The rod in the buck defines...
The rod in the buck defines six general areas (three on each side). Wallic cut six pieces of 0.063-inch aluminum in the general shape of albeit a little larger than those areas.
Our pal Frank Wallic is like the cobbler whose kids go shoeless. For years he’s made these restoration-grade aircraft seats and Sprint Car noses. And while he’s built a few personal cars, he’s never really treated himself to his own goodies. “I figured it was about time to do something for me,” he says. So he made a midget-style nose not for a car but to do nothing but hang on his wall.
Actually that last part is only half true. He really did make a nose for a piece of personal wall art but he made the particular one in this article for a soap-box derby car. It gets even better: you could say the car’s pilot is in his second childhood (think closer to 80 than 8).
The real story is how he did it. Prevailing skeleton-buck construction favors plywood as it shapes and assembles easily. But Wallic used bar stock instead. It’s basically a variation of the wire-buck idea only with thicker materials (3/8 inch) that promise to hold their shape to a greater degree. Admittedly the idea was born of convenience: Wallic has a ring roller to make stands for his wife’s flower pots.
Though Wallic used an English...
Though Wallic used an English wheel and power hammer to shape and planish the metal, he noted that with a little bit of effort and a lot more muscle a mallet and a shot bag could easily form the general shape and a dolly and hammer could finish it.
He discovered a few benefits. For one, his new bucks offer nearly infinite clamping positions. “But the best part is that you can weld right on it and it won’t catch fire like wood will,” he observes. What’s more, unlike thin wire it won’t deflect so easily. “That’s really nice because it keeps everything from moving around while you’re welding.” Storage, it turns out, is easier with a steel buck. “When you’re done you can just chuck it outside. You can’t do that with wood. It’ll go to hell if it gets wet.”
The remainder of the nose’s construction follows pretty standard procedure. Wallic used 3003-series half-hard aluminum in 0.063 inch for the skin, 1/8 inch for the grille opening, and 1/4-inch round stock for the grille bars. If there’s any further variation to his technique it’s that he welded with TIG/GTAW. Sheet-aluminum fabrication usually favors acetylene for its soft, workable weld bead (ordinarily aluminum TIG/GTAW beads crack when worked or shaped). But as others have, Wallic found that beads made with softer 1100-series filler rod (basically pure, un-alloyed aluminum) can withstand even fairly rigorous shaping even if made by TIG/GTAW.
The bar-stock buck has several...
The bar-stock buck has several advantages over wood. In this case the open structure reveals panel fit. It also offers a sturdy clamping surface.
Wallic uses some pretty fancy tools: English wheel, power hammer, ring roller, TIG/GTAW welder, and so forth. But this job lends itself to simpler, inexpensive, traditional tools. For example, the steel rod can be heated with an acetylene torch and bent around pretty much any non-flammable thing with the right radius. The bodies of some of the most valuable old Ferrari race cars were pounded out with mallets on tree stumps and shot bags and finished with dollies and hammers. With a little bit of practice the same acetylene kit used to shape the buck will produce some of the best and softest welds possible in aluminum.
Whichever way you choose to do it, a nose like this really is within the grasp of most well-heeled amateurs. And don’t say you don’t have the time to learn. After all, our pal Frank Wallic found enough time to pull this off. And all it does is look cool on a wall in his house.
Wallic was overlapping each...
Wallic was overlapping each panel as he went. Once he finished shaping, he clamped those panels to the buck and used their overlapping edges as a scriber guide. He then trimmed along those lines.
Once satisfied with the panels’...
Once satisfied with the panels’ general fit and finish, Wallic clamped them securely to the buck and tacked them together, since the buck will take the heat it serves as the ultimate welding jig. If using acetylene, start welding with the second tack to prevent back cracking. Then return to finish the span between the first and second tacks.
Welded metal always shrinks...
Welded metal always shrinks as it cools. The bead also sits quite proud of the welded area. Rolling, planishing, or even hand-hammering the bead over a dolly, however, flattens and stretches the welded area.
Rolling or planishing the...
Rolling or planishing the bead also has similar benefits to forging metal: it tightens and aligns the grain structure to create a tougher, more malleable region. It also diminishes the need to grind the bead flat.
Wallic then ran the edge of...
Wallic then ran the edge of the nose through his tipping dies. They basically form a recessed ledge on which the hood would sit.
For a simple way to torch...
For a simple way to torch anneal aluminum, strike an acetylene flame and coat the part with a light layer of soot. Then burn the soot off with a neutral flame. The soot serves as a marker of sorts; the heat required to burn it off brings the material to the annealing temperature.
Once annealed, even 1/8-inch...
Once annealed, even 1/8-inch aluminum plate forms quite easily. Wallic used his power hammer and English wheel but again, a mallet and a shot bag would do the trick just as well, albeit with a little more effort.
Satisfied with the way the...
Satisfied with the way the plate fit the nose, Wallic cut away its center. A simple saber saw with an ordinary high-speed steel blade does the trick; however, lubricate the blade with spray oil or better yet wax to prevent the aluminum from gumming up the teeth.
The 1/4-inch aluminum bar...
The 1/4-inch aluminum bar bends easily by hand and the shapes available are limited only by your creativity. Wallic bent this over an empty lacquer-thinner can but tighter radiuses are obtainable with smaller cans, welding bottles, and caps.
Wallic notched the ends of...
Wallic notched the ends of the bars so their faces would sit flush with the face of the grille surround.
He then repeated the last...
He then repeated the last two steps to create the remainder of the grille bars. A little bit of fillet welding and grinding at each joint will make this piece appear to have been cast this way.
Though the nose he created...
Though the nose he created is hardly much bigger than his welding helmet, the procedures Wallic employed to make it aren’t any different than the ones required to build a full-size version. Aluminum’s conductivity is unfortunate in this case; a smaller version of this nose would make the ultimate welding helmet.