I wonder if they're investment cast in silicon bronze? That most likely would work just fine.
H
Steel Grab Irons
Moderators: gwrdriver, Harold_V
Re: Steel Grab Irons
H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
Re: Steel Grab Irons
I'm going to be tackling this myself sometime this year, because no one does 2" scale.
I have found brass solid round stock to be easily formed and pressed, just the hole must be drilled after the ends are flattened, not punched.
It will not be quite as strong as steel but pretty close, and far better than aluminum. If you go to a wholesale metals house that stocks the brass round, it's about $15 for 10'(I use 3/16" for 2" scale), instead of the "ripoff rack" of metals that most hardware stores seem to have. I think the sizes bottom out at 1/8" though, so you'd have to live with it being 1" in full size instead of 7/8" (sin!)
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I have found brass solid round stock to be easily formed and pressed, just the hole must be drilled after the ends are flattened, not punched.
It will not be quite as strong as steel but pretty close, and far better than aluminum. If you go to a wholesale metals house that stocks the brass round, it's about $15 for 10'(I use 3/16" for 2" scale), instead of the "ripoff rack" of metals that most hardware stores seem to have. I think the sizes bottom out at 1/8" though, so you'd have to live with it being 1" in full size instead of 7/8" (sin!)
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Mark Landgraf
- Posts: 100
- Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2013 9:42 pm
- Location: Albany, NY
Re: Steel Grab Irons
If you are happy with 3/16 size rod, you may want to consider the .175 steel rod stock that is the wire that are the bases for many of the political signs. This wire is soft and bends well. And knowing that most of us would rather recycle rather than lay out real cash for materials, it's a cheap source on the day after elections.
In my earlier post I referred to press brake tooling. If you Google: chicago press brake offset tooling, you'll get manufacturers of the tooling that I use along with many drawings. I use the 5/16 offset with 3/32 rod and it scales well for 1½ scale. Assuming that you start with a pre-bent U shape, this tooling will put in 4 bends in one stroke. It's a big time saver and all the spacing between bends are the same.
Mark
In my earlier post I referred to press brake tooling. If you Google: chicago press brake offset tooling, you'll get manufacturers of the tooling that I use along with many drawings. I use the 5/16 offset with 3/32 rod and it scales well for 1½ scale. Assuming that you start with a pre-bent U shape, this tooling will put in 4 bends in one stroke. It's a big time saver and all the spacing between bends are the same.
Mark