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." -from using-tools.com
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." -from using-tools.com
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." -from using-tools.com
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?" -from using-tools.com
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."
Ferrous 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."
- Steel, "If all the carbon and impurities are removed from cast iron and then an amount of carbon up to 2 per cent added in such a way that it combines with the iron, steel will be produced...This steel of low-carbon content is the steel used in building bridges and making the frames of skyscrapers. It can be forged, rolled, or welded. If more carbon is added, the steel takes on a new property; it can then be made very hard by heating it to red heat and cooling it quickly. It is then called tool steel. This is the steel used for making files, chisels, and cutting tools. It has a remarkable property in that after it has been hardened it can be tempered to intermediate degrees of hardness...Tool steel, because of its properties, has become one of the most useful materials employed in industry. It can be annealed so that it is easy to work with files or other metal-cutting tools."
- Alloy steels, "Tungsten, vanadium, nickel, chromium, and other metals have been alloyed with steel, both separately and in combination. The high-speed steels used in making lathe tools, drills, reamers, and other tools are examples of these steels. Chromium has been used to make steel resist corrosion. New alloys are being developed constantly to meet special needs."
Nonferrous metals
- Copper, "...can be worked hot or cold. It can be drawn through dies to produce wires so fine that the eye can hardly see them. It is easy to solder. Copper presents some difficulty in welding because when hot it absorbs gases. When it is hammered or rolled it becomes quite hard. When this occurs, it may be heated and then plunged into water to soften it."
- Aluminum, "The metal which we commonly call aluminum is really an alloy of aluminum and copper or zinc. When alloyed with manganese or magnesium, aluminum has special properties. It can then be forged, and by special heat treatment can be given great tensile strength; it is then used in airplane construction. Aluminum alloy castings are made in sand and in metal molds. They can be machined very rapidly. Sheet aluminum can be stamped and drawn into intricate shapes."
- Brass, "Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, with lead added to make it machine easily. Brass is easy to solder; in sheets it can be formed and stamped; and when hammered or rolled, it becomes hard. Brass wire is rolled to make it suitable for use in making springs. If you should wish to soften brass that has been hardened by hammering, you could heat it and then plunge it into water."