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The last two times I said anything here, my post showed up twice.
Here's hoping that straightened itself out.
Anyway, if you're able to weld steel, or know someone who is able to
weld steel, it shouldn't be too hard to make an adequate draw bench
yourself for a lot less than buying a "real" one.
Just buy a hand-cranked strap winch from Harbor Freight or a similar
cheap tool store and cut out the hook they had in there and replace
it with a steel ring wide enough to hold your draw tongs. The bed can
be made out of steel C-Stock, and it's just a matter of mounting the
winch at one end, and two vertical posts to hold the drawplate at the
other end. To keep the drawplate from rattling around, snap it to the
posts with a C-clamp or vise grips and you'll have a drawbench for
cheap.
And the Beverly shear truly is a beautiful tool. If you're just
going to use it to cut nonferrous metals, the lightest model, the
B-1, should be just fine, not to mention a few hundred dollars
cheaper. It is rated for 14 gauge mild steel, so for jewelry
processes "light" might be a bit of an understatement. I've also
heard that the lighter the shear, the closer the radius it can cut.
I've only used the B-2, so I can't really be sure about that.
Not to advertise for Harbor Freight too much, but they've got an
imported knockoff B-1 throatless shear for a fifth of the price of a
real Beverly. I know a lot of people who have gotten the cheapie, and
for some of them it worked straight out of the box, but others have
had some issues with the blades. I think most of them were able to
either get it replaced or fix it themselves, but if you aren't good
with a grinder or you don't want to risk paying shipping three times
on a 20 pound package it might be worth it to buy name brand,
especially if you plan on doing a lot of sheet work. You get what you
pay for and all that.
Willis Hance
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