Dpost seal channel

Whitewash

Member
Hi folks

does anyone have any tips how i can bend the seal channel to fit the shape of the D post? sadly the old channel ive got is too much of a mess (rusty!) to try to cut off and reuse for the most part.



any advice?

thanks


jamie
 
I seem to recall cutting small fillets out of one so it curved. Once the rubber is in place it doesn't notice.

I also seem to recall someone posting a thread where they filled the channel up with melted solder, bent the channel when it was set, then re-melted & removed the solder. This stopped the channel kinking when it was bent.

I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine that.
 
The Rovering Member said:
I seem to recall cutting small fillets out of one so it curved. Once the rubber is in place it doesn't notice.

I also seem to recall someone posting a thread where they filled the channel up with melted solder, bent the channel when it was set, then re-melted & removed the solder. This stopped the channel kinking when it was bent.

I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine that.
im guessing the fillets is the way forwards


you'd have to be bloody weird to imagine that.... but it sounds like it would actually work... perhaps I should give it a go! i bought more seal channel than i needed as i worked out id wreck some of it :)
 
I cut and bent mine to get the curve and then plug welded it in place.





I made the cuts with a cutting disc, then bent it to shape, then I cut the slots again so that there was a gap to weld into. As it's thin I put a piece of copper (flattened pipe) in the channel to act as a heat sink.
 
cheers test rider, very thorough explanation


But... i thought id give the solder method a go, given that if it works its a lot less labour intensive and if it didnt work nothing lost as ive got spare channel anyway, ive also got shit loads of old solder ive acquired that i never use!


so first thing using a small blow torch i melted the solder into the channel, i made sure i filled it completely as initially it wasnt flowing under the lip which is where the support is needed most.



I then tried to bent it, i initially made a small jig from wood but the wood was too soft and allowed it to try and bend in the wrong direction.


in the end I just gripped it in a vice and bent it and used some vice grips to support it and prevent it from bending in the wrong direction, which worked a treat!



I then heated the solder up and ran it onto a block of wood, i then reused the solder for the next bend.



beginners luck as well, i managed to bed it to the right shape first time!



really pleased with how it turned out, so thanks for the suggestion Rovering Member, seems your not going nuts!
 
I'm liking how that works with the solder :D

Must remember it for when I rebuild the D post on my V8.

Dave
 
Impressive and inteligent thinking .
I like what you've done using old solder . Is this ™ or can I copy ?
Isn't this a fantastic forum - such great ideas out there
Gerald
 
Glad to be of assistance, maybe I just imagined a good idea. :wink:

No doubt someone will link to the original thread & steal my thunder. :LOL:
 
I cant take the credit for the idea, i think it came from the sleep pixies that live in rovering members head :mrgreen:

ive just completed the second piece as well, easy as!
 
Rovering Member, your memory serves you well. As does mine, for at the risk of stealing your thunder, 'twas I who posted this useful nugget of P6 restoration information, having myself remembered reading it on the old forum! I can't however remember who came up with the tip in the first place. Haven't even tried it myself, so I'm pleased to see it actually works! 8)
 
Bloody awesome.

Now if only some clever guy could knock out some kind of buck/template and a supply them in the correct profile they would sell well.

I cant really understand why they are only available straight.

Colin
 
Whitewash said:
cheers test rider, very thorough explanation


But... i thought id give the solder method a go, given that if it works its a lot less labour intensive and if it didnt work nothing lost as ive got spare channel anyway, ive also got shit loads of old solder ive acquired that i never use!

Looks like the solder method works well.

With all these sorts of thing you use/make do with what you've got - I didn't have any solder or a blow torch but plenty of cutting discs and welding wire!
 
Hi, instead of melting the solder out onto a piece of wood in a blob, if you cut a slot in the wood
and melt it into that, you can form another stick for the next section. Or for 40 years time when
you do it again. :wink:

Colin
 
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