Shanks For Horse Bridle

I was asked if I could make some SS shanks for horse bridle. I took on a little more than I thought. I had to make a jig which took 3.5 days part time and I still need to make or try some other ideas but the jig does work. I took 3/8" SS rod and cut it into 12" links then flattened the ends. I drilled a hole in the flat part and then bent the bars. I made the flat washers by drilling a 3/8" hole in a 3/4" bar then parting them and put the bit on the shank and then welded the ring on the end to keep the bit on. I had to split the ring on the other end and weld it back together. Total length from end to end including the rings is 14". I'm not too sure if there is a market that will require me to make any more or not. I did make some 10" ones also. The set with the chain is the model I had to go by and the one with the bit that flexes in the middle is the one I finished.

Very unusual work and very nice -

Great work. That is a great press die. I would have never thought of building one that way. Have to put it in my idea file for latter use. How did you put the stop ring on them?

Jeff

churchjw said:

Great work. That is a great press die. I would have never thought of building one that way. Have to put it in my idea file for latter use. How did you put the stop ring on them?

Jeff

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I used a third hand. It was one of those HF magnifying glass with several clips mounted on a small base. I took the glass off and just used one of the alligator clips to hold the ring. I put a round magnet on the base to hold it still so I could TIG it. I would tack it then look to see if it had moved and was centered and then finished the weld. I had to put the arms on the side to keep the two halves together. The rod still slides when the top is pushed down. Not too sure if I can post a video on this site or just photos. When you measure where you want the top bend to be you need to offset it by at least 5/8" because it will slide down that much. Haven't figured out a better way to do it yet. The same man has asked me to build a jig for bending a small piece of flat bar which is becoming a lot more of a problem than I figured. Going to have a lot of money it it. He wants to do it in a manual press and I just got the preliminary jig done today. I will try to post some pictures as I can use some help on it. The bar needed to pull down on the die has to be very long so it looks now like I'm going to have to take it apart and rethink it.

Some really beautiful work. I like the bending jig as well. It is interesting that you invested three and a half days of part time effort to build a tool that makes does its task in a matter of seconds. But then, that is the hallmark of a good tool. I learned through experience that the path of least resistance is often to build the proper tool for the job instead of trying to kluge it. Bravo!

RJSakowski said:

Some really beautiful work. I like the bending jig as well. It is interesting that you invested three and a half days of part time effort to build a tool that makes does its task in a matter of seconds. But then, that is the hallmark of a good tool. I learned through experience that the path of least resistance is often to build the proper tool for the job instead of trying to kluge it. Bravo!

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The worst part is that it's going to be a long time if ever to recoup my time. I charged for the shanks that I made but if I charged for my time in making the jig, the cost of selling the shanks would be prohibitive. Not too sure if I could make some and try to sell them on ebay. It takes about an hour to make a complete set (two shanks and one bit ) plus I made the washers which was time consuming. I made about 20 the first time. The good part is I can make any length of Shank by just placing the bend in a different place. I'm going to try to do a short video of just bending a couple to show how it actually works.

I have a number of tools that I have made that will most likely never get used again. One was for pressing broken studs out of a fwd hub while still on the vehicle. Removing the hub would have meant a huge amount of work and quick fixes like a C clamp or bearing pullers didn't work. It took 15 seconds each to remove two studs.

RJSakowski said:

I have a number of tools that I have made that will most likely never get used again. One was for pressing broken studs out of a fwd hub while still on the vehicle. Removing the hub would have meant a huge amount of work and quick fixes like a C clamp or bearing pullers didn't work. It took 15 seconds each to remove two studs.
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I like it. I will have to keep it in mind. I have tried a lot of things before but never had the tools I have today.

An update on the jig I made for bending the shanks. He has asked for another jig to bend some metal that is quite different. I have to tweak it some but am getting close to getting it down. I should have pictures by the end of the week. Also, he mentioned that he has someone who may want to buy the shanks from him and sell them globally, meaning I could stand to make some money. I will keep everyone posted with the pics on the new jig I'm making.

why don't you sell the shanks yourself and cut out the middle man? This sounds like one of those perfect high value niche market that every part time machinist wishes they could find! Certainly, if you did want to go into it with this guy, do so as a partnership, not as a part maker.

Beautiful work too! Given how much money people spend on their horses, you shouldn't have any problem selling these.