Belt Making Experiments

[Pyra Gorgon]

I've done brass rubbing too, HappyH.

I had a brass fat lil Chinese Buddha.

I rubbed his tummy for good luck!!!

[dashingdarla]

I bought a bead roller/flanger a while back and decided to give it another go. The original problem I was having was it wasn't rolling flanges anywhere near as nicely as it was cutting them off as it flanged. Anyway, the unit looks like this one:



The issue seems to be with the top roller, which has a sharp edge on one side, and a rounded edge on the other. That sharp edge was binding on the bottom roller so when I fed the metal through, it would cut it rather than bend it. I fixed that by chucking the top roller in the lathe and lightly skimming it on the sharp side so that the profiles front and back match. That seemed to have done the trick!

I also had issues with the rollers getting stuck on the shaft, and once I beat them off with a wooden mallet and a pickle fork, I found out why. The woodruff keys on the axles of the bead roller are cheesy pot metal and deformed while tapping on the rollers originally. I fixed that too by making two woodruff keys out of a piece of 4340 scrap. With a lot of hand filing, I got them to fit really snug yet allow the dies on and off without too much aggrevation. I've also applied synthetic axle grease to the shafts and insides of the rollers which help them not stick to the shaft so much.

That chinese shipping grease is nasty to take off!

[Tobbe]

A fun little machine you found Dashingdarla.
Do you have any link to the supplier?

[dashingdarla]

A fun little machine you found Dashingdarla.
Do you have any link to the supplier?

I got mine from "prolineparts" on ebay (http://stores.ebay.com/prolineparts).

If I were to buy it again I wouldn't get this specific unit. It's clearly made in china, to low manufacturing standards. It works, I won't say that it doesn't, but it has a lot of slop in the cranking mechanism. The original woodruff keys appear to be some kind of pot metal. The threads aren't consistent the length of the adjustment cranks so it binds in the middle though they will wear in over time as the threaded adjustments aren't hardened or tool steel.

The biggest hassle I have with the unit is that the guide stops don't fit between the rollers, even though it's obvious that was the intention from their shape. Guide stops are important for rolling edges, as you want to maintain the same distance from the edge of the metal at all times to make a consistent flange. I'm going to have to remove them and reshape them with something so they can fit between the rollers and thus, I won't have to freehand these kinds of things which is difficult when one hand has to turn the crank, and the other hand has to hold the metal.

When I bought this quite a while ago I was considering the harbor freight unit (http://www.harborfreight.com/18-inch-sh ... 34104.html) but when I looked at it in the local harbor freight store it felt very cheesy. The one I bought is very hefyy and includes the workbench clamp but the machining done to produce the parts of the machine is where the problem lies.

I wish I bought something better made and electrified because using two hands to direct the sheet metal through makes for much nicer looking beads/flanges around the perimeter.

On a metal chastity belt, beaded/flanged edges make for a more comfortable fit without the risk of cutting the skin of the wearer. Here's an example I pilfered off the internet:



One could always devise some kind of coating or layer out of silicone or neoprene much the way chinese copy-cat belts are made, but I am hoping to achieve the same end result with just metal. A rolled edge seems to be a good way of doing that.

[fitherin]

That rolled edge looks great, better than the sharp knife of flat steel

[MaitreZ]

That rolled edge looks great, better than the sharp knife of flat steel

I think Chinese belt don't have this because it's more complex to manufacture (and pricey). But you right it looks great...

Just one question: a belt with this rolled edge still need a silicon band (and the gluing problems...) or it's useless ? What about comfort ?

[Pyra Gorgon]

That rolled edge looks great, better than the sharp knife of flat steel

I think Chinese belt don't have this because it's more complex to manufacture (and pricey). But you right it looks great...

Just one question: a belt with this rolled edge still need a silicon band (and the gluing problems...) or it's useless ? What about comfort ?

Rolled edge would solve liner issues, Maitrez

[fitherin]

I did experiment with a hand formed aluminium shield and used a small hammer and a block of steel to form a rolled edge [not very tight roll due to primitive method] However the rolled edge made it a safe edge as far as lack of sharp edges.It did however make the crotch section very rigid and there was no flexing when I sat down. Also the raised edge pressed the belt harder into the body in that area when seated.
Maybe some one with a spare Chinese shield and a machine to roll the edge can try modifying the shield and let us know how different it feels in rigidy and outer edge safety.How you solve the problem of the centre slit edges ????????????????

[Pyra Gorgon]

I did experiment with a hand formed aluminium shield and used a small hammer and a block of steel to form a rolled edge [not very tight roll due to primitive method] However the rolled edge made it a safe edge as far as lack of sharp edges.It did however make the crotch section very rigid and there was no flexing when I sat down. Also the raised edge pressed the belt harder into the body in that area when seated.
Maybe some one with a spare Chinese shield and a machine to roll the edge can try modifying the shield and let us know how different it feels in rigidy and outer edge safety.How you solve the problem of the centre slit edges ????????????????

The rolled edge would make the piece much more inflexible.

The only way I can think to solve the sharp edge of the center slot is not have one.

There is no hard~n~fast rule that says a female chastity belt must have that center slot. I consider it a design flaw.

I believe it is My-Steel that produces a type of front shield that has holes-only for urination with no center pinchpoint slot.
Perhaps that is the best route to take for us ladies that hate having their labia eaten by hard-edged metal!

[dashingdarla]

The rolled edge would make the piece much more inflexible.

Considering how flexible/soft/weak the stainless of these chinese belts are, that might be a welcomed change.

I believe it is My-Steel that produces a type of front shield that has holes-only for urination with no center pinchpoint slot.
Perhaps that is the best route to take for us ladies that hate having their labia eaten by hard-edged metal!

And, the steel is likely much thicker so the edges of the holes can be shaped with a countersink and thus there are no sharp edges, just a bevel. Should I get to that point I was thinking of machining a carbide mill to have a radius so maybe I could actually make those holes with a top radius for safety. Round I think is even better than a bevel.