Twisted Minis
New Member
I got my header flange from Hot Rod Chassis last night and it gave me an idea. I want to use 1.5" tube for my header, because thats what I can bend, and it matches my cones from Cone Engineering. As you can see, it doesn't really fit.
So last night I though I might be able to make a die to press the tube over and force it to take the form I wanted. I found an aluminum square that was close to the size I needed, so I ground it down real quick and tried it with a piece of copper pipe. It made a pretty rough square, and galled the aluminum a bit. But I now know it could work, and it also showed me what kind of space I needed to leave for the tube to form over and provide a good gap.
I found I needed to leave about 3/32" between the die and the inside of the flange for the tube to fit well. So this morning I started building a die out of steel. It needed to be 1 3/16" wide on one side, and 1 5/8" on the other. Not having any large blocks of steel, I cut three pieces of steel 1 5/8" wide at the bottom and 1 1/4" wide at the top. I used two pieces of 1/2" plate and one piece of 3/16".
I cut them larger than I needed, because I'm not that great with the plasma on thicker stuff, and needed them to be smooth. So I got out the 9" grinder and went to town until they where all roughly the same size.
I then welded them together with the 3/16" plate in the center of the two thicker plates.
I then proceeded to grind the blocks until they all matched. Then I raduised the corners to match the die as best I could, and did some finish grinding with a 4.5" grinder and a 120 grit disc.
I made sure it fit inside the flange well, and adjusted it as needed until I was satisfied.
Now time to test it out. I coated it in some low heat lithium grease to help the process, and make it easier to remove.
I then pressed the other side of that same copper pipe onto the die.
The die was easy to remove with a hammer and a brass punch. It left the tube looking like this.
I tested the fit, and I was happy. It fits very snug on the back side of the flange, and left a weldable gap at the front. I think if I press the tube on just a little farther I can tighten the gap at the top so I can TIG weld it.
I didn't have any thin wall steel to test this with, but I wanted to post it any way. Steel gets delivered here next Monday so I will report back when I try it in steel.
![12235951442.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235951442.jpg&hash=38dd67e0bdbcdbd6d31f5d5854443a23)
So last night I though I might be able to make a die to press the tube over and force it to take the form I wanted. I found an aluminum square that was close to the size I needed, so I ground it down real quick and tried it with a piece of copper pipe. It made a pretty rough square, and galled the aluminum a bit. But I now know it could work, and it also showed me what kind of space I needed to leave for the tube to form over and provide a good gap.
![12235939540.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235939540.jpg&hash=d7492fec0d987ebe30b1a9c531c24b3a)
![12235939541.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235939541.jpg&hash=4f4b510806154a4c5aa9e0f63514afb3)
I found I needed to leave about 3/32" between the die and the inside of the flange for the tube to fit well. So this morning I started building a die out of steel. It needed to be 1 3/16" wide on one side, and 1 5/8" on the other. Not having any large blocks of steel, I cut three pieces of steel 1 5/8" wide at the bottom and 1 1/4" wide at the top. I used two pieces of 1/2" plate and one piece of 3/16".
![12235939542.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235939542.jpg&hash=584cbcbe3f8cce27ae3dda2aa845756d)
I cut them larger than I needed, because I'm not that great with the plasma on thicker stuff, and needed them to be smooth. So I got out the 9" grinder and went to town until they where all roughly the same size.
![12235945520.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235945520.jpg&hash=4cb108ff29f701105d561b65045c6707)
I then welded them together with the 3/16" plate in the center of the two thicker plates.
![12235945541.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235945541.jpg&hash=0019ff9947c2258094b30964c38312ea)
I then proceeded to grind the blocks until they all matched. Then I raduised the corners to match the die as best I could, and did some finish grinding with a 4.5" grinder and a 120 grit disc.
![12235963270.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235963270.jpg&hash=b945a869764d6fcebbda5d396dd9142c)
I made sure it fit inside the flange well, and adjusted it as needed until I was satisfied.
![12235948050.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235948050.jpg&hash=e735de93dc9294ed80520827a0cb73dd)
Now time to test it out. I coated it in some low heat lithium grease to help the process, and make it easier to remove.
![12235948051.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235948051.jpg&hash=20904471bcbd21792cb697636d8a5e8f)
I then pressed the other side of that same copper pipe onto the die.
![12235948052.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235948052.jpg&hash=a65ac3dc78bb2bc51ffc46d0a79bc5a3)
The die was easy to remove with a hammer and a brass punch. It left the tube looking like this.
![12235950870.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235950870.jpg&hash=e8d18ef0a40bd00f659adcce8bf8ba79)
I tested the fit, and I was happy. It fits very snug on the back side of the flange, and left a weldable gap at the front. I think if I press the tube on just a little farther I can tighten the gap at the top so I can TIG weld it.
![12235951041.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotrodders.com%2Fjournal_photos%2F00044506%2F12235951041.jpg&hash=1ba8ec20dc9a8c51e52375722a412dcf)
I didn't have any thin wall steel to test this with, but I wanted to post it any way. Steel gets delivered here next Monday so I will report back when I try it in steel.