Making drawbenches

[ps_bond]

Thought this might be worth hiving off as its own thread -

A collection of drawbench construction methods:

http://www.meevis.com/jewelry-making-class-making-a-hanging-draw-bench.htm
http://ganoksin.com/blog/shelbyvision/2010/11/09/homemade-draw-bench/
http://www.midwest-metalsmiths.org/images/drawbench-pdf.pdf
http://ganoksin.com/blog/davidcruickshank/2010/11/22/drawbench/

And, of course

http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2617

Variations on a theme. They don't need to be welded, they don't need anything too elaborate and they don't need to cost too much.

[Dennis]

The Cookson link is to one of my early posts, but sometime, playing around, I managed to erase all my past pictures, when I didn't think that was possible. So here is the post again with its accompanying picture:

Drawing Down Wire

Often it is difficult to order wire without seeing some samples. Having a selection of drawplates enables you to make your own and frees you from the constraints of the stock list. The next problem is that to draw down thicker wires smoothly and easily you will need a draw bench and commercial draw benches are bulky, inconvenient and horribly expensive.

Some years back I called in to a yacht chandler, Arthur Beale in Covent Garden and they came up with this solution. To provide the traction I bought the smallest hand operated winch, one and a half metres of non stretch rope and a steel ring to attach to the end. I happened already to have my faithful work horse with a woodworking vice at one end. An old table or a very stout board might have done. All I needed in addition was some hand draw tongs with one hooked arm. A convenient length for this improvised draw bench is about 85cm, but you will be limited by the reach of your arms, because you have to hold the tongs closed with one hand while winding the winch with the other

A final bonus is that if you clamp annealed wire at one end and stretch it slowly, it will become slightly thinner, but perfectly straight.

[ps_bond]

I'll post a photo of mine when I work out my preferred method for stopping the drawplate falling on the floor as the end of the wire comes out :)

[Dennis]

Drawing Down Wire ( Cont. )

Three things have since been questioned and are explained below. Having also suffered commercial drawbenches elsewhere, one ancient and one contemporary, I much prefer mine for its lightness and ease of use:

1. The 15cm carpenter's vice grasps the drawplate quickly and firmly without marking it. It is by its nature quick to release so as to move the drawplate along as needed.
2. The non stretch boat chandlers rope is lighter than a webbing belt usually seen, and does not need to be wound up neatly.
3. The hand tongs with one hook are quick to grasp the wire by hand pressure alone, and only begin to slip when the wire needs annealing.

You quickly develop a rhythm for repeated passes, whereas the double hooked self closing tongs need more careful arranging each time. Dennis.

[Dennis]

I'll post a photo of mine when I work out my preferred method for stopping the drawplate falling on the floor as the end of the wire comes out :)

That's exactly why you need a carpenter's vice, Peter. A 6"Draper one costs about £20 at present.

[ps_bond]

Considered it as a solution, but I'm going to try hard drive magnets to start with. The commercial drawbenches I've been looking at don't use a vice (and to further compound my disgrace, I've got a webbing strap boat winch and self closing tongs!).

[Petal]

That's exactly why you need a carpenter's vice, Peter. A 6"Draper one costs about £20 at present.

Huge thanks for posting this guys, its greatly appreciated. The vice is on my shopping list. :Y:

[ps_bond]

Finally tried the hard drive magnets. They're just placed on the back of the drawplate support, with their backs still on - I think they might stick a little too well without them. Works very well.

As a more permanent solution, I might inset & epoxy some smaller neodymium magnets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium_magnet) into the support.

[Dennis]

When you've refined your mod. Peter, patent it or someone else might. The traditional system is truly pathetic. Dennis.

[ps_bond]

It turns out there is a drawback (badum) to using the magnets: While normal drawplates are paramagnetic and work well, my tungsten carbide insert plates are not and so don't stick. Time for a rethink...

[Dennis]

I'm having trouble with my magnetic burr stand: lots of new screw mandrels won't stick.

[ps_bond]

Plated brass?

[ps_bond]

I've finally got a quick & easy clamping method for drawplates that I like: Toggle clamps.
Bought some inline clamps on EBay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301016691124
Now I need to weld a mounting plate on so I can bolt them at the right height.

[Dennis]

I've not met these before, so I'm not sure what is inside the rubber ends to resist the drawing forces Peter. Also drawplates come in at least two sizes , so how will you deal with that?

As you know, I use a carpenters vice, which is smooth and does not mark the plates. It is also quick to release plates and move to a different row. It attaches with a clamp and two screws.Dennis.

[ps_bond]

They're just to press the plate against the main upright on my drawbench (a 50mm piece of angle with a hole in it), so they don't have to resist the full drawing force, they're just to stop the drawplate falling off. The rubber ends cover steel and the shank is threaded so they can be adjusted easily. They're very quick to use - they're used a lot as holddowns for jigs and the likes; you can get them with all sorts of orientations and holding strengths.

[Goldsmith]

I would have suggested spring clamps for holding your drawplate steady against the angle iron Peter, I use these types for many uses;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-165mm-Spring-Clamp-Pieces/dp/B006A7EUO4/ref=sr_1_10?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1386156394&sr=1-10&keywords=spring+clamp+set
Under £3 a pair.

James

[ps_bond]

Funnily enough, that's what I've been using - I just fancied something more integrated with the bench. Or possibly just over-complicating things, for a change.

[caroleallen]

I don't have the skills to make a draw bench and I don't want to clutter my studio with one, so I was wondering what you think of this one http://www.free-form.ch/tools/draw.html

[ps_bond]

Looks a nice simple design, dead easy to fabricate and a nice touch on using the channel end as a brace for the drawplate.
Worth £475 + taxes? No. It's maybe £20 of steel and a £20 boat winch with some mounting bolts. It'd be preferable to use a completely standard channel size, but there may be some cutting involved (and drilling holes for the mounting bolts). No welding.

Anyone with a drill and an angle grinder could make that; might be worth asking a garage if they'd do one for beer money?

[ps_bond]

Actually, it occurs to me I ought to work out the price of this as I would with a piece of jewellery.

OK, materials costs:
Steel £20
Boat winch £20 max (could go cheaper)
3 csk bolts, nuts and washers. £1?
Time to layout and drill 3 holes and countersink - 15 mins.
Possible time to chop some of the channel height down to allow the winch handle access - 15 mins.
Drawfile sharp edges - couple of minutes at most.

Call it £20/hour because it makes the maths easy; wholesale price £60. (1.2x materials + time with rounding!)
Retail £120.

Or... Buy flat steel and weld up a suitable channel. Slower - it'll need more finishing of the welds, won't need cutting but will still need drilling. Steel cost would probably end up the same.

[caroleallen]

Well, when you put it like that, maybe I will ask someone to make me one in the new year.


Actually, it occurs to me I ought to work out the price of this as I would with a piece of jewellery.

OK, materials costs:
Steel £20
Boat winch £20 max (could go cheaper)
3 csk bolts, nuts and washers. £1?
Time to layout and drill 3 holes and countersink - 15 mins.
Possible time to chop some of the channel height down to allow the winch handle access - 15 mins.
Drawfile sharp edges - couple of minutes at most.

Call it £20/hour because it makes the maths easy; wholesale price £60. (1.2x materials + time with rounding!)
Retail £120.

Or... Buy flat steel and weld up a suitable channel. Slower - it'll need more finishing of the welds, won't need cutting but will still need drilling. Steel cost would probably end up the same.

[mizgeorge]

Well, when you put it like that, maybe I will ask someone to make me one in the new year.

If they'd like to make a couple....... ;)

[Wallace]

If they'd like to make a couple....... ;) - or 3? :Y:

[caroleallen]

OK, OK I'll see what I can come up with :)

[Dennis]

I feel that I have said enough on this subject in the past to keep quiet now, but it seems that what is putting most of you off us the idea of constructing it in metal.

Most people could cope easily with drilling holes for bolts and securing them with a washer and a nut. So why not look at a bench mate from B&Q, which costs very little and can be folded and leaned against a wall when not in use? Dennis.

[caroleallen]

Never keep quiet Dennis, we value your advice.

Is a bench mate big enough?

[Dennis]

Well the old work horse, pictured on page one, which I converted about 18 years ago, is 840mm long and allows me to draw wires about 450mm long, using hand draw tongs.

Using the shorter self closing tongs would improve on that, but I have found at college that they require careful arranging and annoyingly slow me down.

I have also droned on about the woodworkers vice, but one added plus is that with a few filed grooves and rounded angles I can easily clamp the ends of wires at the top and bend them horizontal for stretching. It's a joy working with straight wire. Dennis.

[caroleallen]

Do you think this may work? http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gta2600-mitre-saw-stand

[caroleallen]

or this http://www.axminster.co.uk/faithfull-steel-trestles-set-2

[ps_bond]

I clamp mine in a Workbench pale imitation that cost £10.

[trialuser]

Do you think this may work? http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gta2600-mitre-saw-stand
Carole, I'd strongly advise against the bosch stand in the link.
I have a similar dewalt one, and whilst it is brilliant for holding my saw, it is virtually useless for anything else. It is unnecessarily expensive as a simple bench. They are designed and made to do one thing very well.
It strikes me that the purpose of the bench is to support and separate the two business ends of the drawbench. If you had two opposing work areas or surfaces, say 6 feet apart, you could do away with a stand and just clamp or bolt the winch and drawplate holder to the opposing benches, I suppose a length of mdf or something across the gap when in use would catch the tongs when the wire was pulled out of the die. Just thinking aloud really, I don't know your setup but I can visualise that arrangement working with what I have here.

[caroleallen]

Thanks for all the advice. Although I'd love to be able to cobble one together myself, I'm so short of time these days. I'll probably regret it but in the end I went with this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/WIRE-DRAW-BENCH-PORTABLE-TABLE-TOP-HOLDS-PLATE-GOLD-SILVER-DRAWING-RODS-TUBE-USA-/400528773915

I liked it because it's light and small enough to be hung on the wall. I'll let you know if its any good.

[ps_bond]

Interesting, I see they've used aluminium. Lower density and easier to cut and drill (although tends not to respond well to angle grinders).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-x-Aluminium-Channel-1-x-4-x-1-x-1-8-x-1000mm-Metal-Alloy-U-Section-/230757533940 - might be thick enough.

[Dennis]

I liked it because it's light and small enough to be hung on the wall. I'll let you know if its any good.

It looks like a really good buy, Carole. When it arrives, you will have to decide how to fix it for use. A single bench vice might not hold it firmly enough or be too tall.

You will have noted that Peter has used a folding workbench to mount his, presumably as in this link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=folding+workbench&lpid=25&keyword=folding+workbench&clk_rvr_id=560277509813&crlp=30666001924_2683116_ICEP3&GUID=5ba8b33b13d0a5f164f2b302fb1efa1d&adpos=1t2&MT_ID=11&device=c&geo_id=32251&keyword=folding+workbench&rotation_id=710-35650-5910-0&crdt=0&ff1=keyword%3Dfolding%2Bworkbench&ff3=1&ff4=69_25&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=69&ff13=84&ff14=25&ff17=folding+workbench&ff19=0

The draw bench could be screwed or bolted near to one edge and the whole thing folded, and hung up, or leaned against a wall. Some of the middle priced ones look good and sturdy.

Whatever, this will change your life, because you can draw any kind of wire from only round or square stock. Dennis.

[caroleallen]

I'm hoping I can bolt it to a bench in my studio when I need to use it. It won't be used all the time.