Chassis Construction & Finishing Tips

[gogzhad]

Hey Ed,
Does the Heyco tool make the hole, put in the relief, both, or ? Where does one acquire one and are they expensive?
thanks,
dave

[EWBrown]

The Heyco tool is basically just a fancy set of pliers (they make several sizes) for squeezing the Heyco bushing on to the power cord and then inserting it into the hole, while the bushing is still "squeezed". The hhole has to be drilled or ponched first. I found my Heyco Bushing Squeezer at a local hamfest years ago. I would not have recognized it, but for having seen and used them at work back then. I have used pliers for years before than, usually with no ill effects except for marring the bushing.

/ed B in NH

[MLVA123]

Just following up on this thread - did you guys ever complete your aluminum chassis painting 'experiments'? What is the final recommendation? Gogzhad was going to post pics of his Alodine finish, and I believe Shannon mentioned some pics of his Detroit Greenies! Also, you guys mentioned primer followed by epoxy paint - any particular type of primer? The guys/gals in the paint shop at Lowe's are really nice, but don't know anything about aluminum!

-Michael

[gogzhad]

As for the type of primer, as long as it is compatible with metal and the type of finish being applied, it should work fine. Make sure to clean, abrade, and then clean the surface again. The final cleaning should be with a non-oxidizing solvent, such as isopropyl alcohol, acetone, etc. Make sure the part is clean and dry prior to application, and follow label instructions for the paint selected. Epoxies will cure more completely if cured at elevated temperature - radiant heat works a little better than convective in most cases.
The alodine experiment is still in the backlog as an outbreak of chicken pox and an invasion of tent caterpillars have conspired to occupy all my non-working time for the past week or so. Hope to post it soon, though.
dave

[Shannon Parks]

MLVA123,
Yeah, almost put them up last night when I did some web updates. Very soon! :)

Shannon

[gogzhad]

I saw a a link to this site posted on the bottlehead forum - thought the diytubers might find it useful as well:
http://www.caswellplating.com/index.html
Looks like everything one could possibly want for plating just about anything.
cheers,
dave