Wow! Don't know what is happening to this forum. But am reposting in hopes
of getting some help:

I've been away from the craft for way too long. Have a chance to play in a
new project that will involve swaging one inch tubing - starting with
prototypes, of course, then hopefully moving to high volume.

This will involve taking random lengths of one inch galvanized thin wall
tubing, cutting to three ft. segments, swaging one end for nice snug fit,
then drilling to place a spring return locking button.

I'm game to do it myself, but also game to let somebody who really know
their business tackle the project. We're in San Diego.

Any ideas will be more than welcome. And yes, Tijuana is an option but I'd
rather start the project here knowing full well that once full production
gets moving it will end up in China.

Thanks!

How many?

On 2007-12-05, Wayne Lundberg wrote:
Wow! Don't know what is happening to this forum. But am reposting in hopes
of getting some help:

The newsgroup was under attack by an idiot. It looked like a
"hipcrime" attack. The attack seems to have been shut down.

I saw your question -- and some valid answers -- yesterday. I
did not answer because I did not have good advice to contribute.

I've been away from the craft for way too long. Have a chance to play in a
new project that will involve swaging one inch tubing - starting with
prototypes, of course, then hopefully moving to high volume.

This will involve taking random lengths of one inch galvanized thin wall
tubing, cutting to three ft. segments, swaging one end for nice snug fit,
then drilling to place a spring return locking button.

Sounds like making modular tent poles.

I'm game to do it myself, but also game to let somebody who really know
their business tackle the project. We're in San Diego.

I don't know enough to be sure of doing this properly, so I'll
let you dig back for the other answers -- or hope that they are
reposted.

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

You can use the term 'swedging' to mean either expanding or reducing the
ends of the tube.

There are 3 processes usually used to do this
-ram die: clamp tube, use a ram to expand or reduce the tube
-hydraulic expansion/reduction: a ram pushes a cone shaped mandrel into
a matching set of fingers to expand an almost round shape. (works the
same to compress things)
-rotary pounding machine: rotary hammers pound the tube down, works well
for tough materials.

A shop with a suitable expansion machine can do do several hundred
pieces per hour using generic tooling. Expect to see a setup charge and
then perhaps $.15 to $.20 per end if you can find a good supplier.

You can make your own ram dies with a suitable clamp mechanism and the
double acting ram. The ram die needs to be hardened and polished. The
clamp needs to be hardened and seratated. It will be hard to get to the
same pieces per hour that a good expansion machine can do but the
equipment cost is much lower.


Wayne Lundberg wrote:
Wow! Don't know what is happening to this forum. But am reposting in hopes
of getting some help:

I've been away from the craft for way too long. Have a chance to play in a
new project that will involve swaging one inch tubing - starting with
prototypes, of course, then hopefully moving to high volume.

This will involve taking random lengths of one inch galvanized thin wall
tubing, cutting to three ft. segments, swaging one end for nice snug fit,
then drilling to place a spring return locking button.

I'm game to do it myself, but also game to let somebody who really know
their business tackle the project. We're in San Diego.

Any ideas will be more than welcome. And yes, Tijuana is an option but I'd
rather start the project here knowing full well that once full production
gets moving it will end up in China.

Thanks!