Thread: Mini Anvil

Originally Posted by JP5

Wish I could have gotten mine started. Dad has about 8ft of rail in the yard I was hoping to use. Maybe next time I visit.

If that's some track that William Sherman missed that would be a real historical piece to be using.

If you use a cutting torch remember that you'll ruin the heat treating for a ways from where it's cut so cut it long then have a machine shop make a fresh cut where the tracks still hardened.

Good point about the heat treating. Would it make much difference if you were only using it for pinning?

Originally Posted by JP5

Good point about the heat treating. Would it make much difference if you were only using it for pinning?

I've used a piece of polished high carbon non heat treated and an old time cast iron iron that I have polished up and both work well.

With that said I like the 'ting' that you hear with the heat treated rail.

I dunno. I expect those rails were furnace-blasted and quenched as they rolled-out?

The surface of the one at my shop is not hardened and I like it that way for pinning.
Harder than nickel silver, brass, and bronze pins I use.
Once a year or 2, I take a Jitterbug and some 100 to it.
The buggers stick and don't scoot as I pin...Just me.

Good on you Tom for having and using a Jitterbug! :

Just last year I dropped and ruined my jitterbug sander that I bought back in about '75.

You don't hear much about them these days but they were a real workhorse that didn't take a ton of CFP/at least compared to some other tools.

I thought a Jitterbug was a descriptor for an air-powered vibrating palm sander. Was there a Jitterbug brand?
Mine is a Sioux from the 60's. Heavy!
Seems the weight of it makes it work better?
Works well, still.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

I thought a Jitterbug was a descriptor for an air-powered vibrating palm sander?
Mine is a Sioux from the 60's. Heavy!
Seems the weight of it makes it work better?
Works well, still.

Correction/I didn't see the question about a Brand Name--

TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE: Jitterbug was a general term for the type of air sander just like a 'Crescent Wrench' could be made by many different manufacturers.

Yuppers! They were a workhorse in the autobody trade before the DA (Dual Action) Sanders took over. The Jitterbugs just made circles and the DA's made the same circles but also larger circles so in effect did more work and provided a better surface for top coats/primers and primer fillers didn't seem to care. But that info is from decades ago. Now there are HVLP sprayers and I doubt that my (what at the time was) top of the line DeVilbiss Spray Gun would even be able to apply even a primer coat.

Still got that busted puppy, Roy?

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Still got that busted puppy, Roy?

Nope gave it to a friends son who's on disability to see if he could fix it and if he could to keep or sell it.

I haven't done any auto body in several years but it was a nice sander/Chicago Phumatic. That was back in the day when they put out quality products. I still have my CP 1/2" Impact Wrench but the CP 3/8" vanished years ago.

Now about your Sioux--- back in the late 70's my dad had a friend with a 1/4" drive Sioux drill that he'd dropped and broke the case so he sent it in for repair. It came back looking brand new and N/C! You don't see Customer Service like that these days.

They made real stuff. Was expensive!
I am still beating on two old CP impacts. 734's.
One has a long mandrel for wheel-sockets. Made in Chicago.
The other, Great Britain. Just rebuild every decade or so.
They were old as I got them in the 70's.