Remaking a battery post

[Trevorleach]

Had to do one today, not done for well over a decade, went well but for the life of me I could not get the centre piece of the tool to release from the now set hard lea

d, any tips/ideas for the future?

 

[tom2207]

wonder if tippex would work ,,, as a mold release agent ,, all these knife making guy seem to be using it for canister Damascus

 

[Trevorleach]

wonder if tippex would work ,,, as a mold release agent ,, all these knife making guy seem to be using it for canister Damascus

Might try that next time, one of the guys said he reckoned I should have used a smear of grease, but I would have though the heat from the flame would remove that pdq, especially as I was playing the flame on the centre post to keep the heat from the plastic battery case.
I would ask one fo the old farts at work, but I am the old fart at work!

 

[Screwdriver]

Not surprised if there was that amount of crud on it. Needs to be smooth and clean at least. Also, after watching how it's done in India, you can remove the forms pretty damned quickly before the lead has time to freeze solid. I guess that's why the form is hexagonal, you can twist it sharpish with a wrench as the lead cools.

 

[Ross365]

I wonder if painting the surface of the tool with Milk of Magnesia would help? I think that magnesium oxide will happily take the temperature and yields nicely. Seen it used on big bolts working at very high temperature.

 

[Brad93]

Ceramic anti spatter spray

 

[Trevorleach]

Not surprised if there was that amount of crud on it. Needs to be smooth and clean at least. Also, after watching how it's done in India, you can remove the forms pretty damned quickly before the lead has time to freeze solid. I guess that's why the form is hexagonal, you can twist it sharpish with a wrench as the lead cools.

The one in the pic is the posi post tool, the one I remade was the neg post tool and was actually quite clean after its long sleep in my tool box.
I shall give it a buffing next time, if there is ever a next time.

 

[Screwdriver]

The one in the pic is the posi post tool, the one I remade was the neg post tool and was actually quite clean after its long sleep in my tool box.
I shall give it a buffing next time, if there is ever a next time.

Have you seen some of the battery rebuilding videos on YouTube? Typically Indian backstreet remanufacturing which is incredibly resourceful, clever even, albeit fantastically dangerous! Timing appears to be the key. They pour hot lead onto plates to form tangs and whip that off in the blink of an eye to make the next one. Pretty sure I've seen the same speed at the end when they form the terminal posts.

Timing is most likely the key issue.

 

[Trevorleach]

Have you seen some of the battery rebuilding videos on YouTube? Typically Indian backstreet remanufacturing which is incredibly resourceful, clever even, albeit fantastically dangerous! Timing appears to be the key. They pour hot lead onto plates to form tangs and whip that off in the blink of an eye to make the next one. Pretty sure I've seen the same speed at the end when they form the terminal posts.

Timing is most likely the key issue.

Lack of practise in my case then.
I will now scoot off to yoututbe

 

[James1979]

What’s the bit up the middle of the post for?

Casts a hollow post if I’m looking at it right? Or is that to thread it?

 

[tom2207]

Might try that next time, one of the guys said he reckoned I should have used a smear of grease, but I would have though the heat from the flame would remove that pdq, especially as I was playing the flame on the centre post to keep the heat from the plastic battery case.
I would ask one fo the old farts at work, but I am the old fart at work!

i used to use a dry lube from rs it was an ultra high temp lube that I used on lighting irises ,, but the forged in fire guys seem to have great success using white out ,, seems to be the same as tipex , they did mention on one show what the chemical was that made it work as a release agent ,,, but as it was only on as background noise I missed that bit ,,, some one cleverer than me will know ,,, still has to be worth a go .
yep I know what you mean about suddenly becoming the old hand
I tell folk that the grey in my beard isnt caused by age ,, but by wisdom.

as a side note ,, when I was doing posts from time to time ,,, the trick was not to use heat ,,,,
ok
of course you need heat , but the trick was to use the core out of a battery as the carbon rod , hold it in a good jump lead , and connect the other end of the jump lead to the other post of the battery , then start the new post from the bottom melting the melted post to get good adhesion using the arc from the carbon rod as the heat source ,,, hope that makes sense ... but it avoids the mould getting hotter than the lead , maybe worth a go , or at least a try .

 

[hotponyshoes]

I just file the top of the damaged bit flat and drill/tap it to m8 then stick a post adaptor in it.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Like this

 

[James1979]

Like this
View attachment 367513

Cheers Luke. Just bought a pack of + and - for the box. I come across loads of bad posts over a week.

Last lorry I took for MOT had self tappers in the post MOT man couldn’t fail it but wasn’t overly amused!

 

[Agroshield]

When I see people pouring Babbit, they soot up the parts with a pure acetylene flame. Maybe an old-style candle would work.

 

[James1979]

When I see people pouring Babbit, they soot up the parts with a pure acetylene flame. Maybe an old-style candle would work.

I am not a blacksmith. I know nothing.

They do that with punches and drifts before using them as a releasing agent.

It’s on YouTube so it must be true

 

[tom2207]

When I see people pouring Babbit, they soot up the parts with a pure acetylene flame. Maybe an old-style candle would work.

the soot idea sounds interesting ,,

Titanium dioxide is the ingredient in whiteout that works as the release agent..
it can be bought as a paste ,, for only 216 pounds for 10 grams ,,,

wheres the acetylene torch lol

 

[Trevorleach]

i used to use a dry lube from rs it was an ultra high temp lube that I used on lighting irises ,, but the forged in fire guys seem to have great success using white out ,, seems to be the same as tipex , they did mention on one show what the chemical was that made it work as a release agent ,,, but as it was only on as background noise I missed that bit ,,, some one cleverer than me will know ,,, still has to be worth a go .
yep I know what you mean about suddenly becoming the old hand
I tell folk that the grey in my beard isnt caused by age ,, but by wisdom.

as a side note ,, when I was doing posts from time to time ,,, the trick was not to use heat ,,,,
ok
of course you need heat , but the trick was to use the core out of a battery as the carbon rod , hold it in a good jump lead , and connect the other end of the jump lead to the other post of the battery , then start the new post from the bottom melting the melted post to get good adhesion using the arc from the carbon rod as the heat source ,,, hope that makes sense ... but it avoids the mould getting hotter than the lead , maybe worth a go , or at least a try .

Just seen that carbon rod idea on youtube whilst looking for the pakistani guys (Thanks Screwdriver) refurbing batteries, I did wonder what the rod was.

 

[Trevorleach]

What’s the bit up the middle of the post for?

Casts a hollow post if I’m looking at it right? Or is that to thread it?

I have no idea but that was the bit that stuck, not any more as I cut it off!

 

[Trevorleach]

Like this
View attachment 367513

Another good idea thank you.