Need some help

[44man]

A friend needs to make a bunch of these swivels for Civil War guns.
The rod is 5/32" mild steel. What kind of form do I need to make and how can I roll these to shape?

[44man]

Lost picture again.

[Longwood]

A friend needs to make a bunch of these swivels for Civil War guns.
The rod is 5/32" mild steel. What kind of form do I need to make and how can I roll these to shape?

A forge, anvil, hammer.

[Lee]

A four slide and a degree in bendology.

You might try obtaining one of those small bench mounted wire bending jigs(I recently found one for $6 from Duluth Trading Co.) It does great on coat hanger wire, although 5/32" is a mite heavier than that. That and a LOT of practice as to just "where" to form your bends as you progress to the final shape.
Good luck. :smile:

P.S. Dixie Gun Works might have it and be easier to buy rather than make???

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

A forge, anvil, hammer.

and some steel wheel weights for material:kidding:

[RayinNH]

44man, starting at the upper right in your picture, make the nearly right angle bend in the vice. Leave the leg long so you can clamp in down to a steel plate. For a clamp use a piece of bar stock 3/8 or 1/2 square and file a deep v groove that will straddle the leg from the first bend. Use a c-clamp to hold it down. At all of the round bends use dowels of the necessary diameter. For dowels use round bar stock or bolt shanks. You can either drop them in the plate or if you leave them in place make them short and weld them to the plate from the bottom. After the first bend is made clamp it in place and walk the stock around the dowels. You may need to finish the last bend in the vice again.

If you do this cold you may need to make a jig or two because these will probably spring a bit large. If you use acetylene this should be quite simple. With heat, have several rods to work with. When cold cut the joint to size with a hacksaw...Ray

[leftiye]

If you bent the ends first you could clamp the middle with a square jaw (piece of steel welded to vise grip on one side) clamp and bend the main shape around the clamp (with the part of the swivel that goes in the strap(?) ending up on top). Round the corners of the clamp as necessary to get correct curve. It should be possible to bend 5/32 rod with a pair of vise grips.

[Longwood]

The only way you will get a tight ninety degree bend in a vise is if it is red hot or you beat the cold steel with a big hammer.
If I saw you doing that to any of my vises you may be the one getting pounded upon.
Even heating it red hot, where it bends like rubber, bending a piece of steel into a shape like that takes experience.
I know, I have been welding for over 50 years and I have done those handles numerous times. They are not easy to get even,
My uncle used to let me watch as he did Blacksmith work when I was nine and ten.
Take it to the guys that made the originals.
Blacksmith's
There is one here some place.

[44man]

These things are small. 1-916" long.
I have thought about milling the inside shape on the end of a bar and putting dowels in at the outside bends to hammer in the wire between them and the form.
My friend sells hundreds of other swivels he makes to the suttler's at the Civil war shoots in VA. I don't understand the demand but he came home the other day with $1000! Just how many guys need swivels????
They are always calling him for 150 at a time.
He uses the wire from those political signs for most, or bare welding wire.
I had 5 worms and 1 ball puller for him to take and he handed me a $100 bill.
Civil war junkies are a gold mine!

[kenjuudo]

Jim solution sent by email.

jim

[leftiye]

Longwood - look at 44man's pictures. See any sharp 90 degree bends???? Worry about YOUR vises and other tools.

[blademasterii]

Take a piece of T stock and either a hardwood or aluminum and cut a u channel in it. Straight wire goes across the u channel. Place the T stock on top and smack with a hammer. Fold remaining length across the bottom flat of the t stock and cut to fit. Moves the splice from the top bell to the bottom flat, but is the easiest/quickest way I could come up with to form that shape.

[Certaindeaf]

I'm thinking a mandrel shaped like that, heat the wire and then beat/tap it to form with a small ball peen hammer. Snip off end/s so they meet.

[geargnasher]

Longwood - look at 44man's pictures. See any sharp 90 degree bends???? Worry about YOUR vises and other tools.

I don't see any sharp bends either. I have one of the Duluth wire-bending jigs, really neat tool for coathanger and welding wire, but anything larger than about 10-gauge steel wouldn't fit between the rods. I'd just make a larger version of it with a scrap of heavy plate, drill press, and rod stock, stick your cherry-red 5/16 rod in there and bend away. Seems you could set up some stops and guides to make them symmetrical and identical.

Gear

[Longwood]

Longwood - look at 44man's pictures. See any sharp 90 degree bends???? Worry about YOUR vises and other tools.

I have made lots of them. Have you?
Please show me the first one you make.
Not the first good one,,,, the first try with a pair of Vise grips
My vises are good vises that cost many times more than most peoples Chineese made channel marker anchors.
Would you like to see some handles I made?
They have nice 90 degree corners where they should so they will swivel properly.

[oneokie]

Enough. Tone things down.

[44man]

Lots of good ideas to try. I need to get busy and will get back.