Best products from r/metalworking

We found 34 comments on r/metalworking discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 231 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/metalworking:

u/TheThinboy · 5 pointsr/metalworking

Not bad for a first try.
There are a number of simple casting material pewter can go into but one of the cheapest is plaster. A well made plaster mold will survive several dozen pewter casting if treated properly.

You can buy a 15 or 25 lb bag at the local big box hardware store for under $20, or smaller amounts from an art supply store, though it will cost more per lb.

PLASTER MOLD NEED TO BE BONE DRY BEFORE YOU POUR HOT METAL INTO THEM THEY CAN EXPLODE OTHERWISE. Please wear the proper safety equipment, the bare minimum of a face shield and leather gloves,ideally with an leather apron and leather boots. How long it takes to dry depends upon the size and thickness of the mold and the humidity level . A 3"x 5" x 5" mold will be dry in about 5-7 days if it is not too humid. A way to speed it up is to put your oven on its lowest setting and leave them in there for 8-10 hours. They will be significantly lighter when dry, and will have feel a bit like fired clay.

You might consider making 2 part molds there are a great deal of references out there for that info, here is a video that covers the basics. (this video for clay reproductions but the basics still apply. You would additionally need to also carve or cast in a pouring cup and channel called a gate or sprue into the plaster to allow you to pour in the pewter.)

There is scattered info on mold making on the web, but plenty of solid books on the topics. I would recommend The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook
It doest talk too much about metal casting, but it covers a lot of the info for general mold making, and is a great resource. You might also look into Practical Casting: A Studio Reference by Tim McCreight is deals with metal casting on smaller jewelry scale and covers other simple molding materials.


I have also heard MDF molds work pretty well for a few trys, though I never have done it personally. Good luck!

u/rantlers · 7 pointsr/metalworking

There's no simple chemical fix.

There are tons of products on the market, and almost everyone thinks they have the uber-secret ultramegarustfix technique using some kind of special blend of obscure chemicals. "It worked for my Uncle's friend's brother, it's definitely the best!" Don't waste your time.

Short of dipping the entire rack in a tank of acid, the best possible way to fix any rust is to mechanically remove it, then properly prime the clean bare metal and top coat it to prevent corrosion in the future.

I'm assuming you don't have a full shop of tools to work with, but you can probably find a battery drill. Get a wire wheel like this there on Amazon or at basically any hardware store. Put it in the drill and go to work. Just remove all visible rust. Use a maroon paint prep scuff pad to scuff the surface of the rest of the rack. Wipe it down with wax and grease remover.

If you don't want to go with the drill and wire wheel, just use 180 and then 320 grit sandpaper. That will take care of it. I just prefer rotary tools whenever possible because hand-sanding always sucks.

Your choice in top coat paint will determine the best course of action following removal of the rust. I'm an automotive painter, so I always recommend going with 2k catalyzed automotive materials for the absolute best in durability other than powder coating, which is much more expensive.

You don't have a lot of rust there, so not much will be bare metal. You can get away with simple non-catalyzed self-etching primer rather than epoxy, which is tougher. Spray a light coat or two of etch primer over the bare metal, let it dry, then scuff with the same maroon pad. Wipe down the surface with wax and grease remover again, then top coat.

I'm assuming you want the rack black again, so I'll recommend a catalyzed chassis black paint.

That's exactly how I'd do it. You'll end up with a very durable, good looking surface.

u/milkshakeconspiracy · 2 pointsr/metalworking

I've taught metal casting before and I think I have some relevant experience.

For melting:

  • Oxy-propane torch ~300$
  • Electromelt ~1000$
  • Crucibles ~20$

    Plus other assorted items like regulators, flux, safety gear, ect...

    OK! now you can melt aluminum, pewter, nickle silver, brass, bronze, copper, silver, and gold. Next up is figuring out how to cast it into interesting shapes, this is done by using one of the many different types of molds.

  1. Permanent molds, 0-100$. These range from things like muffin tins to graphite molds like these.
  2. Sand molds, 0-200$. Either dig up your own sand for free or go with the much better option of a Delft clay kit.
  3. Investment molds, ~$2-10k and facility dependent. Making this leap in budget will open the world of casting up to far more detailed/intricate parts. However, it requires a vacuum system and a kiln. Both can be had for about 1000$ but you get the added benefit of a kiln which is invaluable in jewelry manufacture. But all of this requires yet more space and I don't know what your exact facilities are like.

    All items I linked are just me quickly looking things up. Cheaper prices most certainly can be found with more than 5 minutes of googling. This list of equipment is also not exhaustive. I ain't gunna write the whole budget for you so your going to have to look into some more of the details.

    There are loads of metal smiths out there on places like Youtube that is worth looking into. There are also books like The Complete Metal Smith and loads of others.
u/x5060 · 1 pointr/metalworking

This post is specifically about the HF 44991 mill.

I just got into milling and purchased the 44991 mill from Harbor freight. The 44991 is just a re-branded Sieg X2. They are not amazing mills, but they do work, there are also lots of after market mods that can really enhance the machine and make it more capable.

The First upgrade I would do is the Belt drive conversion. The nylon gears get destroyed pretty easily. Little Machine Shop is running a sale on their belt drive this week.

The second is the iGaging DRO upgrade available on amazon or from Anytime Tools.

Link to 6"

link to 12"

The 3rd upgrade is the Z axis Air spring conversion. It extends your Z-axis range a LOT and it is much smoother and easier to control. The included torsion spring is cumbersome.

The 4th is not so much a modification, but the included drill press chuck is not great. I recommend a good set of R8 collets.

try these

Make sure to disassemble and clean all of the grease out of the machine. Tighten up everything really nicely upon reassembly and you'll have a nicer machine than any of the Sieg X2 re-brands you can buy pre-built.

u/Thermophile- · 1 pointr/metalworking

It is lined with cement and pearlite, covered with about one tub of this stuff. Normally I wouldn’t recommend a product quite like this, but it works very well for me. It takes a while to apply, and each coat takes a while to cure, but it was worth it.

Yes, I have a YT channel , but I haven’t posted to it in a while.

Edit: And yes, making something short, without leaving out anything is difficult. Sometimes leaving it for a week helps, sometimes showing it to someone who doesn’t care about the subject helps.

u/JVonDron · 1 pointr/metalworking

> how much are they?

Yes, you could spend all 9k of that without even blinking. Whatever you spend, expect to double that cost with tooling and things to make your machine do all kinds of different work.

> what are the best manufactures

It's a bit of a mixed bag. If you're looking to buy new, your basic choices are new Asian import or old iron. Standard Modern is Canadian, Emco and Lion is European, and I believe Monarch and Hardringe still make lathes every now and then - all for between $16 and $80k, way out of your price range. CNC won't talk to you unless you're into the 5 digits either.

South Bend is made in Taiwan now, along with Grizzly, Precision Matthews, Baileigh, and others - mostly from the same factories with different paint jobs. They are pretty good machines and can get you started. But the other option is finding an old lathe on Craigslist or through an industrial dealer and getting that going again. A lot of them are still very precise machines that need a little TLC, and if you're diligent in your search, you could end up with an amazing machine for practically scrap metal prices.

> Is it possible to get it down a flight of stairs?

You can get anything down a flight of stairs, whether it's usable at the bottom is the harder question. Unless it's a hobby size lathe, you're not going to be carrying it down. They get really heavy very fast. But with proper precautions, ramps, levers, come-alongs, and chains, people have safely lowered machines weighing half a ton and more into their basements. How much of that you're willing to attempt is on you.

> how easy are they to use

I won't lie, there's a steep learning curve, and you'll never know everything. First step is to get [Machinery's Handbook] (http://www.amazon.com/Machinerys-Handbook-29th-Erik-Oberg/dp/083112900X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449544732), look it over, and as confusing as that thing is, it is commonly referred to as THE BIBLE. Otherwise, become a sponge and lurk forums, watch youtube videos, and read up.

If I were you, I'd get as much machine as you can afford, keeping one eye on the used market. Also, I'd look into getting a mill as well, then you'll be practically unstoppable in the shop.

u/BomarFab · 2 pointsr/metalworking

This is probably your best bet. And here is your hole saw: https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-D180060-4-Inch-Hole-Saw/dp/B00005LEZQ

My next suggestion would be an angle grinder with this: http://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/abrasives-2-1-2-x-3-x-5-8-11-cone-type-17-norton-61463615722-61463615722?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5fDWBRDaARIsAA5uWTgpDuOTMswfO3GO2vXL2B8iCTWDCV6K3yqTopQZipgSGQx7lwq2UwsaAnvhEALw_wcB

It will make pretty quick work of 1/4" plate, and you can make a clean hole. Someone else suggested one if these as well, I would recommend a tapered cone like this, since most are 2" and your hole isn't much larger. It's easy to lose control of them in a small hole and have them chatter around. It's a bit better on the small end. When you use these it's important to run them in and out a bit to prevent grooving the grinding stone.

u/doubleplusunsigned · 4 pointsr/metalworking

First of all, thanks for sharing the video. I think metal casting is really interesting, and it's great to see how different people approach it.

> It's ok to be brutal.

Alright -

I really hate the music you used.

I'm also not a big fan of videos where that show the entire process at 10x playback (or whatever speed) - to me that indicates that you're showing too much. When I see videos like this, I click through around the timeline to find the interesting parts. Show the critical parts at regular speed and cut out the extra bits. Tell me (or show me) why something is a critical step.

Increase your lighting for better video. Do you have some work lights? Get two of them as close as possible to what you're working on at different angles and try filming like that (the closer you have a light source to a subject, the more even it appears. Far away lights appear as "points"). Set the white balance on your camera to account for the color temperature of the lights. Or if you have any kind of desk lamp, try pointing it at whatever you're filming. You'll have to experiment with what looks best with what you've got.

During the wax carving section, a huge portion of the frame felt wasted. You could have gotten much tighter on the actual carving, which would have drawn me in more than looking at a 90% static shot. Again, slowing down here and showing why you make certain carving decisions would have been more interesting. For instance, why did you carve out the middle then re-fill it? I had no idea what was going on there.

I felt bad for the clippers you used to get the wax out of the can. They look like flush cut electronics clippers, which usually say something like "For Copper Only". This indicates that using them on harder metal (like a can) will damage the cutting surface. But they're your tools.

From a PPE perspective, I would strongly consider wearing leather boots while pouring molten metal. But I can be clumsy at inopportune times and I like my toes.

u/motayba · 2 pointsr/metalworking

I've been fascinated and obsessed with this and AvE's follow-up video for the last 24 hours. I have a couple of great applications for it and would really like to get one if there are decent odds I could get it to work on mild steel up to 1/4" thick.

I don't know how many pounds of pressure it can exert, but my drill press is 3/4 HP, 4.5 A, and can go up to 3100 rpm without load. I have done some light milling on it with end mills (using its lowest speed just below 500 rpm—yeah, too fast, but it gets the job done for what I've been doing).

If it could handle it, I wonder if I'd need a cooling assembly like this. Not that I want to spend $160 to save a $130 drill press, but my getting a proper (i.e., much more expensive) milling machine at some point is pretty much inevitable.

Thanks in advance for thoughts and answers.

u/BUTT-CUM · 1 pointr/metalworking

Hey, a few days late, but I’ve been doing a lot of reading on gears and gear cutting, and I’ve found that designing a gear is infinitely more complex than I originally thought. I’ve done a lot of internet research, and my copy of Gears & Gear Cutting by Ivan Law came in the mail the other day, and I’ve read it front-to-back several times now. It’s the Bible for home gear cutting, and after reading it a few times, I’m confident I can make some gears and gear trains at home. I still need a few machines/tools before I can really get started, but I can probably start some simple stuff soon, with what I already have. I am going to try some simple cycloidal gears first. I’ll keep you apprised of my progress if you like.


Again, thanks for your help. I’ll take your comments into consideration when I go to buy some equipment.

u/ninepound · 10 pointsr/metalworking

For once, I'm actually useful! I just set into this myself and I've found this book to be more than everything I could ever want to know on the subject, with a great bit of information specifically on lost wax. This one by David Gingery (who has several other excellent books for the home foundry) details the basis of the kiln I intend to build much more inexpensively than they can be bought, with the added benefit of being completely scalable to any size of project.

While you're waiting for the books, I can't recommend www.backyardmetalcasting.com enough either. Some of the links are now defunct but there are lifetimes of information there. YouTube, too, I've found found to be a surprisingly good resource when it comes to metal casting.

u/killerguppy101 · 1 pointr/metalworking

I got a 12" square by 2" thick surface plate on Amazon for about 30 bucks with shipping. Best shop purchase in awhile.

EDIT: Can't seem to find the particular one I had, but here's something close. Not quite as accurate as the one I got (came with a cert and everything!). It's extremely useful for sanding things flat, polishing, and measuring accurately. I use it the most for sanding; just throw a bit of water on there and a sheet of wet/dry sandpaper on top. The water sucks the sandpaper down flat. The thinner the paper (usually higher grit), the better it sticks to the plate and the flatter it gets. Can get an almost mirror shine with 2000 grit and just a very very light buffing on aluminum.

u/TateNYC · 3 pointsr/metalworking

Makita LC1230 12" Cold cutting metal saw. Not a true cold saw, but pretty damned close. I've bought the lower end portable band saws and they're fine for rough cuts on light sock - but if you need to cut up a batch of angle iron or steel for welding projects - and you want consistent cuts that don't take all day - you'll LOVE one of these saws. I've had mine for a year and the original blade is still going strong.

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-LC1230-12-Inch-Metal-Cutting/dp/B00004YOLV

u/BeholdGlory · 2 pointsr/metalworking

Well if you don't mind puking your brains out for a day or two, by all means weld away bud! BREATHE DEEP! lol Trust me man, don't do it...you will regret it, death is probably favorable over the sickness you will experience.

Just grind off the galvanizing in the area and make sure you are in a well ventilated area and out of the smoke plume. I would probably wear one of these too.

u/weiss_schneenis · 2 pointsr/metalworking

is a grizzly like http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G9649-12-Inch-Granite-Surface/dp/B0000DD0KE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451237818&sr=8-1&keywords=surface+plate good?

and alright. I just read that some people say you shouldnt use "precision tools" for sanding. Whats treating it right? would that just mean not using it as an anvil or throwing it, or do i need to do something to condition it?

u/BBorNot · 3 pointsr/metalworking

Safety glasses and a big face shield are critical. If I'm grinding a lot or grinding ANY thoriated TIG electrode I'll add a respirator with the pink P100 filter cartridges. Don't forget hearing protection! If you wear earmuffs then behind the neck ones like these will fit with all the other gear.

u/asaxton · 1 pointr/metalworking

very unlikely it would conduct.

​

To protect my welding table, I attached a sacrificial anode (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_anode) using one of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0731T9YX6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . This does not seem to be a common practice. So the verdict is still out if it will help in our situation.

​

u/sleepingsquirrel · 1 pointr/metalworking

>The Complete Metalsmith, Tim McCreight, and DO make sure you get the Pro Edition.

The only reason I've been holding off on getting that book is the high-quality 2-star reviews on Amazon. Are they blowing things out of proportion?

>It's not the only metalworking book on my shelf but it's by far the most useful.

...if you had to name one more, what would it be?

u/dahvzombie · 2 pointsr/metalworking

Unless you're trying to learn a skill or are working on something truly bizzare, you can generally just buy a screwdriver to do the job for you. This also takes the blame off of you if you're afraid of legal repercussions. Apple's screwdriver.

I'm pretty sure it's legal for personal use- if it wasn't, I'd say it was your duty to break the law! For doing repairs the patent situation might be so terrible that it's against the law, but you're not likely to ever be caught. Probably get into trouble though if you started stamping them out to sell without a license. And Apple has very good lawyers...

u/VisibleFinding1 · 1 pointr/metalworking

Oh, sorry about that. It's basically like this: https://www.amazon.com/Shappy-Rectangular-Containers-Portable-Organizer/dp/B0746HP1N8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1536781691&sr=8-4&keywords=tins

Alright, so step one is to sand it, thank you! Any suggestions on what primer/paint to use?

u/rREDdog · 1 pointr/metalworking

That's what I was reading as well. I should just buy something that is known food safe.


I was looking at this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LBKWSGW/ref=twister_B00LBKWSS0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
But it's a whole 32lbs vs 11lbs (AL)

u/JOBAfunky · 2 pointsr/metalworking

Then I would recommend going with bronze or silver. You can get silver for close to $15 an oz at www.apmex.com Get a model of the coin that you want to make and then make a silicone mold of it so you can make multiple wax copies.Read a book on how to do it:https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/096159845X/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

u/metarinka · 3 pointsr/metalworking

http://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-5-Point-Pentalobe-Screwdriver-iPhone/dp/B00A0NPPDY knock yourself out, just about any proprietary screwdriver will end up on alibaba or amazon. They aren't hard to make if you have the right equipment. I never heard of any legal hurdles in selling them.

u/created4this · 3 pointsr/metalworking

Basic working spur gears are not hard to make.

you need a tool cut to the correct shape for the number of teeth (i.e. A 20 Tooth gear has a different tooth shape to a 40 tooth gear even though they mesh together)
Commercially made tools look like this: http://www.aliexpress.com/gear-cutter-module_reviews.html

Then the blank is indexed for each tooth and a pass made to leave the appropriate cut.

This book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gears-Gear-Cutting-Workshop-Practice/dp/0852429118
Gives much greater detail, including how to make your own cutters.