r/metalworking • • Feb 01 '25

Monthly Advice Thread Monthly Advice/Questions Thread | 02/01/2025

4 Upvotes

Welcome to the Monthly Advice Thread


Ask your metalworking questions here! Any submissions that are question based may be directed to this thread! Please keep discussion on topic and note that comments on these threads will not be moderated as regularly as the main post feed.


Uses for this thread!

This is a great place to ask about tools, possibilities, materials, basic questions related to the trade, homework help, project advice, material science questions and more!


How to contact the moderators:

You can contact the moderators via modmail here


r/metalworking • • Dec 01 '24

Monthly Advice Thread Monthly Advice/Questions Thread | 12/01/2024

6 Upvotes

Welcome to the Monthly Advice Thread


Ask your metalworking questions here! Any submissions that are question based may be directed to this thread! Please keep discussion on topic and note that comments on these threads will not be moderated as regularly as the main post feed.


Uses for this thread!

This is a great place to ask about tools, possibilities, materials, basic questions related to the trade, homework help, project advice, material science questions and more!


How to contact the moderators:

You can contact the moderators via modmail here


r/metalworking • • 4h ago

Does this angle grinder need grease?

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18 Upvotes

So I've been going through my late father's belongings recently and came across this grinder. Looks barely used. The guard is still shiny black although it should be noted my father wasn't the type that would use it. So when I plugged it in to check if it still works it did and I cut some pieces no problem, but it did occur to me that I heard a weird noise when starting. Lather on I tried to use a solid abrasive disk, or stone disk as we know them. Attempting to do so results in the grinder recoiling off the workpiece and deep gouging and doesn't feel safe at all. I then removed all the accesories and felt the spindle doesn't have any off-axis wobble so that is fine. I then opened it up and I see the gear attached to the motor is rather clean and there isn't much grease further up the head. Is that my grinder's problem?


r/metalworking • • 5h ago

Help with brazing a cast iron part of an industrial knitting machine.

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10 Upvotes

Hey all,

I volunteer in a museum, maintaining old industrial knitting machines. I broke a part. I want to repair the part.

The part is a cast iron lever that controls the Jacquard mechanism. Now the machine does not make pretty patterns anymore. It broke where the steel bar connects to the cast iron part. The welds were an earlier repair, not by me.

I want to repair this properly. There is not really money available to let someone professional do more than slap a bit of weld on it (like it was done). I was cautioned against welding, as it embrittles the cast iron (which may be the reason why it broke now). I was thinking about milling away the broken flange, and brazing on a new piece of steel, then drilling the holes again. The milling I'm ok with, but the brazing not.

So I come here to ask for opinions on how to approach this. Should i mill it flat? should i mill in a locating step, so part of the brazing is loaded in shear? Or is that much more difficult to braze? What should I look out for? Should I drill and tap and put some screws in? To reinforce, or to locate the part for brazing?

Thanks a lot!


r/metalworking • • 7m ago

Cobalt vs carbide cutting tools for interrupted cuts on 4140 pre-hard?

• Upvotes

running an older manual lathe facing down hex stock in 4140 pre-hardened steel. our carbide inserts keep micro-chipping on the heavy interrupted face cuts, even when slowing feeds and switching nose radii. should i transition over to premium m42 8% cobalt cutting tools ground with plenty of rake to absorb the intermittent mechanical shock, or is there a specific carbide substrate and geometry that holds up on manual machines with slight backlash?


r/metalworking • • 35m ago

Web-App for Creation, quoting, and direct ordering of laser-cut shapes

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• Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 6h ago

Fresh out of the oven: 3-flute solid carbide MLCC cutter 🔥

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2 Upvotes

Just pulled this 3-flute tungsten carbide MLCC cutter out of the oven 😄 Still a bit warm.

Curious if anyone here works with MLCC / ceramic cutting tools: what flute count, edge prep, and coating are you running for best tool life and chip evacuation? Any tips on avoiding micro-chipping?

Specs:

· 3 flutes
· Solid tungsten carbide
· Application: MLCC processing
· [Add diameter / coating / tolerance here]

Would love to hear your experience.


r/metalworking • • 7h ago

Hydraulic bender suggestions for square aluminum tube

2 Upvotes

I'm working on a prototype that will ultimately become a suspended fixture, made from light gauge 3/4 or 1" square aluminum tube. The fixture will be approx 8' long and about 3' wide, using a long 90 on each corner.

I've looked into DIY benders but frankly don't want to invest the time into building/tweaking one.

Appreciate any and all suggestions on bender/die options. I may need to use the bender for other things in the future as well, including light gauge round tube.

Thanks in advance!


r/metalworking • • 1d ago

What does it mean?

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18 Upvotes

What does it mean when the metal it indented like this during the manufacturing process vs it being straighter? For example bent when to cold vs hot Low grade metal Maybe very thin metal Does this comprise the strength?

This is a workout machine off Amazon, a lot of inconsistency in photos shown vs what I received

It’s supposed to be able to handle 400 pounds when pulled horizontally to chest, it’s a sitting row machine with independent arms


r/metalworking • • 1d ago

[Self] Scultura Ronin in alluminio lavorata CNC - primo prototipo vs versioni più grandi

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68 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 1d ago

Railing finishing

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8 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 19h ago

Engenharia metalúrgica aborda muito sobre soldagem? Ou alguma outra engenharia

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0 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 1d ago

Finished a lamp

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83 Upvotes

Just finished a floor arch lamp. Took about 100 hours. Used only scrap material that the shop was going to bring the recycler. ( I understand these are premium materials that I could never afford if it was not scrap) the bottom disk is 1 inch thick 22 inch wide 316 stainless, insta black for the patina. Next layer is a 4x12x12 inch block of cherry wood. Next layer is a concrete pillow. The next is a 8.5in diameter half in thick tube of 316 stainless. Top is koa wood. The arch is 1.5in diameter 1/8 thick hand rail brass. And the lamp shade is a piece I found at Goodwill for $2.99. From the wood base to the stainless tube is held together with a 6inch long 3/4 inch bolt. I drilled a hole through all six inches to run the wire for wiring the light. The finished photos it was setup a low height , only 42 inch height, but now it’s setup over my dining table. With the light at 57in high. 27inches from the surface of the table.


r/metalworking • • 1d ago

What is the black stuff that comes off on my fingers from stainless steel and should I wash it off ? (Not cookware)

2 Upvotes

I have a riveted stainless steel coif. Should I wash it to get the black stuff off ? Sorry if it's a stupid/weird question. (This is just for the character requirements) Metalwork is the timeless art of shaping raw metal into functional and beautiful creations. From ancient blacksmiths forging iron swords to modern artisans welding intricate steel sculptures, it bridges utility and creativity. Craftsmen use heat, hammers, and precise machinery to bend, cast, and cut sheets of bronze, copper, and aluminum, turning hard elements into fluid, enduring designs.


r/metalworking • • 1d ago

PAPR system from Amazon

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11 Upvotes

Has anyone ever used one of thoses guys ?
It been a while that I’m looking for a welding hood with a PAPR system , since I have a beard the masks aren’t really efficient and lately I’ve been getting a lot of galvanised jobs at work .

I was wondering if anyone had ever got one of thoses and could give us a proposer review, the 3M one are like 3000 $ CAD and I can’t afford it but I would consider 700 .


r/metalworking • • 1d ago

TIG Advice

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9 Upvotes

New to tig welding and looking for advice. This is a mild steel outside corner and a lap joint on 3/32 plate. Some spots look great like towards the left, some look not so great, and some look just alright. Im also curious what kind of practice excersizes are reccomended for building flexibility and comfort in a variety of positions and joint types. In welding school right now and trying to get a head start before jumping into tig.


r/metalworking • • 1d ago

Bluing Rust

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7 Upvotes

I’ve googled around and seen the methods. Seems like the old bottle of rust inhibitor is the way to go to make this metal blacker to match the brickwork. Any other thought if you’ve actually tried it? Also what’s the best type of sealer to use? The plate is just below the brickwork and water tends to stay and leak in the cracks so hopefully I don’t get rust stains with it inset like this.


r/metalworking • • 2d ago

New to sheet metal design, does this looks OK or too... ambitious ?

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33 Upvotes

Hey all,

I'm coming from the 3d printing world, so I've got no experience in sheet metal design. My latest project is a custom PC case, inside of which is this 3mm thick, 312x20mm aluminum bracket.

Due to space constraints, lots of features end up quite close to the bend, so I tried adding relief cuts near the edge. But I ended up with this awkward looking part, with the two halves only connected by tabs.

Do you think it's doable, or will it still deform badly during bending ?

I'm not too concerned by strength, the bracket only needs to hold up a couple kilograms at most, 3mm aluminum should be more than enough; but I'm having doubts on manufacturability, so better check before I start ordering.

Any help appreciated!


r/metalworking • • 2d ago

[Studio Alchemy] Forcing an accelerated rust patina on mild and Corten steel

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7 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 2d ago

Can I weld this?

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2 Upvotes

I'm not a welder, but I have a Chicago Electric flux wire welder that I've never used. The bunk rails on my boat trailer needs fixed again. The brackets in the pictures are 5/8 inch. They have been repaired multiple times from my own and previous owner abuse. Can I weld this with a flux wire welder? Can I weld it with the boat still on the trailer? Should I bevel the ends? Would it be possible to add additional bracing? Can't afford to pay for something I could learn to do.


r/metalworking • • 2d ago

Beer can bottle openers

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28 Upvotes

So I do environmental cleaning & always save the metals for scrap but decided I wanted to process said scrap myself. So my first project was making a homemade forge..task completed but not as efficent, so bought a 20kg propane forge. Next step melt cans into pure ingots..task completed. Then didnt know what to do with my ingots, so started thinking & sketching, now I have bottle openers.

Of course the pure aluminium openers were not very strong, so needed to strenghten the metal which led to me making copper ingots from all the electronics & wires I picked up. From there was finding the right mix for the perfect weight & strength & here I am now, like 90ish% content but Still working on the design & mix of metals.

Also need to figure out the best method of painting, the current rattle can paint isnt durable at all. Trial & error. Also working on new designs & looking into casting a bronze statue in the future


r/metalworking • • 2d ago

Pancakes In Five Steps

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10 Upvotes

Pancake-style blanking dies, that is. 5 out of about 30 steps, with guitar/EBow noise from 10-ish years ago. Other videos show more of me using these dies I make, so this is a quick look at how they go from zero to 30 in less than a minute. The basics are fairly simple, but to make them work really well, a lot of steps have to be done with precision. Setting the angle of the saw table (determined largely by die thickness and sawblade width, and to a much smaller degree by design complexity) is critical. Heat treating is needed for longest life. Other devilish details are involved--->


r/metalworking • • 2d ago

Zipper tooth manufacturing videos / photos?

4 Upvotes

I was wondering if anyone had clear, high resolution videos or photos of zipper teeth being manufactured and placed on the fabric band. I searched for a while on youtube, but everything is either horribly blurry and you can't see anything, or AI spam with fake videos. I'm not actually looking to manufacture zippers, I am just curious and want to learn, since this is such a high precision manufacturing line that we take for granted every day.


r/metalworking • • 4d ago

What's the finest thread you've tapped?

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292 Upvotes

I was dreading tapping this M8x0.5 hole because I was sure it was going to be an absolute nightmare. I drilled my hole in with the mill, chamfered the hole and rammed it in at 60 rpm. To my amazement it just went in smooth as butter without any complaints. I took it back over to the vice to finish it, and I didn't even have to back it out once. I assume it's because the super fine pitch only has to cut into a 0.25mm radius.