Cheers Bob! I did a bit on it Saturday and I will finish the other chassis leg tomorrow. I will post some photos of what I have got done in my other thread then. David
Wow! Thanks all of you! Thanks for all the kind words. I will post how I make the rad shells in the very near future. Regards, David
Ok I said I would finish the post of the process of making the screen trim for my friends Duece so below is the section that I formed up for the inner trim, this was done in the same way as the outer section. These two extrusions are intended to go together and leave a gap between for the glass. the outer section has a rebate in it. Below is the two sections together... I will try to get a photo of them fitted to the car. (this is a really nice traditional flathead powered roadster). David
Working in sheet brass is more or less the same as any other metal, its a bit softer than steel and a bit harder than aluminium when it comes to forming. The only real differance is welding the stuff. I do talk about setting up the flame for welding brass on the DVD but it is not something I show. Its not very easy but more on the subject of welding brass when I show how I make the shells. David
Before I show how to make a shell I thought it maight be interesting for some if I showed another shell that I made recently. It was for a MK 4 Jaguar. The customer could not find a replacement and had taken his original shell to be repaired somewhere else. They did this to it... I don't understand why someone would take on a job if they have no idea how to do it. The rest of the shell was almost as bad so I decided to make a new one. David
Dropped it off and wanted it back next day? Sounds like some I know with a lovely '32 roadster... Did he claim to be a poor postman?
Thats the man! To be fair there was a weekend in between. I can't complain he was my best man many years ago and he is rebuilding my 94s in exchange. And he picked up my modified from wee Davey for me so I think I owe him. David
This is the new MK4 JAGUAR shell I made to replace the rotten and botched one I posted earlier. This is a similar shaped shell to the SS100 but its a little different in several areas most notably around the filler neck, this has a bead where the SS100 does not, this took some doing. the bottom of the shell is totally different and the rest of the shell is not the same shape - they just look similar. The process of making this shell is about the same, It is made in five sections (the bottome part is one - two on the SS100) I have some more photos I will put them up when I have time. (got to get on with some work now) David
A couple more photos. the shell is only lightly polished by me in these photos and needs polishing properly before being chrome plated. I have to polish it a bit so I can find any slight imperfections. David
I love the look of the brass,so different and better than chrome soooo why have it chromed ? Looks great and one of a kind as is,just my thoughts..............YG
Beautiful work. As a metallurgical engr, you are correct that the window frame is welded, not brazed. Brass does turn color to red when hot, a good indicator. Just curious why you use brass vs steel, if the final product is going to be chrome plated? Easier forming?
The original shell was chrome plated and the vains (grill bars) being used are the originals so it all has to match. I once made a shell for a really early truck that would have been nickle plated but the Dutch guy I made it for left it in bare brass 'cos he liked it that way. David
Hi Jonathan, the shells I have shown on here so far were all originally stamped. I have made shells that were originally hand made. If a shell was hand made originally it would not usually require any brass welding, or if there was any it would be in a small out of sight area. Welding brass is quite difficult and getting it so it is blemish free requires a lot of care. There are not many people who work in brass (at least not where it needs welding). I started doing it when I was young and did not know any better. David
Thanks for the input, People are often confused by this. I once had a guy phone me up at my business to tell me it was not possible to weld brass- I did not know what to say to him so I just told him I had been doing something to it for the past fifteen years (or whatever length of time it was at the time). Like Henry Ford said If you think you can or if you think you can't you are right in both instances. Its possibly not the same in the States but here in the UK it is hard to get decent chrome plating done. Brass will take chrome a lot better and it will last. Besides the originals were brass. David
I have worked with brass (mostly for interior handrails from extrusions)and can appreciate what David is showing us HAMBer's. It is not easy to work with for the novice and welding it , big sigh ! I had good luck with heliarc but filler and color matches were problematic . Brass has a rich beauty and to me chrome plating just seems wrong ,but that's my 2 centavos. Thank you David for sharing your knowledge. Spence
I think he has all the metal working equip he needs at the end or his arms and between his ears!! Nice work david! Paul
'Cos you asked, I dug up a couple of photos of the SS100 - this car was done by James my enployee and myself. These were taken part way through the build... David
Question about welding brass -- how do you adjust your flame? More like welding steel or more like brazing? "Incredible" does not start to cover your skill level.
The Jalopy Journal
