Here is the final thing ready to send to the chrome platers. I give them a light polish to ensure that I have no imperfections. David
Thanks! afaulk & 18n57 I have some more brass work I will post soon. but meanwhile here are a few more photos of the SS 100 radiator shells in various stages of being made. Here is one chrome plated... David
Thanks for your comments guys. Nick I am glad you liked the DVD. I spent a lot of time on it to make it as informative as possible. David
This shows several radiator shells I was making at one go a while ago. On the left is one for a Bentley special, centre is a radiator shell for a Talbot 105, I have made several of these and on the right is another couple of SS100 radiator shells under construction. The car in the background was in for a little rectification work, its a GP car from the late forties. The customer took me for a spin in this, it was a lot of fun. David
I came home from work last night about 8 oclock, mine was there waiting for me. Backtracked so many times, it was after midnight by the time I finished it! My wife was yelling at me and telling me to get to bed. Now I'm at work today and half-asleep. Going to go through it again tonight. WAY too much to absorb in one sitting. HIGHLY recommend it. Thanks so much Dave. Gotta show it to my dad too. He has a Maserati Sebring, kinda cool to see one in the opening segment.
Hey, Mindover; Thank you for posting this. Hope to get your DVD soon. I'm still amazed at the level of finish you're getting. Fabulous skills. I went through this thread, but missed something, & hope I'm not beating a dead horse, here. What is the name/mfgr of the "old" flux you like, & do you know its' composition? Thinking something like it may be available in the States, or Web/Ebay/etc. It'd be nice to know what to look for, as auctions/closeouts may have some. Just gotta know what... TIA. Marcus...
The flux I use is made by SIF here in the UK but as I said they have had to re-formulate all their fluxes because of new health and safety laws, none work as well. The only thing I can suggest is test pieces. weld two sections together grind the weld both sides to make it the same thickness as the sheet material then block it or hollow it and see of it splits. David
George, I thought you would like it! Lots of people have told me they ended up staying up late to finish watching it. I hope it helps you with your welding situation. David
Lots of rads shells to make at the moment as well as other projects. I am finding it hard to got work done on my '27 . David
Dang this is great stuff here. Going through threads like this really get me all motivated on learning up on this shaping and forming stuff...too cool.
Provience if you want to learn take a look at my website and youtube footage, I am sure you will be interested. David.
Here are a few photos of the Bentley special radiator shell theat I showed part made in the photo above... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=7165&pictureid=355421[/IMG David
One last photo of the Bentley special radiator shell. The shell is all hand made. There is a Bentley special that I built on my youtube footage. David
Found some photos from a while back, I think this was probably the biggest batch of shells I have done at one time... David
I didn't see you mention it earlier in your post, but is brass a lot easier to work and form than steel? I mean besides the joining/welding part? Also, would plater rather see you bring in a brass piece to plate? Seems you may be eliminating a step in their dipping process?
Brass plates better than steel I believe. I am not a plater but I think that the reason brass was used was because the chrome stays on better over the years. The brass is softer than steel but harder than aluminium it shapes quite easily. David
Mindover, first let me say you do beautiful work,very impressive sir.I will be curious to see how you make out with the T.I.G. welding of brass. I just finished this brass drum for a local musician/drum instructor. I do mostly steel and aluminum fabrication and I know exactly the problem you are referring to with the aluminum cracking. I used my T.I.G. welder on the joints on this drum and had no cracking issues even after grinding and hammer/dolly. Pleasantly surprised at how well it went,as I don't get a lot of opportunities to work brass. Thank you for taking the time to share your skills with us. Cheers, Jim
David, when I visited England years ago, I tried a type of brazing called vapor-flux brazing. It was a process used by Lotus on their frames. If I remember correctly there was a canister in the aceylene line that contained, I think, acetone. The acetone was drawn into the line and vaporized in the flame. You used a bare brass rod and the flame cleaned and shielded the weld. It made a strong joint. Have you used this process and could it be used to weld brass? I do not know if this system is even legal today as you would likely be breathing in the vapors of the solvent. ~Alden
Thanks for the comments guys. Jim, My tig is out of action at the moment. I will try it when I get a chance. I personally find tig a bit cumbersome and prefer to gas weld in most instances. Tig is fine on a bench where you can sit down and use a foot pedal but not so easy in awkward positions. Alden, I have heard of vapour flux but I have never used it. I imagine I would have the same problems with fluxes having been changed for health and safety reasons. The new flux works fine for brazing and it welded the brass well. it was only when I dressed the weld that I had a problem. Like I say I have now got enough of the old flux to keep me going. I have been using this flux for 30 years so I guess I have had plenty of exposure to it. David
I recently made some more SS100 shells but I also had to make the insert as well as the shell so I thought I would add this to this thread. Here is a photo of the two shells I made and the original shell which is at the back of the photo. I will post some more detailed photos over the weekend - time permitting. David
Here is another couple of photos of the original shell (on the right) and the two new shells I made with the inserts in place... This is the detail around thestarter handle hole... Here is one fitted in place on a radiator... Forming the angle trim around the wire is not the easiest thing to do, the material has to be anealed several times and it can crack while being formed. Folding the wire mesh is something you get one chance at if you dont get it right it goes in the bin and its expensive stuff!. Allthis has to be soft soldered together. David
I just torch welded a piece of 1 1/4 brass pipe. It was cut into 5 pieces so 4 welds. Part from a visible gas pump I am restoring that was seized in and had to be cut out. No lengths of brass pipe available here and from my pump part place it was two weeks out. weld,ground,filed,sanded,polished,Beautiful! Same thing, I had people say "you mean you brazed it" No, then I explain. They seemed amazed. I love doing things others can't even imagine doing!
Very nice David! Do you send them out for plating or will the customer? The shells are beautiful. Alden
Cadzook hi Alden I don't get involved in the chrome plating. I have done so in the past and would get it done if I had to but most customers have it done themselves. Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy standing back and looking at these when I have them done but they are a lot of work. David David
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