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Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
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#1
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called me
just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. What kind of stainless wire can be spring-tempered? Is it possible to make a spring-tempered stainless ring using only O/A equipment? Or is TIG welding completely required? Any bright ideas? Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington |
#2
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
Grant Erwin wrote:
I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called me just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. What kind of stainless wire can be spring-tempered? Is it possible to make a spring-tempered stainless ring using only O/A equipment? Or is TIG welding completely required? Any bright ideas? Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington Ideas -- you decide if they're bright: * Yes, you can get SS spring steel. Check http://www.smallparts.com. The heat treat looks -- interesting. * Braze (or solder) instead of weld -- depending on the stainless. * Instead of the usual lamp loop with one wire, how about a double length of finer wire, and no weld/braze/anything? Strength wise it could easily add up to one welded loop, the amount of work required may add up to much less. -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com Posting from Google? See http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/ |
#3
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 10:14:51 -0800, Grant Erwin
wrote: I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called me just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. What kind of stainless wire can be spring-tempered? Is it possible to make a spring-tempered stainless ring using only O/A equipment? Or is TIG welding completely required? Any bright ideas? Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington O/A would be fine for silverbrazing, which works well on stainless. A bandsaw blade welder would probably also work. |
#4
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
Don Foreman wrote: On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 10:14:51 -0800, Grant Erwin wrote: I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called me just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. What kind of stainless wire can be spring-tempered? Is it possible to make a spring-tempered stainless ring using only O/A equipment? Or is TIG welding completely required? Any bright ideas? Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington O/A would be fine for silverbrazing, which works well on stainless. A bandsaw blade welder would probably also work. Buy music wire to form. A home made spring machine for loops as you describe would be pretty easy to fabricate. Do NOT think you can get good consistent results by wrapping them on a spindle. What you need to do is force fee the wire against a die. ASCII drawings suck but: Wire moves-- --------------[ wire guide ]-/// --Die The die is hardened material and can move up and down (in/out) for different diameter coils. The wire is usually fed via pinch rollers. You might be able to see it a little on http://www.nucoil.com/ I couldn't run the video so don't know if it shows any details. Of course these machines are CNC and do one heck of a lot more forming than you need It'll TIG like a breeze if you're careful, run about 12 to 15 amps, and have a high-freq start. There will probably be a small blob though. A modified band saw welder might give better results if you want better end to end welds. Gas shield it if you use the blade welder though. There is a really neat friction welder for non-ferrous wires available. It looks like a large pair of pliers that force the ends together and rub them at the same time. Welds are beautiful and it's kind of amazing that you can get such a good weld without any power but your hands. Only works on copper and brass though. Oh yea...make sure you reference the diameter instead of just saying 16 gauge. Many suppliers use the Non-ferrous ga. for stainless wire instead of the US standard steel wire ga. Ya don't wanna be surprised on the dia when you get the material. Koz |
#5
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
"Joepy" wrote in message ... Koz Wrote: There is a really neat friction welder for non-ferrous wires available. It looks like a large pair of pliers that force the ends together and rub them at the same time. Welds are beautiful and it's kind of amazing that you can get such a good weld without any power but your hands. Only works on copper and brass though. Koz You got me curious. Who makes this device? I may have an app for something like this. I Googled every combination of words I could think of but turned up nada. I googled "handheld friction welder brass copper" and got this: http://www.read-wca.com/pwm.cfm |
#6
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
You can buy 302/304 SS spring wire(already hardened) in a multitude of
sizes from Mcmaster. Look under "music wire" I have used it and it is tough stuff. Randy "Grant Erwin" wrote in message ... I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called me just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. What kind of stainless wire can be spring-tempered? Is it possible to make a spring-tempered stainless ring using only O/A equipment? Or is TIG welding completely required? Any bright ideas? Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington |
#7
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 18:33:18 -0600, "R. O'Brian"
wrote: You can buy 302/304 SS spring wire(already hardened) in a multitude of sizes from Mcmaster. Look under "music wire" I have used it and it is tough stuff. Randy Music wire is good for springs, but it is not stainless. |
#8
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
"Don Foreman" wrote in message news On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 18:33:18 -0600, "R. O'Brian" wrote: You can buy 302/304 SS spring wire(already hardened) in a multitude of sizes from Mcmaster. Look under "music wire" I have used it and it is tough stuff. Randy Music wire is good for springs, but it is not stainless. Oh? Check McMasters pn 9495K36 ......Paul |
#9
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:14:26 -0800, "PJ"
wrote: 9495K36 Ya got me. I even looked at that page yesterday and didn't see the "music wire" note. OK, some stainless spring wire (e.g. 9495K36 from McMaster) is of "music wire" temper -- but not all "music wire" is stainless. Music wire from Small Parts Inc is not stainless. |
#10
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
"Grant Erwin" wrote in message ... I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called me just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. What kind of stainless wire can be spring-tempered? Is it possible to make a spring-tempered stainless ring using only O/A equipment? Or is TIG welding completely required? Any bright ideas? Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington How much of what do you want, let me know...I'll get samples from my wire suppliers. |
#11
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
I have made stainless rings out of 1/8 inch stainless TIG rod. Just
bent around a mandrel and silver soldered ( brazed ). The joint is almost invisible. This was from 308 stainless welding rod. I would suggest you get some stainless rod/wire, make a ring or two and then see if you really need something that can be spring tempered. If you really do need spring tempered ( and I doubt it ), 15-5 ph stainless is dead easy to heat treat. If you do use silver soldering ( brazing ), try to get some silver solder that is recommended for stainless. Ditto the flux. Some stainless does not take silver solder very well, but there are some silver solders with a little nickel in them that are recommended for stainless. Dan Grant Erwin wrote: I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called me just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. What kind of stainless wire can be spring-tempered? Is it possible to make a spring-tempered stainless ring using only O/A equipment? Or is TIG welding completely required? Any bright ideas? Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington |
#13
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
Stainless wire is usually work hardened from being drawn to size. So
it is not spring temper, but not annealed either. You might look at some 1/16th MIG wire and see if it is stiff enough. Dan Grant Erwin wrote: Lamp shades are normally spring tempered to resist being dented. I'll keep your ideas about solder/flux specific to stainless in mind, thanks, Dan. GWE |
#14
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called
me just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. Does she specifically need stainless? I can find several suppliers of lamp rings with a Google search but none of them actually say what their rings are made of: In the picture provided these look like brass but it doesn't seem likely: http://www.lampshop.com/Merchant2/me...06_01_WIRE_BOT And these look to be steel of some sort: http://mainelyshades.safeshopper.com/208/cat208.htm?227 Best Regards, Keith Marshall "I'm not grown up enough to be so old!" |
#15
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spring-tempered stainless wire rings?
"Grant Erwin" wrote in message ... I have a sister who makes light fixtures as a cottage industry. She called me just now wanting to know how to go about getting or making stainless wire rings, spring tempered, made from something like 16 ga. wire. I don't see any people who directly source rings in lampshade-sized dimensions (like 3" up) so now I'm wondering about making them. What kind of stainless wire can be spring-tempered? Is it possible to make a spring-tempered stainless ring using only O/A equipment? Or is TIG welding completely required? Any bright ideas? Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington Seems to me you said you have a spot welder. I have the 110V version of the harbor freight welder and it works great for welding stainless wires together in an overlap. What I have in mind is to make a fixture to hold the wire to the tongs so the ends come together when you squeeze the handle. I was playing with the idea of making a fixture for doing bandsaw blades with mine, though I haven't had time to experiment yet. Glenn |
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