When I got my first car twenty years ago, I was clueless when it came to maintaining it and keeping it in a roadworthy condition. As a result, I had to pay for costly repairs that could have been avoided if the car had been looked after better. I learned my lesson and started reading everything I could about basic car maintenance. I started this blog to share what I've learned in the hopes it will save other new drivers making costly mistakes. I blog about a variety of topics, such as troubleshooting uneven tyre wear, the benefits of regular servicing and maintaining your car during the winter months. I hope you find my blog useful.
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Metal works advice | Great equipment for fabricating sheet metal in your own home
Reginald Fox
Sometimes, it can be quite fun and convenient to work on sheet metal from the comfort of your home. So why not convert that backyard or garage into your own metal fabrication centre? However, if you have never done any metal works before, it is important to know how you are going to stretch and cut your sheet metal. Below are some must-have tools and machines to help you with this.
Stretching equipment
Stretcher
From its name, this mechanical machine is designed to flatten metal by pulling it apart. It consists of two adjustable flat textured jaws and a lever. They are adjustable for changing the distance in between them according to the thickness of the metal. During flattening, the sheet metal is placed between the jaws which slowly pull in opposite directions upon activation by the lever or pedal. This tool is quite strong and can be used on any kind of metal sheet. You should definitely get this for forming metal plates.
English wheel
This machine is made up of two wheels and a lever. These wheels are positioned in an opposite configuration to each other and have the same surface area. Here, the sheet metal is placed on the lower wheel which is raised toward the upper one so as to hold the metal firmly in place. Then, using the lever, the metal is moved back and forth slowly as the wheels slowly tighten it for more thinness. This equipment might be more costly than a stretcher or hammer and dolly but is more effective for stretching tough metals such as steel.
Cutting equipment
Electric grinder
This tool consists of rotating discs that are powered by electricity. With this equipment, the metal is placed on the grinder where it is cut by these discs. Even though this machine can be quite noisy, it is very efficient and fast, thus saving you a lot of cutting time. In addition, the cutting discs are really powerful, and that makes them great for cutting multiple layers of sheet metal.
A power shear
This is a scissor-like tool used for cutting metal. It can be pneumatic, where it is powered by an air pressure system activated by electricity, or solely electrical. They are great for speedy operations and large metal works. Unlike your ordinary hand shear, this one can be automated using computer numerical control systems. Thus, they are almost effortless to operate. However, they are less precise, since they cannot make very tight corners or complex shapes
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