jig help

[tjvsenior]

I need to make a bunch of these stainless bowls and am not sure what is the best approach for a jig. This bowl is made with separate rings, but I think I could make them faster if I spiral the wire, roll one long piece instead of multiple single rings.

The two lowest rings must be separate rings, but from there on up a spiral is OK. The spiral material is 3/16" round bar. The two bottom rings are 1/4" round bar.

The bowl dimensions are 9" OD at the base, 15" OD at the top and five inches tall. Spacing between spiral rings is approx. 1/2". Four 1/8"x1/2" vertical flat bar pieces support the wire.

thanks for the help. tom

[MMW]

Spiral would work. You would still need to space the rings though. I would cut some 1/2" blocks as spacers to put between the rings as you go up. Weld a ring, move spacers, set next ring, weld.move spacers, etc.

[yorkiepap]

Hey Tom,
I am new to posting on this forum also. I've been welding & production design 40+ years and will attempt to give you some guidance. To be able to fabricate in multiple quantities, a jig or fixture is an absolute necessity. The idea of jigging and fixturing is to have the end result of what I call "repetitive consistency". Each piece is exactly the same. To design and construct a fixture involves the primary design....a complete piece or part. The finished part is how the jig is designed....it is built around the part so every component fits into the jig at a precise location as the original part. You need to start with a base, then the side support locators, then proceed vertically with each component location support. Since your bowl is tapered from the bottom the smallest to the top the largest, the jig is easier to construct because you will fabricate from the largest component on the bottom to the smallest component on the top of the fixture. Always remember, a finished, dimensionally-correct part, is how you get a fixture to produce an exact replica. In my span of production design, I have designed and fabricated in excess of 200 jigs/fixtures, the largest that is to construct steel, 3-hinge, RH/LH doorframes with threshold, and the option to have a 12" glass panel attached. It is 8 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 40" high.

Anyway, if I can be of assistance to give you advice, don't hesitate to ask....Denny

[tjvsenior]

thanks yorkiepap and MMW for the ideas. Tom

[weldingman251]

yea all those ideas would work now i have a question if im welding round bar to a corner of a table(made out of angle iron) and it keeps sliding off or not butting up right i used a peice of strap and bent it to fit and hold it do u guys have any better ideas for that????

[yorkiepap]

Hey w/m251,
The easiest method and to maintain alignment accuracy is to use a couple 75lb angle welding magnets. They work quite nicely and allow you to tack dissimilar configurations in place. They are very inexpensive on E-Bay and some outlet stores.....Denny

[weldingman251]

thanks again Denny ill try that if i ever do a hall table of that design again

[Wicked one]

I need to make a bunch of these stainless bowls and am not sure what is the best approach for a jig. This bowl is made with separate rings, but I think I could make them faster if I spiral the wire, roll one long piece instead of multiple single rings.

The two lowest rings must be separate rings, but from there on up a spiral is OK. The spiral material is 3/16" round bar. The two bottom rings are 1/4" round bar.

The bowl dimensions are 9" OD at the base, 15" OD at the top and five inches tall. Spacing between spiral rings is approx. 1/2". Four 1/8"x1/2" vertical flat bar pieces support the wire.

thanks for the help. tom

why not try to find a bowl that is similar and set the rins on the bowl in order or tack them biggest to smallest. you may not be able to do all the rings in this way but it will be easier to get it started. Jef