On Fri, 14 Apr 2006 17:07:27 GMT, cavelamb
wrote:

Mike wrote:
Orval Fairbairn wrote:

In article .com,
"Mike" wrote:


A finger strap is a reinforcing piece of metal that is used to
reinforce a joint.

The impression I have is the strap is heated until it can be formed,
then wrapped around both the primary and secondary tubing being joined.
For both tubes the strap is formed around them.

Is the strap tacked in place, then heated until it's plastic, then
hammered/tapped/worked so that it is formed around the pieces, or is it
somehow formed off of the tubing that's being reinforced? - Mike

Tack weld, heat, hammer form when red hot, weld in place.


Orval - OK, I"ll try that on some scrap; but every time the hammer
touches the metal, and every place the patch touchs the base metal will
tend to cool down the patch. Is there a secret? Small areas at a time?
- Mike


One could "pre form" the strap to fit cold...


Yep - I was thinking of building a mold by building a like joint,
filling it with sand, and heating the strap around that - but I get
wrapped around the axel and was looking for an EZ way - MIke