Basic Fabrication Skills
I haven't had the time to go through all of this, but there's got to be something in here about metal fabrication. [Online Education Database http://oedb.org/library/features/236-open-courseware-collections]
[wikipedia metal fabrication http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabrication_(metal)]
[wikipedia metalworking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalworking]
"Satisfactory work cannot be done with tools in poor condition."
Storage of Tools
"...regardless of where they are stored, each tool should have its own individual place so that it will be readily accessible...Idle tools on a bench top or on the floor are a hazard to anyone working there or passing by, and to one another."
Use of Tools
"You should learn what each tool is designed for and how it should be used."
Conditioning of Tools
"Tools should be kept clean and free of rust...Lubrication of the moving parts of various tools is also a necessity...A sharp tool seldom causes an accident. In most cases where a worker cuts himself, the tool is dull."
Metalworking
"...imagine the results if suddenly we were prevented from using metals of any type in our various daily activities. What would happen to our factories, our transportation and communication systems, our homes, our buildings, amusement, and education?"
Stock Forms
- Sheet metal, "The form most often used by industry is sheet metal, such as sheet topper, brass, steel, and aluminum."
- Plate metal, "...comes as tin plate and steel plate. Tin plate is steel covered with a protective coat of tin..."
- Bands, "...are narrow, heavy strips of steel plate, sometimes called band iron or strap iron."
- Bars, "...may be round, half-round, square, flat, or many other shapes in cross section. Cold-rolled steel bars have harder texture and greater stiffness than bars of hot-rolled steel."
- Wire, "...is generally made by pulling, or drawing, various metals in the form of round bars through small holes in thick, hard pieces of metal called draw plates."
Stock metals
- Cast iron, "...belongs to the group of metals called the ferrous metals — metals that are made largely of iron...It is the presence of graphite that distinguishes cast iron from the other ferrous metals...Automobile engines are made mostly of it. Tools such as lathes, planers, and milling machines are more than ninety per cent cast iron by weight. The making of gray-iron castings is one of the great branches of industry."