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Old 07-18-2010, 08:26 PM
29jay 29jay is offline
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Default 1st time Bomber Seats

I decided to build myself a set of Aluminum Bumber style seats for my '29 Model A Sedan. I have not ever worked with aluminum before. I bought 3003-H14 0.063 on the recomedation from a buddy...

Here are a few pick of what I got done today. I would love some tips and suggestions on what I could do better on the hammer form. I'm not sure it is turning out as smooth as I though...

I did plan on building 3 seats so I could end up with 2 good ones...

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Last edited by jhnarial; 07-18-2010 at 08:43 PM.
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Old 07-18-2010, 08:44 PM
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jhnarial jhnarial is offline
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Add more wood to the bottom, so you can hammer the metal to the wood. Have you annealed the aluminum?
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Old 07-18-2010, 09:05 PM
29jay 29jay is offline
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Is the extra wood how I handle the shrinking? that was the part that was making me crazy... I made a 12" bowl out of this stuff to learn something about it...

I "think" I did... but only after I became frustrated with beating on it... How do I know I did it enough? I was told a light sut from the torch and heat until the metal is covered in black...
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Old 07-18-2010, 10:16 PM
Andyman Andyman is online now
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Do you need to move that much metal around the edge. You might only need 1/2 to 3/4 and it would be easier to control and shrink on the form.
Burning the soot off should anneal the metal well. Soot build up is not very uniform and you can get the metal too hot trying to take the thick spots off.

Andy
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Old 07-18-2010, 10:25 PM
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I agree with Andy

I suggested adding more wood so you could crush the tucks out over the wood. I'm not sure how much extra material you left but I would only leave yourself an extra 1/4''. The more you leave the more metal you have to move and the harder it will be. It's not easy, so no reason to make it any harder.
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Old 07-18-2010, 10:45 PM
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Jay I think Andy has answered it for you - make that edge a lot shorter.
Don't know ho the rest of your design will look, but here's some I made:




The edge was only a little more than 1/2" - just enough to rivet the back/sides piece to. I bent the front edge in a bender. This is about 1.25" high and will retain a cushion nicely - believe me you don't want to be sitting on the raw metal for any length of time!!

For the wired edge on the back piece, I turned it after bending to shape (with a brace clamped on to hold the curve) on the first set I made. Next set I wired the edge of the flat piece first and then formed the curvature.Jury is out on which was easier. Certainly less marking working in the flat, but obviously getting the radius was tough. I ran it through a slip roll with a piece of masonite in place to take up the gap and prevent the wired edge from being crushed/marked too much. Still needed some encouragement with a rubber mallet to bring it around.
Beads were added last - all done in the Nibbler(like a Pullmax) and a prestretched all of them a little first. Seats are made from 0.60" 5052 and are quite sturdy. The base/riser you see in the pics was braced afterwards too.

Look forward to seeing your progress - hope this^^ is useful to you in some way.

Last edited by Barry; 07-18-2010 at 10:49 PM.
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Old 07-19-2010, 12:13 AM
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I have had some odd things happen when using the soot method of annealing aluminum (thick spots and holes, mostly). I much prefer running a black marker over the surface and then burning it off from the backside. I generally use a propane torch for annealing, since I find it much more controllable.

The ink in the marker (Marks-a-Lot or Sharpie, depending on the size and what's at hand) is carbon based, and once the carbon burns off, the aluminum is annealed.

The others have answered the other question - either more wood for the hammerform or reduce the amount of metal you are moving.

Tim D.
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Old 07-19-2010, 07:13 AM
29jay 29jay is offline
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It sounds like a re-do on the base. Y'all have given me some great ideas! I am going to give it another go. I will keep adding to this as make progress. Thank you for the help!
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Old 07-19-2010, 07:52 AM
cwilliamrose cwilliamrose is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tdoty View Post
I have had some odd things happen when using the soot method of annealing aluminum (thick spots and holes, mostly).
I found the same thing Tim. Instead of going to a marker pen I use the OA torch with a less than full rich flame. A little OČ will produce a thinner soot coating that doesn't tempt you to overheat to burn off. I have had good success since I started doing this. I don't like marker pens because it's difficult to get good coverage on large parts without spending a bunch of time. The torch is quick.
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Old 07-19-2010, 04:12 PM
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I don't see no reason to re-do it. The metal is dumb just fix it and the metal will never know.

Hammer it smooth enough so you can trim it and keep hammering on it until it is smooth. After looking at Barry seats I have a better understanding on what you are doing. From what I see it's going to be hidden anyways. You just need it smooth enough so it will fit up with the back and sides.
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