[31chevy]

I would like to get a shrinking disc. For those who don't know about them. They are made of stainless steel and attach to grinders. The contact between the disc and fenders or body panel only causes the hi arears on the panels to heat up . You can rapidly cool theres spots with a wet rag which causes the stretched metal to shrink back to its original spot .

Problem is I can make a shrink disc for a 1/3 of how much they sell for. But where can i get some stainless steel? cut a pan up. Can i use galvinized steel ?

[30desoto]

31 chevy

I made one myself, I went to a steel recycle place in our town and bought a piece of stainless from there scrap barrel for only a couple of bucks, do you have a recycle place close by that sales steel?

30dee

[adtkart]

Problem is I can make a shrink disc for a 1/3 of how much they sell for. But where can i get some stainless steel? cut a pan up. Can i use galvinized steel ?

That's interesting! How do you know that you can make it cheaper if you can't find the materials. LOL

You do not want to make it out of galvanized. You want a clean surface material for that thing. The reason stainless is used is to make it more durable. You are talking about spinning a piece of metal disk at several thousand RPM. You want something that will hold together.

Aaron

You might check with a sheetmetal shop or scrap yard for materials.

[OneMoreTime]

The shrinking disk that I have was made professionally and is quite a bit heavier and thicker than some of the homemade ones..Now if your are absolutely stuck and need one, get into moms kitchen and get a pot lid of about 7" of diameter and drill a hole in the center to accommodate the arbor on your grinder..Of course if Mom catches you at this the price may be considerably higher than if you bought the good one in the first place..

Sam

[Bee4Me]

John Kelly's were 35.00 shipped.
I find it hard to beat that for the quality piece your getting.
I considered making my own as I've seen the How To but by the time I buy,build,rebuild,I'll have way more than that in one.
Otherwise,Find some .075 stainless and have at it. With the price of metal now,I doubut you'll find any metal shop who will "give" you a piece of that thickness but you never know huh? Might try some commercial kitchen fab shops as they would be the ones using a lot of stainless at that thickness.
Galvanized is not an option as it will NOT work. The galv. will quickly gaul up and make a mess besides grind the galv. into your work. It's just a coating over plain steel where as stainless is a true "metal".

[MARTINSR]

If you are thinking about a shrinking disc, I HIGHLY recommend that you get this video that I did a review on (Click here). Not only does it show you how to use it, it shows you how to make one too, that and MANY other tools as well.

John is a regular contributor on this and other forums. He is not a hot shot know it all who knocks people, he has done a TON on these forums for free. If you are going to spend a few bucks (and these days this DVD is as cheap as you are going to get) get one and you will not be sorry.

Brian

[Brian_B]

I did not know about one of the members here making them when I bought mine. It was about that price on evilbay though.

Some "name brand" ones are very expensive.

As far as making one (I would not go through the effort), most larger steel fabrication shops have drops of stainless. The one I used to work in has tons of it laying around. My dad still works there.

Notice I said I would not go through the effort of shaping and balancing one? I can get the stainless free. Not worth it IMHO.

They are cheap enough to just buy one pre-made.

[31chevy]

There are no places in town that sell stainless steel. I've seen these discs go for as high as $50 and not lower than $40. Thought it would be a neat and cheap project to make. Have seen all the demos and tech pages on them. All i would need is a disc, drill and tucking folk.

How long do the disc normally last? Maybe i'll just buy one

Thans for the help guys !

[Brian_B]

Originally Posted by 31chevy

....How long do the disc normally last?.....

That I honestly have no clue about. I have not started the body work on mine yet.

[BB_Sunchaser]

Hey... good to hear you guys still discussing Heat Shrinking Discs!
This is indeed a great hotrod site!
Bryan here from Sunchaser School of Metalwork / Sunchaser Tools. We developed the original Heat Shrinking Disc into a complete method of metal-finishing & panel straightening 18 years ago. The method is so much more accurate than traditional torch shrinking, because now we are applying controlled heat to the high crown areas and we are not work hardening the metal by getting it RED hot. By staying on it you can go RED hot, yet that isn't necessary.
I've tried a couple of flat discs out there, that were spin-offs of our disc we started selling in 1989. The key word here is "flat". Are your discs flat in design guys?
They can produce friction heat by rubbing ....yes. Yet there is another key concept that is being left out. Our Heat Shrinking Discs (HSDs) are serrated for that reason. Key concepts we teach at our hands-on workshops on metalwork & metal bumping. All great stuff....keeping that lost art alive & well, yes indeed. If you guys are interested in more information have a view of *****************. And if you are interested in trying out one of our HSDs drop me an email.

Keep metal-finishing guys...our RODs deserve that quality of metalwork.

Bryan Biggerstaff
Sunchaser

[MARTINSR]

Guys, and here is another producer of the discs that I have had good luck with. I actually have a Sunchaser disc and Ken from Sunchaser has always been a heck of a guy with my questions when I see him at his booth at the Goodguys event. He is a super stand up guy and always there for you.

His disc is different in that it has ribs in it, not flat like the others. It also has an edge like a grinder. It is kinda scary to use in that respect. HOWEVER, I don't think the others with their "safety edge" are any better really. If you hit yourself with the edge of a disc spinning at 5000 rpm you are going to get hurt, that is all there is to it. I recommend that you don't do that, and you will be ok with any disc.

But you know Bryan, there is no advertising of your own products here and you will probably get edited.

Brian

[speedydeedy]

31CHEVY, What is a tucking folk?

[31chevy]

Its a hand tool used for tuck shrinking

this is what it looks like



www.metalshapers.org/links/training
Check this site out. If you are interested in metal shaping check metalmeet.com out

[31chevy]

With this tool and a hammer you can take a flat disc of steel and stretch the outer most diameter of the disc turning the disc into a bowl .

[BB_Sunchaser]

Hey there Brian M. .... how's it going with you?
We met briefly at one of the Goodguys Get-Togethers in Pleasanton CA, a couple of years ago, you were conversioning with Ken at the time. Those are great shows to meet people face to face.

We've always appreciated your positive comments Brian, thank you very much.

Yes ...and as Brian M. mentioned....please be aware of anything spinning at 6,000 RPM. * Respect the tool and it respects you. * No worries and there isn't any hurry either. That your time....let the metal move. It does want to go back to it's contour. Take might sound funny ..but it happens. As in an action causes a reaction.

I did want to respond to the question of "how long does a Heat Shrinking Disc last?" And that does depend on the user. The restoration shop metalworkers that move metal day in and day out can wear out one a disc in 6 to 8 months. Yet the hobbyist users might call us in 3 to 4 years in some cases for a replacement disc.

Hope that helps you out.

Bryan Biggerstaff
Sunchaser