Finished pipe crimper made from recycled parts

Making A Pipe Crimper From Scrap

We love upcycling around these parts — taking what would be a pile of rusty scrap and turning it into something useful — and this project from YouTuber [Hands on Table] is no different. Starting with a pair of solid looking sprockets, one big, one small, and some matching chain, a few lumps of roughly hewn steel plate were machined to form some additional parts. A concentric (rear mounted) plate was temporarily welded to the sprocket so matching radial slots could be milled, before it was removed. Next, the sprocket was machined on the inside to add a smooth edge for the crimping fingers (is that the correct term? We’re going with it!) to engage with.

These fingers started life as an off the shelf 3/8″ HSS tool bit, ground down by hand, to produce the desiredInternal view of crimper mechanism shows the fingers and retraction springs crimping profile. A small piece of steel was welded on to each, to allow a small spring to act on the finger, enabling it to retract at the end of the crimping action. We did spot the steel plate being held in place with a small magnet, prior to welding. The heat from that would likely kill off the magnetic field in a short space of time, but they’re so cheap as to be disposable items anyway.

A small ring rides on top of the assembly, bolted to the fixed rear plate. The prevents the crimping fingers from falling out . The fingers are constrained by the slots in the rear plate, so the result is that they can only move radially. As the big sprocket is rotated, they get progressively pushed towards the center, giving that nice, even crimping action. Extra mechanical advantage is provided by driving the small sprocket with a wrench. Super simple stuff, and by the looks of the device in action, pretty effective at crimping the hose fittings it was intended for.

Taking one thing and turning it into something else may well be the very essence of hacking. We’ve seen many hacky upcycling efforts, such as this bench disk sander built from a dryer machine motor. Of course, upcycling is not limited to machines, tools and electronic doodads. Here a trapper hat made out of an old skirt. And why not?

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Making Your Own Chain Sprockets, The Tidy Way

Chain sprockets are a key drivetrain component in a lot of builds. Unfortunately they can be difficult to source, particularly for those outside the reach of retailers like McMaster-Carr. In such situations, you might consider making your own.

The toothed profile on a chain sprocket can be produced in a simple manner by drawing a base circle, along with a series of circles spaced appropriately for the chain in question. This involves measuring the pitch and roller diameter of the chain. With these measurements in hand, a template can be created to produce the sprocket.

From there a series of holes are drilled to rough out the basic shape of the teeth, before the sprocket is then cut down to its appropriate outer diameter. The finishing work consists of chamfering the sprocket’s thickness, as well as the filing the sharp edges of the teeth for smooth engagement.

It’s a quick and easy method for producing sprockets with well-defined, accurate profiles. We’ve featured other rough and ready methods before, too. Video after the break.

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How To Make An Electric Scooter Chain Sprocket With Nothing But Hand Tools

Sometimes, mechanical parts can be supremely expensive, or totally unavailable. In those cases, there’s just one option — make it yourself. It was this very situation in which I found myself. My electric scooter had been ever so slightly bested by a faster competitor, and I needed redemption. A gearing change would do the trick, but alas, the chain sprocket I needed simply did not exist from the usual online classifieds.

Thus, I grabbed the only tools I had, busied myself with my task. This is a build that should be replicable by anyone comfortable using a printer, power drill, and rotary tool. Let’s get to work!

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