Rack Building Basics -- Tools
This will be the first in a multipart set of blog entries with some basic information on rack building. I'm going to start by discussing tools. If you have any requested subjects please let me know in the comments and I'll concentrate on them in future entries. The next entry will be about mitering tubing. I don't plan on doing any entries around the use of a brazing torch, I think that you should learn that hands on from another person who is skilled in brazing.
My existing toolkit already had some of what I needed, such as a good vise and a hacksaw. However I also needed to buy a number of more specialized tools such as files, clamps, and machinists squares.
My most used tool is the vise. It supports tubing when I'm cutting it, mitering it, and brazing it. I have a pretty basic Japanese made vise that has 4" wide jaws. I haven't found the need for anything bigger yet when building racks, but this one is probably too small for mitering larger tubing used in frames. I often clamp rack sized tubing directly into the jaws of the vise, but it is better to make tubing blocks. You can see a homemade behind the vise. I have my vise mounted in front of the workbench so that I can access it from three sides. Framebuilders often have a vise mounted on a pedestal for 360 degree access.
My torch kit started out as a Victor Superrange II, but I quickly replaced a number of the parts. It would have been cheaper to buy a kit from scratch. I use Oxy/Propane (Oxy/Acetylene is more common). My welding shop swapped the stock acetylene regulator for a propane one. Propane doesn't burn as hot as acetylene, but it is hot enough for brazing. It's nice being able to use the same fuel tank as my propane BBQ. My oxygen cylinder has a 55 cubic foot capacity and that seems to last me about 6 months (maybe 10 racks?).
I've upgraded the hoses to the Smith Kevlar hoses (around $50) and replaced the torch with a smaller and lighter Victor J-28. I primarily use a W-1J tip when making racks.
A great early project is a torch stand. This one is made from pieces of a BMX frame that I found in the trash. The stand lets me keep the torch turned on when I need to put it down for a minute and also holds short pieces of brazing rod and my striker.
A lot of small tools are involved in making racks. I laid out some of them on my workbench. From left to right we have:
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Drill and bits
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Tubing bender
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Clamps (Kant Klamps are the specific brand)
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Pliers
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Shop cloth or production cloth. This is sandpaper on a roll and 1" or 1.5" wide. I buy 80 grit shop cloth and a roll seems to last a long time.
Enco has it pretty cheaply.
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Sharpies are really useful for marking on steel.
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Machinists squares in a couple of sizes are useful for keeping things square. Enco has a small kit for $20 with 4 sizes.
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Vise grips are useful for clamping fixtures.
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Round files are useful for mitering. More on this in a future entry.
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A welding magnet can also be useful for clamping.
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A center punch makes drilling holes in tubing much easier. You need to drill small vent holes in most of the tubes that you braze.
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Sitting under the center punch is a deburring tool. It cleans up the inside of tubing nicely after you cut it.
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Brazing flux and a flux brush.
You need to wear some sort of eye protection when brazing. These safety glasses are special in that they have didymium lenses with a flip-up #3 brazing lens. They are large enough to fit over my regular glasses (yup, I look like a dork with three pairs of lenses on my eyes). You can get them from Sundance Art Glass. Without didymium the flame and flux produce a bright orange sodium flare that is very difficult to see through. It makes it hard to see the underlying metal, which is necessary to know when the flux is getting hot enough (it turns glassy) or the steel is getting too hot (it turns orange). Here is an example without the glasses:
Can you see anything under that huge orange flame? I can't. This is what happens when you put the glasses on:
Whoa. That tube is too hot.
The glasses are expensive and a luxury, but they are a really useful luxury. I think that they help my brazing quite a bit.