My first home made (at least modified) tools

Since I first got into this hobby, I've been a little put off by the price of the leather shot/sand bags. That was until I got it into my head to make my own and found out how expensive the raw material (leather) is to begin with

So I went searching for a suitable alternative and found fiberglass fabric at McMaster Carr (item 8816K1) and put together this bag:




Then I went searching for a suitable mallet. I liked the idea of a single mallet body with multiple faces. I found this



also at McMaster-Carr (item 5877A157). I got four faces in different hardnesses. The black and white faces on the hammer body, along with the yellow one were round to begin with. The white wedge came in that shape, but I find the white stuff is too soft.

I filed the black and white one on a lathe to take away the edge and give them different radii. I turned the yellow one to a taper with idea of having it for deep reaching into tighter places, but I don't like the result. The head wasn't long enough to begin with. I'm going to try again with a UHMW blank that I'll put a threaded hole on one side and a long taper on the other. I'll post that when finished

I've also begun making a tucking tool inspired by Joe Andrews design and the discussion that followed it. Someone had recommended using some sort of tapered pin (I forget what they are called) that are used for lining up holes when bringing large things together (at least thats how I understood it). I found a whole bin of them at Joseph Fazzio in South NJ for $2.90 each, but they were in rough shape. So first I put them on the lathe and went at them with a file to smooth them out and round over the end. Obviously the tapers aren't exact (but are pretty close to 4.5 degrees). I then cut one of them at a 4.5 deg angle with a slitting saw on a Bridgeport (all at intro to machine shop night school -- I don't own any machine tools -- yet ) and mounted it to some steel plate I got from the school stock room. The results are less than spectacular:




This is the same tool unassembled along with a second (uncut) tapered thing-a-ma-bob I got from J. Fazzio to make another tucking tool. As you can see, when the tapered pieces sit flat the adjacent sides are parallel to each other as they should be.



I'm having every bit as much fun making tools as I do shaping metal, even if I am equally as bad at it

[Kerry Pinkerton]

Ken, your tucking forks may be a little 'short' .

Regarding inexpensive beater bags. Canvas bank bags will work but the best inexpensive thing is an old leather purse. Check out Goodwill and other thrift stores. You can probably get a couple for less that the freight from McMaster Carr.

[GoldCountryChoppers]

Hey Ken, I just purchased an 18" beater bag on ebay for $34.00 that is awesome!!! check out item#3868758696 the sellers user id is softtrim, his feedback is 100%. I researched the price of bags heavily, and found this to be the cheapest around for the size!!!!!!!!!!

hope this helps, Matt Ward....

[John Kelly]

Hi Ken,

Nice ideas. You can also get a leather purse at a garage sale...fill with sand and you are on your way for about $5-$10.

Another cheap alternative ($15-$20) is a shot dolly. You can get them at:

www.metalcrafttools.com

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

Originally Posted by kerry pinkerton

Ken, your tucking forks may be a little 'short' .

This is a better perspective on what my tucking tool will eventually look like when I figure out how to properly machine the base. Its hard to read the ruler in this pic because I have a lousy digital camera, but they come up to about 3 and a quarter inches. How long should they be?

Originally Posted by kerry pinkerton

Regarding inexpensive beater bags. Canvas bank bags will work but the best inexpensive thing is an old leather purse. Check out Goodwill and other thrift stores. You can probably get a couple for less that the freight from McMaster Carr.

That's a great idea Kerry, I would have never thought of it. As soon as I dig out from the blizzard I'll head over to the Goodwill.

One thing I noticed in the McMaster description of the fiberglass I used is that it can be used up to 1000 degrees. What would you (or anyone) think about trying to hot work steel or aluminum sheet? Would it move easier? Are there any downsides I'm overlooking?

[Tony Sanchez]

---Ken,
Burned fingers. I would say that 99.89 % of all sheet metal shapers work with cold metal. The copper and aluminum that I anneal is always cooled before being worked. I have never annealed sheet steel. My two cents.
---Tony.

[James Kirk]

Hey Matt Ward,
Thanks for the Ebay info. I am going to buy one. How is the
overall quality of your beater bag?

James Kirk

[rookie]

Your tucking tool looks very well made, Ken. Nice job!

Phil Gilmore(rookie)

Hi Guys. I bought a 12in beater bag from softtrim and I love the bag in fact I was just using it a few min. ago and decided to take a break and check the Form. The bag is very well made the seams are super strong . I couldn't figure how the velcro could hold in the shot but once I saw how it was installed and where it was located I knew that there was no way that any shot could leak out.
It was recamended to use 50# of shot and I tryed it with about 40# but it was not quite enough so I added the full 50# and it was just right.
If you buy one from Softtrim you wont be sorry.
Earl

[GoldCountryChoppers]

Originally Posted by James Kirk

Hey Matt Ward,
Thanks for the Ebay info. I am going to buy one. How is the
overall quality of your beater bag?

James Kirk

Hey James I have not recieved my 18"er yet but I was turned on to this guy from a buddy that bought one, I got a test run on his and I have to agree with Earl it seems to be indestructible (if cared for properly) the thing is very heavy when it is filled with shot!!! I wonder if it could be filled with crushed walnut shells like the bag Joe Andrews was giving away?? I wonder if it would tear the leather? Does anybody have any info on crushed walnut shells??

Thanks, Matt Ward