"Christopher Tidy" wrote
...Is it a dumb idea to think of
trying to repair the bottom with a sheet of 1 mm stainless, for
permanence? I have some cobalt drills that will make the holes, but
will SS sheet be so stiff that it'll be too hard to bend to shape
(right now, I don't have the stainless sheet). Also, is there any
advantage to using a thick backing washer with pop rivets, when it
comes to the vibration resistance of rivets used in sheet of this
thickness, or might it make things worse?
Chris

This bucket is 0.050" stainless bent to shape by hand:
https://picasaweb.google.com/KB1DAL/...65918437561074
It's strong enough to dig and move sand and rocks.

22 gauge galvanized steel is a lot easier to bend and may be strong enough
if supported all around. How thick is the original metal?

jsw

On Jan 18, 12:17*am, "Jim Wilkins" wrote:

They are used porta-power type rams from a second-hand store that happened
to have just what I needed when I needed it, at $20 for the larger ones and
$15 for the smaller. As they are single-acting push cylinders I had to make
the linkage to pull on the bucket. I located them as far back as possible to
reduce weight on the front wheels and axles. It's a Sears garden tractor,
more heavily built than a lawnmower but still barely adequate for this
conversion.

Ah, really ingenious!

-Jim, how did you bend those stainless bucket
-edges? Clamped the sheet and hammered it over the edge of the bench?

Yes. A buddy traded me a scrapped welding table with a steel plate top. IIRC
I clamped a piece of 3" channel under the edge as reinforcement and extra
inertial mass, the same principle as a dolly or bucking tool. I pounded on a
block of wood instead of directly on the sheet to avoid peening it and to
extend the force of the blows right up to the bend line so the bent flange
stays flat. I think I placed an I beam over the sheet to keep it from
bouncing up behind the bend line.

Thanks for that advice. The idea of clamping something under the edge,
for inertia and stiffness, sounds like a good one. I'll have to try
that. I have a pretty neat hammer that I bought in Germany, because
most of the English hammers are crap (loose heads, particularly).
Based on thoughts here, I think I'll just go with the best material
price. I just saw some 1.5 mm galvanised MS, but I think in a 30"
length, that could be a challenge to bend.

Best wishes,

Chris