Fat Finger Stand
Hi honey im home. Sorry had to do it. Ok a lot of pms about the little stand i have made to stop me hitting my little fingas and also very handy if you have large puckers around the mandrel hole. Which causes the bead to touch the steel block before the insert does when doing the last bit of the dome with the chasing hammer. The one i have made took a while, so i thought how i could make it quicker and cheaper and below is what i have come up with.
Cost is under a dollar and took me longer to go and buy the bolt than it did to make. I timed it and it was 28 minutes from the time i started till i cut the tubing for the bead. May take others a little longer as i have a special sanding station i made (lol no bl**dy tutorial for it).
Ultra simple tools
A file any type really as long as it will remove the material from the bolt.If you dont have one a cheap one that will do the job under five dollars. Get a Flat smooth 2nd cut should do the job. Try and get one with a handle. So much nicer on the hands.
A bolt and nut.
My super duper Sanding board. Makes life so much easier. All it is 600/1200 then 2500 grit double sided tape on the back then stuck on a flat piece of board. This is not required but it just comes in so handy for somany things.
This shows the size comparison between the 6mm outside diameter tube i use and the bolt i bought. They are the same size so when you remove the thread it shouls fit inside the tube. Length wise big is not always bigger
i used a 60 mm one. Which worked out better when i changed my mind and added a bit more to the design which you see at the end. Try for zinc coated or a non rusting material. Just incase you do beads in the rain. No not really dont normaly have any type of protective lubricant on them. so dont have to be cleaned.
Screw the nut down to the start of the thread so you can use the bolt as a handle whilst using the file on the nut to flatten the face before sanding it.
This is what the face of the nut should look like after filing and sanding on the 600 then 1200 and finaly the 2500 grit paper. If you like you could probale stop at 1200 grit paper but for the extra 2 minutes i just did it anyway.
Ok a important bit here in making sure you take the nut of and put it back on with the sanded face pointing back towards the head of the bolt so it doesnt get scratched in the next part.
Lol this has nothing to do with the nut getting scratched, just my lunatic kitten thinking its human and stealing some broccoli of the table to try.
Now with the cat gone of to destroy another part of the house and your nut turned over. Screw the nut down about 4mm doesnt have to be spot on just enough for the bead to sit on there nicely and when you are dapping the punch wont hit the top of the bolt through the bead.
Using the file with the nut on the bolt. File back the thread till it is gone. Leaving the nut on serves two purposes. One you know where the 4mm mark is and two it protects the thread from damage whilst filing. Once you have taken the thread right back you can then take the nut of and make it look real pretty with the sandpaper. The better the finish the less chance of damaging the domed face when working on the bead.
So there you go. Very simple. These two just show the bead i did on it and how the finished surfaces of the bolt and nut look.
Now these last photos show a after thought i had and will probale take further when i get a chance and make out of steel. This was as quick as going out to the shed and getting a scrap piece of pine a drill bit, drill and hammer. Drill bit was same diameter as the bolt so it wouldnt slop around when hitting the bead. All i did was take nut of bolt drill perpendicular hole in timber. Place bolt in start of drilled hole and hit it real hard. Being Monday its probale a nice thing to be doing. Once the bolt is flush underneath place the nut on the bolt again and take it out for a test run
Now if you cant get the head of the bolt into the timber you have three options.
1 hit it much much harder.
2 get a much much larger hammer.
3 call for back up.
Seriously though if its a soft wood like pine it will be very easy. Hope this is easy to follow if not please drop me a line and il see if i can help out.