Are There Any Good Fabricators Out There ? "Bender Required"

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Member for

13 years 2 months

Posts: 1,101

I have a set of waterjet cut steel blanks for the Snipes spar fittings, & am looking for some one who can accurately bend & shape 14g etc 4130 spec material, but who dose'nt charge the earth. Are there any forumites out there, who would be willing "& capable" of making them ?.
The fittings have to be folded very accurately, as they have to fit around the spars.
I am currently located in Essex, but can take the Blanks to Yorkshire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Middlesex, Bedford, or Lincolnshire, as I vist various places in these counties on a regular basis.

Bob T.

Original post

Member for

17 years 11 months

Posts: 2,605

The Shuttleworth collection has some good fabricators.Where are you in the world.Sheetmetal workers are pretty universal..

Member for

18 years 11 months

Posts: 8,847

I am currently located in Essex, but can take the Blanks to Yorkshire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Middlesex, Bedford, or Lincolnshire, as I vist various places in these counties on a regular basis.

This is where the O.P. is. ;)

Member for

13 years 2 months

Posts: 1,101

The Shuttleworth collection has some good fabricators.Where are you in the world.Sheetmetal workers are pretty universal..

I know the guys at Shuttleworth, & have traded a few bits I had spare, for work in the past, & know how good they are, trouble is they are charging about £45 per hour, which is a lot more than I can realy pay, as the project is being done on a fairly tight budget.

There are many Metalworkers/fabricators around, the problem is finding a realy good one who doesn't charge the earth. The parts would have to be bent etc correctly first time, as it would take me quite a bit of time & money to replace any of the blanks that were screwed up.

Bob T.

Member for

17 years 10 months

Posts: 322

Therein lies your problem - you want a top job at bottom dollar. Everyone who comes to us wanting a top job then complain about the price. I know it's not your fault but - to many of us are fed up of doing favours after years of experience training and hard work. Sounds harsh but.

Mick

Member for

16 years

Posts: 455

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a6/Bender_Rodriguez.png/220px-Bender_Rodriguez.png
I'll get my coat!

Member for

13 years 2 months

Posts: 1,101

Therein lies your problem - you want a top job at bottom dollar. Everyone who comes to us wanting a top job then complain about the price. I know it's not your fault but - to many of us are fed up of doing favours after years of experience training and hard work. Sounds harsh but.

Mick

Hi Mick

I'm not after some thing for nothing, just trying to find an independant guy who is willing & capable of doing the job at a fair price, rather than a company, which has to not only pay it's skilled staff, but also make a profit on top.

It would be great if I had the readies to pay Shuttleworth, Skysport or Retrotech etc, as they all do a fantastic job, but like a lot of other enthusiasts, I don't.
So far, a lot of the parts that I have had to get made by some one else, have been paid for by exchanging surplus original items, for them making new parts, but the small pile of original stuff I had spare, has now almost dried up.

Bob T.

Member for

13 years 2 months

Posts: 1,101

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a6/Bender_Rodriguez.png/220px-Bender_Rodriguez.png
I'll get my coat!

LOL!

Bob T.

Member for

12 years 8 months

Posts: 5

Sheet metal worker

Can I suggest you try a company in Witham, Essex. "Hot metal" 01376 501267. The company was until recently called Ace Sheet Metal but the name changed when one of the then co owners retired.

This company is a now a one man band with very limited aircraft experiance but are well equiped, and do a lot of vintage car work and the quality of the work is excellent and at resonable price.

I am not connected with the firm but am a friend of the sole owner/worker.

Stuart Penfold

Member for

13 years 2 months

Posts: 1,101

Hi Stuart

Many thanks, I will give them a call to see what they say.

By the way, where's DangerMouse ?? :D.

Bob T.

Member for

13 years 2 months

Posts: 1,101

Hi Paul

I am trying to find some one who can fold/bend steel blanks to the correct shapes etc, this is totally different to rolling, & produces sharp/tight bends, rather than a flowing curve.

Bob T.

Member for

20 years

Posts: 278

Hi Bob,

I know someone who might be the right person for you, if you look on this link: http://www.nederlandseluchtvaart.nl/forums/f20-projecten-projects/projecten-nederland-6287/index10.html and looked at the postings made by Paul Stalenberg ( also check the next pages of this link). The job he has done is for the Fokker C.X project of the militairy aviation museum. The only thing is that he lives in the Netherlands, but, I wonder if that is a real problem in these modern days.
If you want to contact him, just let me know.

Regards,

Mathieu.