How-To's = T-Bolt Clamp / Hanger, Cutting Aluminum, Devilish Stainless

[Zzeal]

Here's a way to make a "T-bolt" muffler clamp do double duty as an exhaust hanger.

I started with a Summit hanger, cut it off at 2-1/2" and slotted it to accept a 1/4"-20 coupling nut. I "mitered" the end of another coupling nut on a bench grinder to conform to the T-bolt. Then, it's nice to have a friend who's a welder!

All this stuff is stainless, so this time I'm slathering the threads with anti seize…

 

 

 

 

 

I recently got caught out, unexpectedly, by the 'ol stainless galling, seizing routine. I didn't think loosely assembling the stainless would be a problem… ended up having to cut the nut off of this bolt!. 

 

 

The other side came apart, luckily.

This ends up being a rather pricey hanger though, because stainless. The stupid T-bolt alone cost over $20, hanger another $20, nuts and rod were $6, and if you had to pay for the welding, yikes!. Anyway, I just wanted to get the idea out there. You could maybe do something similar, using less expensive pieces parts.

 

And while I'm prattling on about fabbin' stuff… here's something else that could maybe help someone who's new to cutting thin, sheet aluminum with a jig saw. The finest blades I've found locally are Bosch's 17-24 Progressive Tooth T-118-A's. These are still too coarse for 1/16" (type 3003) aluminum. they apparently clog up with the aluminum, ,sometimes kick back and even bend the piece you're cutting out.

I've found if you source some finer 36 TPI blades, like the T-118-G's, lube up your cut line with a wax stick, or with a little light oil, and run a variable speed saw at about half throttle, you get nice, consistent cuts, and without the anxiety.

 

 

Steve

Edited September 26, 2014 by Zzeal

[johnc]

Thanks!

[TimZ]

That's pretty slick - like the adjustable length feature!

[LLave]

I am going to rid that idea off and tell everyone about how smart I am for thinking of it myself.

 

Kidding... nice work!

[socorob]

We were working in a metal plant having to cut a lot of stainless and aluminum mounting brackets. All our blades were constantly clogging. Some guy walking by said to use water for one of the metals and oil for the other. That was many moons ago, so I can't remember which was which, but it made cutting everything easier. The water one was what surprised me the most.

[socorob]

He also said stainless gets harder from the heat of the blade, so the best thing you can do is keep the blade cool.

[m1ghtymaxXx]

Just another random tip for cutting aluminum, particularly thinner walled stuff like you would use for charge piping. Cut it in a chop saw with a regular wood blade. It makes a quick and extremely clean cut.

 

Also if you have a laser guide, I found cutting angles out of mandrel bends to be very simple. Set the saw to the desired angle, slip and wide ziptie or narrow metal hose clamp onto the bend and tighten it until it's snug but you can still slide it around. Set the pipe/bend in the saw (need a few inches of straight to keep it aligned) and shimmy back and forth while sliding the clamp until it's aligned with the laser. Mark your cut with a sharpie, remove the clamp and cut away.