Reference: Ford CMP Truck- Battery Holder plans

[Jacques Reed]

Hi Bob and Keith,

Thanks for your info Bob. Thought they probably were for tire chains. Haven't got any chains yet but a low priority. One of those nice to have-but items.

Thanks again Keith for your help. I thought they would be very basic and the angled edge at the padlock end is good to know. Did not want to take too much "artistic license" with the design.

Brgds,

[Jacques Reed]

Well, after a false start I am ready to finally get the holder folded up for me.
Learnt a few things along the way about sheetmetal work too.
I had the fabricator fold up the front retainer bar first to check bend deductions before I cut out the main sheetmetal for the holder. Glad I did, as the deduction worked out to a generous 3/16" (5 mm) using his equipment. I was therefore able to adjust the pattern before cutting.

As shown in the photo of the front bar the bottom leg "grew" by 3/16" by keeping the front leg exactly 1" high. The original piece of steel was 1-5/8" wide (moulded width) before folding.
When I got back to the fabricator he suggested I use galvanized steel which was 0.049" thick, only 0.002" less than the original. Wish he had suggested it to me before I got the black steel front piece from him.

Also experimented with sheet metal drilling before I drill the holes in the holder. As you all may know, when drilling sheetmetal it notoriously creates triangular holes even when done on a drill press with a sharp jobbers bit and clamped tightly as I confirmed. So a bit more reading and off to the local industrial supply house for a 17/64" stub drill, not the kind of item you get at the local Bunnings Warehouse (Home Depot for our North American friends).
So a bit more practice on steel offcuts with the new drill bit and maybe a pilot hole before I commit to the important holes. Stay tuned.

Brgds

[Harry Moon]

Use a tapered sheet metal drill, the ones that look like a christmas tree.
Didn't know that until my son taught the old dog a new trick just a little while ago.

[Jacques Reed]

Thanks for that tip. Looked at step drills or "Unibits". Will go that route if my stub drill bit does not do the job properly. The stub drill was only $2.60, the step drills I priced were in the $40 mark.
It looks like step drills only drill in 1/32nd increments also. Not a major problem though that a round file could not fix.

Brgds,

[Jacques Reed]

As the shed was not a refrigerator today I decided to do a few test drills on an offcut of sheet steel to see how different combinations of drill bits work.

Thought I would post these photos which may be of interest.

All holes were made with the sheet metal clamped to the drill press table with a piece of hardwood backing it up.

As per the photos, the jobbers drill in the drill press makes a triangular hole.

The combination of using a No. 30 panel drill as a pilot with the stub drill makes the best hole.

Using the stub drill alone makes a reasonable hole but not as good as with a pilot hole.

If you are only going to put a rivet or screw in a hole then this is overkill but if you have occasion to have a visible hole in a panel this method will ensure the hole is round and on tolerance. It works out cheaper than a big outlay for something that you may only use once.

I am sure there are many other ways to "skin a cat" but I believe this will work for me.

Brgds,

[Jacques Reed]

Sometimes it pays to procrastinate:

As the guy who was going to fold up my battery holder was away last week I started thinking how was I going to drill the 12 holes for the stud plates accurately?
I had originally thought I would drill them after folding the steel but it really makes no difference in what order they were done.

Marking out is one thing, and then there is getting the centre punch right on target, and then there is getting the piece right under the drill point on the drill press. Lots of variables.

Removed one variable- bought an $8 automatic centre punch. Best $8 I ever spent for the shop. Beats a hand centre punch anyday- and saves fingers!

Marking out- to avoid errors working with small distances (3/4"), and laying out 12 of them I had an idea. I layed out the position of the holes on a sheet of paper but at double the scale. Now they were 1-1/2" apart. Ditto for the position from the bottom mould line. I then used my copier and reduced the copy to 50% and checked the distances- all were spot on. Thanks Canon.
Glued the copy to the sheetmetal, centre punched the holes, drilled pilot hole, then final hole. Checked holes afterwards and I would say all are within position by less than 0.010". It should avoid having to elongate holes to fit if I ever find original stud plates to rivet to it.

Note the other handy hint I use for centering a drill at the punch mark. I use a small Dremel engraving burr to position the chuck at the punch mark. I then remove it and replace it with the drill bit(s). Lot easier for these tired 63 year old eyes!

Regards,

[Jacques Reed]

Here is the almost finished holder. Just got it back from the fabricator.
Next step is getting the hold down studs for it.

Have spoken with a blacksmith who thinks he can rough out two for me for a reasonable cost and I will thread, grind and file them to shape.

Once I meet him this week and show him an example I will have a better feel for his idea of "reasonable cost". If too expensive, I will just fabricate them from a bolt minus its head welded to a plate. he is a decorative iron blacksmith so I hope his prices aren't to decorated.

The other option is I might find a scrapped holder to salvage the studs from, but after 20 years of looking for one I don't like my chances. Can anyone help me out?

Brgds,