Hi All Iv'e had a busy week but have managed to get some bits & bobs finished that iv'e been working on for a while now & here's the latest creation , i know it looks like a mad scientists brain drain device but this is my tilley bowlfire guard jig ( It takes a bowl to make a bowlfire jig ) . Iv'e been working on for weeks now because i have so many heaters that have no guards & the ones i do have are rusty, & using this i can now make them ( the early simple pattern ones ) from stainless steel wire silver soldered together, as even i don't have a spot welder ( yet ). The clip on ends are just bent over at the moment but i will try to make a tool to get the original clip shape but thats for later . I will make these to order for anyone who wants a guard for their heater & will sort out a price when i get time. Here are some pics..... The first two pic's show the front clip where the wire for the inner support ring is held & joined This pic shows the top wire clamp made from a modified hinge , this holds all three guard wires in place & when soldered pushes over to release the finished guard & finally a couple of shots of the finished guard on an early tilley What do you reckon Best regards Stu .
Hi Stu, Did you nick the bowl out of the missus's kitchen? Great piece of creative fettling! All the best - Steve.
Hi Steve Would you believe i got some stainless bowls to make some repro 2 pint stove heaters with the fire domes 8) , but this one had just the right shape to make this jig so off i went on another tangent & this is what i came up with . I may add some more bits to the jig to make some of the other Tilley styles later on. Best regards Stu
Hi All Finaly got round to making a few of these simple ( they take about 1 1/2 hours to make each one ) early R1 guards for a few members These are made on the jig pictured earlier in the post & made from stainless steel wire & all silver soldered together so they'll never rot away like the standard wire ones I also made one for my later style Tilley R1 & my IF 542 although not the standard multi ringed version this works really well & looks the part , i have tried to make a multi ringed guard but the stainless wire doesn't want to play , but i will keep trying Best regards Stu PS , If your interested in one please PT me but be prepared for a bit of a wait as i'm always busy
Nice one Stu . Can you do hanging baskets as well, in between fettling stoves and lamps I mean I will be in touch as soon as I find a Tilley R1 "guardless", or do I mean regardless? Steve.
Hello Stu I like to fettle around myself too but I would have come up with this. What a very good idea to make the guards this way. I'm sure you will be busy for a while. You have problems making the smaller rings, is the wire to stif? what if you heat it first, it will soften. You should roll it up on something and then tie it together, then heat it up. groetnis Henk
Hi Henk It's not that the wire's too stiff it's just so hard to get the rings concentric & looking nice when placed around the frame , but i'm working on it still , Never give up never surrender Stu
Stu, you could use a machine like the one described here, they are also available for making wire rings using three wheels that are adjustable to get different diameters. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rundwalzen.
Stu, here is another self made tool to bend rails for model railways, it surely works for bending wire too. http://www.schnellenkamp-modellbau.de/modules.php?name=eBoard&file=viewthread&tid=2682
