Dr.Jeff
True Classic
NOTE: New content was later added to help with using the tool described here. Scroll down to find the newer post with that info.
Awhile back there was a thread about replacing the coolant tubes under the car. Part of the topic discussed how to secure the hoses onto the ends by forming a "bead" around the tubes.
https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/attachment-of-water-pipes-inside-bottom-tunnel.32969/
One of the methods to form the beads was to 'crimp' them using a large washer welded onto ViceGrips. Looks like this:
Replacing the coolant tubes is one of the many things needed on my car. But currently I'm developing a turbo kit for it (doing the fun stuff first). To fit everything in the cramped engine bay I have to make a couple custom aluminum pipes for the intercooler. So I decided to try the same method shown above to form a bead on the aluminum tube. One thing I did not care for with this method is the washer is thin and makes a narrow, harsh crimp rather than a smooth, humped bead. To help with this I wanted to use a fatter, rounder item instead of a washer. In my stash of misc junk was a couple old-school exhaust clamps; one quite small (1-1/2", below) and the other larger. The aluminum tube is 2-1/2" so these looked like they would work.
First I cut the legs off the "U-bolt" from the small clamp:
Then I took the arched bracket from the larger clamp:
And welded both to a old pair of ViceGrips:
It worked to make a wider, smoother bead, but it was very slow. The ViceGrips could only take a shallow bite each time and multiple passes were required, each with a successively stronger setting and lots of grip force. Slow and difficult.
Then I decided to use the same forming components but instead of ViceGrips I mounted them onto a couple pieces of angle iron that could be used in a bench vice:
This allowed the force of the vice to create the bead much faster and with less effort. Here is a picture of 3 samples. The short tube on the left is a piece of scrap used for testing. On the left end of it is the bead made with the ViceGrips, after multiple passes it is still very shallow. The bead on the right end of the same tube was made with the bench vice, after a single pass. You can see the bead is taller, and it can be made much larger still with another pass. The longer tube on the right shows a pre-made bead as supplied from the manufacturer. Very similar to the homemade bead:
Here are a couple additional views of the "bench vice" bead after a single pass:
I don't have pictures of it but with another trip through the former the bead is very close to the "factory" one.
I will be using copper tubes for the coolant pipes and plan to use the same technique to form beads on them. Being smaller in diameter they will require smaller dies. The leftover 'arched' bracket from the smaller exhaust clamp will work for one half of it. For the half-circle U-bolt half I will use a welded-ring. This is fat enough to make the same smooth, wide bead:
But that will have to wait until later on; too many fun projects to do first.
Awhile back there was a thread about replacing the coolant tubes under the car. Part of the topic discussed how to secure the hoses onto the ends by forming a "bead" around the tubes.
https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/attachment-of-water-pipes-inside-bottom-tunnel.32969/
One of the methods to form the beads was to 'crimp' them using a large washer welded onto ViceGrips. Looks like this:
Replacing the coolant tubes is one of the many things needed on my car. But currently I'm developing a turbo kit for it (doing the fun stuff first). To fit everything in the cramped engine bay I have to make a couple custom aluminum pipes for the intercooler. So I decided to try the same method shown above to form a bead on the aluminum tube. One thing I did not care for with this method is the washer is thin and makes a narrow, harsh crimp rather than a smooth, humped bead. To help with this I wanted to use a fatter, rounder item instead of a washer. In my stash of misc junk was a couple old-school exhaust clamps; one quite small (1-1/2", below) and the other larger. The aluminum tube is 2-1/2" so these looked like they would work.
First I cut the legs off the "U-bolt" from the small clamp:
Then I took the arched bracket from the larger clamp:
And welded both to a old pair of ViceGrips:
It worked to make a wider, smoother bead, but it was very slow. The ViceGrips could only take a shallow bite each time and multiple passes were required, each with a successively stronger setting and lots of grip force. Slow and difficult.
Then I decided to use the same forming components but instead of ViceGrips I mounted them onto a couple pieces of angle iron that could be used in a bench vice:
This allowed the force of the vice to create the bead much faster and with less effort. Here is a picture of 3 samples. The short tube on the left is a piece of scrap used for testing. On the left end of it is the bead made with the ViceGrips, after multiple passes it is still very shallow. The bead on the right end of the same tube was made with the bench vice, after a single pass. You can see the bead is taller, and it can be made much larger still with another pass. The longer tube on the right shows a pre-made bead as supplied from the manufacturer. Very similar to the homemade bead:
Here are a couple additional views of the "bench vice" bead after a single pass:
I don't have pictures of it but with another trip through the former the bead is very close to the "factory" one.
I will be using copper tubes for the coolant pipes and plan to use the same technique to form beads on them. Being smaller in diameter they will require smaller dies. The leftover 'arched' bracket from the smaller exhaust clamp will work for one half of it. For the half-circle U-bolt half I will use a welded-ring. This is fat enough to make the same smooth, wide bead:
But that will have to wait until later on; too many fun projects to do first.
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