 50 pounds of weight in place. The weight bar is welded to the back of the kicker leg.

[Librarian]

Machine Assembly:

The steel plates as received from O’Neal Steel are flame cut and no cleanup work has been done to soften the edges of the plates or remove any of the mill scale. The top rocker arm must have all of the mill scale removes from both sides of the plate. This will give the clearance needed for the arm to move easily between the side plates. The arm must be smooth and not have any burrs or high spots. A grinder with a flap disc was used initially to remove the scale followed by a belt sander to smooth the plate on both sides. Check the bushing to make sure they are not standing proud which will cause an interference with the top rocker arm. Slide the top rocker arm into head assembly and make sure that it moves freely in the space.
Soften the edges of all of the other flame cut parts with a grinder and or file. This makes things fit together better and lessen the chances of being cut when handling the plates.

Slide the pivot pins in the pivot pin holes to make sure they fit properly. Also try the pins in the top rocker arm and in the kicker leg.

Test fit the dog bone in the top rocker arm and the kicker leg. It should slide in easily and not bind when it is moved in it hole.

Place the head assembly on its side on a table and place something across the lower pivot hole so that the pivot pins can be installed but stick out of the top hole. You are going to assemble the top rocker arm and kicker leg on the outside of the head to check for proper fit and alignment. This will also let you see the relationship of the parts and how they interact.

Place the top rocker arm on the appropriate pin. Next place the kicker leg on its pin. Make sure that both the arm and leg move freely. Now move the arm and leg so that the dog bone can be installed. Watch for pinch points when doing this. Move the kick arm and watch the relationship of the dog bone. At rest the dog bone should be almost vertical or perpendicular to the base of the head. When the kicker leg is moved so that the two pivot pins and the dog bone is in line you are at the point of maximum generated force. See the pictures for clarification.

Top rocker plate with mill scale removed:


Dog bone end of kicker leg:


Cleaning mill scale off top rocker plate:


Smoothing the top rocker plate:


Position of machine at rest top view. Note the position of the
toe of the leg directly in line with front of the machine nose:


Position of machine at rest end view:


Shows relationship of parts. Note that the dog bone is parallel with front of the machine:


This is the position of the parts when the machine is at rest:


Tightening the locking screw on pivot pin:


Machine assembled ready to install pivot pin for the kicker leg:


Weight bar welded to kicker leg:


Rear gib ready to install:


Rear gib ready to snap in place:


Rear gib in place:


Rear gib:


Mounting machine on stand:


Machine on stand:


Installing adjusting screw and hand wheel:


Weights mounted on rod welded to kicker leg:


Foot pedal welded on kicker leg:


Compressing return spring:


Die spring under top die plate:


Upper die being installed over return springs:


Front gib in place:



Die Information:

There are several options on the dies that can be used in this machine. The machine was designed so that Marchant Form Factor dies will fit into the machine without any need for special tool holders. Other styles of dies can be used but tool holders will have to be fabricated to make them fit the machine. The GITZIT Marchant style dies are very good and work well in the machine and give the best result when working on flat material. If you are trying to work with a panel that has some compound shape in it the Eckold die probably do a better job from what has been tried so far. The cost of the dies are approximately the same when you consider the tool holder that has to be made. Eckold and Erco dies do not come with tool holders while the GitZit Marchant style dies do. Eckold dies are available with a fine or medium ‘tooth’. Kerry ordered the fine tooth faces for his shrinker dies and reports they work very nice.

The Marchant style dies that we used were purchased from Neil Dunder at www.gogitzit.com. Neil can be reached at (317)984-4660 or (317)645-5724 or email at sales@gogitzit.com

Gitzit
P.O. Box 202
Cicero, IN 46034

The Eckold dies were purchased from Tom Brotz at:

[Librarian]

Stand build:

There are many ways to build a stand for these machines. The following is the design that was used for the three machines that are used on the machines built at Kerry’s Shop. You can use it or design one that meets your needs.

The base is constructed using 2” x 2” x 1/4” angle iron for the frame and ½” x 6”x 13” long flat bar for the top mounting base. The base is 2 feet wide and 3 feet long with adjustable feet at each corner. There are several ways to make the feet for the machine to accept the adjustable non skid machinery feet. On one machine 2” round bar was used and on the other machines 2” x 2” x .062 wall tubing with a ¼” plate welded on one end. The feet are needed to stop the machine from moving around when the foot pedal is operated. If you don’t want to use feet you with either have to bolt the machine to the floor or follow it around the shop as you use it. The base was designed so that a pallet jack could be used to move the machines around. If you are not going to do this, you could do without the risers and adjust the height accordingly. This machine weights more than 500 lbs when assembled with the weights in place. The non skid feet means you will not be able to slide it around so plan on some type of moving scheme such as using an engine hoist.


First the base structure was constructed from the 2” x 2” x 1/4” angle iron with the feet attaching blocks welded in place at each corner. The base was then clamped to the table as seen in the pictures. The top attaching plate was made and screwed to the head assembly. A line was drawn on the table at the centerline location of the frame so that the head assembly can be positioned on the centerline of the base and at the height distance determined by the builder. Base height will vary depending on the individual that will be using the machine. The head assembly is placed with the nose against the table and on centerline. Measurements are then taken for the legs and cuts are made so that the angles fit from the top attaching plate to the base plate. The angle legs are then tacked in place.


Base frame clamped to table:


Mounting plate bolted in place:


Head assembly positioned on Center Line of base:


Legs welded in place:


Round style foot mount with rubber foot mounted:


Front view of base complete:


Rear view of top mounting plate:


Quarter view of stand:


Side view of stand without feet installed:

Note that the front legs are positioned so that the nose
of the machine will be even with the bottom of the stand:


Side view of stand with feet installed:

[Librarian]

There are subtle variations in the Versions, so I thought I would document how to recognize the differences. Here's what I found.......

Version 0:
The Prototype Machine was a one-off implementations that I will call Version 0.

Version 1:
This version has a small recess at the rear of the right hand side plate, to allow the dog-bone to be installed and removed. It was found that the dog-bone was best off left captive between the two side plates, so the Dog-bone Recess was abandoned in subsequent runs.

Version 2:
This version abandoned the Dog-bone Recess.

Version 2a:
In this version, the kick-leg thickness was reduced to 1". A weight and cost reduction improvement.

Version 3:
This is the final version, and is easily recognized by the Flat Back of the side plates, and retained the thin kick leg.











This is how some of the machines turned out.......

Kerry's......



Gator's......



Joe's.....



Rondo's......



Tuck's......