TECH: twist square stock

i just found out how to do this a couple a days ago and thought i would share it. i'm sure alot folks on here already know how to do this and make it look far better. i had never tried forming metal before this so anyone can do it. I was always told i needed an oxygen acetylene torch but turns out thats not the case

all you need is a MAP gas torch, gloves, a vice, and an adjustable wrench...THATS IT!

ok so this is my dangerously horrible work space for a torch but i was carfull for all you safteytards out there,



take your square stock...



put it in your vice and measure up with the wrench, i do this first, before heating so when the stock is hot enough you can just throw it on and twist and not waste time while your stock is cooling.



start heating, its important to get the stock glowing, not just red but glowing red hot, i leave the torch in one spot till it starts to get red then bleed it out slowly so i have about an inch to an inch and a half of good red glow





while its still glowing put your wrench on it and turn the metal just like your turning a bolt, do this as strait as possible, if it bends a little, not a big deal just take it out of the vice and flip it around and straiten out the stock, as you can see in this first bend the twist came out good but i bent the rode





after straiting out, put it back in your vice and heat up and bend again



you can expierement with it, bend one way then the other, do half turns, quarter turns, or full turns to make any design you want





make cool designs or whatever ya want, i dig the look, like i said, these few pics are my first try at this so imagine what a little practice would result in

(don't mind the welds, i'll never show my welding skills on here, i'm into grinding haha)

Cool!

I tryed this with square tubing and had little success. it kept wanting to crush or do a tight twist. I hurd if you twist it inside a pipe it will stay straight.

Acetylene is the key. Map gas (what WE used) burns hotter than propane.

a blacksmithing trick:

if you end up bending your stock when you twist, you can also straighten it out with a wooden or rawhide mallet on a stump; the wood won't ding the corners of your twists like a steel hammer and anvil might. expect some smoke.

alternatively, do all your twists, then heat up the whole length again and hammer the twists down on an anvil for a different effect.

n

Originally Posted by constriktor

a blacksmithing trick:

if you end up bending your stock when you twist, you can also straighten it out with a wooden or rawhide mallet on a stump; the wood won't ding the corners of your twists like a steel hammer and anvil might. expect some smoke.

alternatively, do all your twists, then heat up the whole length again and hammer the twists down on an anvil for a different effect.

n

thats a cool idea, i'll have to try that one

'Nother blacksmithing protip:

Drill a large hole through the end of your stock piece and put another piece of stock through it going perpendicular so that you have a big T shape on the end that you can grab and twist. Alternatively, you can weld a piece on. I always found wrenches to be somewhat difficult. If you're really slick, you can make something like an X shape, with a hole in the middle the size of your stock, and slide that over the end.

If you want uniform twists - DO NOT HEAT THE METAL. A buddy and I twisted 3/4" square stock with an adjustable wrench and a long piece of pipe for more leverage. We also used 1/4" for my linkages. Turned out awesome!

a tap handle works too. the T effect makes it way easyer to keep the bends straight.

good stuff, great pointers guys. never thought about the tap T handle....that would def make things easier

i can dig it

gotta try this...

We did something similar for the oil filter mount on my Panhead. Lee found some nice 3/4" stainless square stock, and twisted a section of it to make the mount for the oil filter, which we are positioning between the wishbone downtubes. I don't have any pictures of him twisting the square stock, but he attached a T-handle to it in order to get a nice even twist, and then he just went back and forth, moving the heated portion up the stock with each successive 90 degree twist.

Lee welding the oil filter mount to the twisted square stock:


We then cut slots in each side of the square stock, and heated and spread the ends out so that it could be welded into the frame (this thing was a bitch to polish). It is just tacked in right now, but will be welded in properly when we strip it down to paint the frame (the mount will be taped off and remain polished):

Great post!

The new basket I bought had a bunch of this work done. So I gave it a shot.

Fucking awesome!

I spent a few minutes today making this. this is my first attempt and I think I'm in love.



I love metal!

I have done a little of this. For tighter twists heat a smaller area you can also just twist more. When you are doing a lot of it, triangulate a jig with a round pipe at the end and that will keep it much straighter. The bends you do get can be fixed with wood blocks on the press. Press it back slightly further than you think and that is usually about right.

This was my first attempt (with hex stock) but same process for square.

And the parts welded in.



I did enough for two frames and a set of springer legs all at the same time, that way I did not have to leave the jig up or re weld it to the table. If I was going to to some production I would make the jig a bolt on unit.

i had a metals teacher in high school who showed me how to do this. just put it in the vice start heating with the tourch and twist. I liked the look of random twist and then going back in the other direction with a gap in between.

One of the best handles, and one blacksmiths use, is simply a piece of the same size stock, folded back onto itself, which gives you a 2 handled wrench. You fold it over the stock, hammer snug, then fold again to wrap back in the opposite direction, kinda like a flattened zig zag. Not sure if that is clear or not.... if no, sorry...

Wow that looks FN badass.

those downtubes are wild..