Cheap 'n cheerful?

zoidberg

zoidberg

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What does the team think...?

42057005231_4376388ce6_z.jpg
 
One of the marks of a good engineer is being able to come up with a solution with whatever is at hand! Dirty hands can usually achieve more than a stack of text-books. ;)
 
Bit of bodge. Firstly, adjustable spanners are the work of the Devil and have no place in a tool box. The manufacturing process shows drop forged. The handle has been bent using heat and then other extremities have been welded. No doubt there are all sorts of stresses in the metal. I suspect that it may well crack with any vibration. Clearly the work of an engineering technician, congrats to him for a temporary repair. No doubt an engineer will be along soon to refer to his text books and design a robust fix.

Written with tongue in cheek, but perhaps there’s a difference between an engineer and a technician.
 
davidjackson said:
... The handle has been bent using heat and then other extremities have been welded. No doubt there are all sorts of stresses in the metal. I suspect that it may well crack with any vibration. ...
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I'm not an engineer or metallurgist, but I did wonder about how the handles (I think both) had been bent.
 
davidjackson said:
Bit of bodge. Firstly, adjustable spanners are the work of the Devil and have no place in a tool box. The manufacturing process shows drop forged. The handle has been bent using heat and then other extremities have been welded. No doubt there are all sorts of stresses in the metal. I suspect that it may well crack with any vibration. Clearly the work of an engineering technician, congrats to him for a temporary repair. No doubt an engineer will be along soon to refer to his text books and design a robust fix.

Written with tongue in cheek, but perhaps there’s a difference between an engineer and a technician.
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I think that there is some confusion there between the characteristics of "drop forged" and a cheap casting...
 
JumbleDuck said:
"Drop forged" is traditionally cheap manufacturer speak for "stamped".
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It aligns the hot material along the shape of the die with the result being stronger and tougher than a casting or if it were machined from solid. That it is less expensive to produce than its machined equivalent is an added bonus for manufacturer and the end user. Think of the many parts that are forged in a vehicle, especially its motor. and the drive train.

p.s. "stamping" is not the same as "drop forged".
 
Hydrozoan said:
I'm not an engineer or metallurgist, but I did wonder about how the handles (I think both) had been bent.
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However...

"Do not try and bend the spoon, that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth...there is no spoon. Then you'll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself." Neo.
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I rather like Ingeneers with a sense of humour. They 'dream with their eyes open'....
 
As an engineer and former lecturer, I have a grudging love for this. It may look odd, there may be many armchair opinions, but instinctively - "that ain't gonna break"
Adjustable spanners are the work of the devil, and this is indeed a splendid use for them. Welding is fine, and they took the time to round off the edges - technical stress relief right there, proper job!
 
My Father, aero eng, taught me that there is no place for an adjustable spanner in a serious workshop. Since the car I'm building is a bit of an homage to stuff wot he learned me, I might just be stealing that idea...
 
anoccasionalyachtsman said:
My Father, aero eng, taught me that there is no place for an adjustable spanner in a serious workshop. Since the car I'm building is a bit of an homage to stuff wot he learned me, I might just be stealing that idea...
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Normally I would agree ...... but I was working on one of my charge solenoids yesterday and the electrical connections use two nut sizes. One is 13mm or 14mm but then the one which throws me every time I do it until I remember that I've trodden this path before. It's a small nut which I can't get a 9mm open ended or ring spanner on .... I can get a 10mm spanner on it but it's very loose and as soon as it gets tight it starts to slip round so I have to use a small adjustable.

It can't be Imperial on a modern part and I've never heard of 9.5mm. :confused:

Richard
 
davidjackson said:
Bit of bodge. Firstly, adjustable spanners are the work of the Devil and have no place in a tool box. The manufacturing process shows drop forged. The handle has been bent using heat and then other extremities have been welded. No doubt there are all sorts of stresses in the metal. I suspect that it may well crack with any vibration. Clearly the work of an engineering technician, congrats to him for a temporary repair. No doubt an engineer will be along soon to refer to his text books and design a robust fix.

Written with tongue in cheek, but perhaps there’s a difference between an engineer and a technician.
Click to expand...


" An engineer is a man who can make for a shilling what anyone else pays a pound for. "

From the man who invented and Patented pub optics, the best practical engineer I ever met.

The job in the OP is worthy of being done by a Kiwi.
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
It aligns the hot material along the shape of the die with the result being stronger and tougher than a casting or if it were machined from solid. That it is less expensive to produce than its machined equivalent is an added bonus for manufacturer and the end user. Think of the many parts that are forged in a vehicle, especially its motor. and the drive train.
Click to expand...

That's hot forging, and does just what you say. Traditionally, however, cheapo manufacturers - the Amtechs of this world - have described their stamped cheese as "drop forged" because it sounds better.

Try an Amazon search for "drop forged spanners" and you'll see what I mean. Eleven spanners for £4.60 ...
 
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RichardS said:
Normally I would agree ...... but I was working on one of my charge solenoids yesterday and the electrical connections use two nut sizes. One is 13mm or 14mm but then the one which throws me every time I do it until I remember that I've trodden this path before. It's a small nut which I can't get a 9mm open ended or ring spanner on .... I can get a 10mm spanner on it but it's very loose and as soon as it gets tight it starts to slip round so I have to use a small adjustable.

It can't be Imperial on a modern part and I've never heard of 9.5mm. :confused:


Richard
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My workshop is comprehensive but far from 'serious' so over the years I've accumulated about half a dozen of them, but only the beautifully made ones like Bahco - Pa died years ago, so there's little risk of being found out...
 
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