 | |
| Item #5907 |
After fixing up the welder, the next step is to figure out how to roll stainless-steel sheet metal into a cylinder. To avoid dealing with over-priced fabricators and pursue independence, I bought a Harbor Freight 3-in-1 shear/press brake/slip roll. It took me a couple of weeks to find the time to clean it, figure out how it works, and adjust it to my liking. I had waited a few days from HF's tech support for instructions the manual didn't go over, but I ended up figuring it out myself.
Unfortunately, I am still trying to figure out the right gauge metal to use. In welding, 22 gauge is impossible, 16 ga is easy, and 18 ga is do-able (haven't tried 20 ga yet) (FYI: higher the ga, thinner the material). But when it comes to rolling, I can roll 22 ga easy, 18 ga I can press-brake in increments to make a 14-sided polygon, and 16 ga is impossible. The manual says it has a limit of 20 ga., but I figured that those specs are only for the shear portion. It's not.
(**a detailed history of my weekend 2/8/14-2/9/14). In experimentation, the 18 ga or 16 ga sheets broke my roller-bushings, so I needed to replace them. I didn't want to wait 2 weeks for my parts to come up, so I went to Home Depot and got a galvanized pipe the closest in size cut into 5/8" length. Upon return, I find that this pipe won't fit into the right bushings-pocket, and the mismatch between the sides won't roll the sheets right. So I go to Ace to see if they have any pipes closer to size, but find out they have bushings there! I got some brass ones about the same size as the originals, but I had to file the ID for an hour to get it to fit the rollers (see pic 2). Just to see if it works, I put my 22 ga sheet through, and I get a cylinder! I may try to weld it for the sake of experience, but I doubt it will work, especially when trying to weld the bottom/top. I then put an 18 ga through, but that broke my brass bushings. Maybe I'll try 20 ga next time?
 |
| Pic 1 |
 | |
| Pic 2 |
(History Continued) Disappointed but undeterred, I thought I'd try making a polygon using the press-brake, as demonstrated in the manual. With my father's help and a lot of elbow and knee grease, we were able to manage it. I don't know if the machine would be able to handle the stress of doing it any more times, but I'm thinking that if we used more increments, 24-28 maybe, it won't be as difficult.
Maybe I should just return it and go to a fabricator. But I don't like the idea of not working on this with other people. I mean, what if I mess up on the welding, and I need to cylinderize another sheet? Another $50, not to mention the embarrassment. As I see it, I have 6 options:
1. Try to weld the 22 ga material and roll that.
2. Experiment welding 20 ga stainless steel and see if I can roll that.
3. Brake the 18 ga into a polygon shape.
4. Experiment braking 16 ga into a polygon shape.
5. Go to a fabricator and pay to have him roll 16 ga.
6. Look for work with a fabricator and (with owner's permission) use rolling machine for personal use.
If I keep the 3-in-1, I might be able to make some artwork I could possibly sell. I saw some interesting aluminum sheet-metal artwork once, and it would be cool to make it and sell it to make some extra cash to help me with my startup.
 |
| An exhausted Jason in front of the 3-in-1, in what little space I have in my garage. |
**An Aesop Story**
Back in my heavy reading days, I read and graded as many Aesop stories as I could get my hands on. There's one in particular that had a pretty heavy impact on me, and remembering it keeps me going:
There was once an old farmer on his deathbed and was ready to say farewell to his sons. He told them that he had buried a treasure in the farm, but just before he could tell them where it was exactly, he croaked. The sons then dug holes all over the farm, but after a long, difficult, and exhausting time, found nothing. The sons, needing some source of income, prepared for the next crop. The next harvest season they had a huge bumper crop. As it happens, turning over the soil helped the crops grow and produce!
The Moral: Even if your risks and efforts may seem to be futile, they can lead to unexpected profits.
**Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies by Dale Willerton, Jeff Grandfield
So in preparation of owning a business, I checked out this book. A LOT of it just seems like filler, but I came across a good point of how being prepared to start the business will make you look good to Landlords. Ways to prove worthiness is to have a business cards already(without an address), and having a possible ground-layout of the business. It shows forethought. So in some of my spare time I created the following layout of my future winery:
 |
| Projected 1st Winery Space |
It may get to be a bit tight, but as I'm going to be the only one working in it, I know it can work.
