Pre-Stretching a Panel Isn’t it nice when you have a flat panel with all your beads rolled out perfectly straight with no issues? However, in some cases you might think everything is great until you pull your panel out and it’s just like a tin can all warped and out […]
Tag: tech
Powder Coating Motorcycle Parts to Make it Stand Out
Powder Coating is about one of the strongest coatings you can put on a part of your vehicle. What this does mean is that changing the color or design on your powdered parts can be a bit difficult to do. Recently Product Manager Beau B. decided to redo the color scheme on his motorcycle and document the process of stripping the powder off some of the parts and recoating them with fresh powder. It’s not as bad as you think!
How to fabricate and install Heavy Duty Threaded Inserts
Recently when channeling my Ford Model A I wanted to use Grade 8 fasteners for all of the body mounts instead of just tapping threads into the frame or inserting rivnuts that could fail over time. First of all the 1/4″ wall of the tubing wasn’t really thick enough to […]
How To Retrofit Modern Gauges in Your Classic
A retro looking dash for a 60’s Chevy truck will cost you about $400+, that’s a lot to spend on just the dash. Depending on your gauge layout there is another affordable option that will not only retain a classic original look, it will also allow the use of modern gauges. In this article I’ll show you how to retrofit modern gauges into an original cluster by only making a few minor modifications to the factory hardware.
Selecting the Right Air Compressor
An air compressors is a tool, specifically it is a tool to run other tools, unless you just need a volume of air compressed for a SCUBA tank or to inflate a tire. What sort and how big of a compressor you need is going to depend a lot on what sort of tools you need to run with it. A body shop running DA sanders and a paint booth all day long needs a much more robust compressor than an engine shop running impact guns and occasionally a media blast booth.
Sheet Metal Tools
A plasma cutter is a life saver for irregular shapes or thicker metal. Sure they are much more expensive than mechanical cutting tools, but for really complicated shapes and cut-outs nothing is faster and easier than a plasma cutter.
C-10 / C-20 Trailing Arm, Coil Spring Perch Rebuild
The rusty trailing arms on my 1963 C-20 were about as bad as they come, so much so I could reach my hand through some of the rust holes. About a year ago I stenciled out 3/16″ plate and welded them on both sides of the arms in order to regain structural rigidity so I could drive it safely. As you’ll see in later pictures I have yet to weld in one of the plates but it is already cut and will be welded in soon.
Plasma Cutter Consumables: What You’ll Need
Plasma cutters cut so easily they seem like magic; even their name sound like something from a science fiction story. But they are real, and in the past 15 years the prices have come down to the point that nearly every shop has one, from the hard working professionals to […]
Adding Custom Effects to Powder Coat
Just like paint, you can create custom powder coating finishes by adding metal flakes directly into the powder . Unlike paint powders will not accept pearl additives because pearls cannot withstand the high temperatures that powder requires to cure. With that said, creating custom powders is a game of trial […]