Recently I decided to make a tool for closing a double fold. ❗️Video on Boosty, free and without brakes https://boosty.to/kak_smog Initially, I thought about just buying a ready-made one, but prices for professional devices reach 400 euros. Of course, there are cheaper Chinese analogues, but they are usually inferior in quality and require a long wait for delivery. And so I thought: why not make the tool myself? I have enough tools and materials, and I decided to give it a try. However, as it turned out, the task is not as simple as it seemed at first. I spent a long time looking for drawings and diagrams to understand what this tool should be. When I finally found a suitable drawing, I got to work. As materials, I chose steel plates 10 and 8 millimeters thick and rods 14 and 8 millimeters in diameter. I started by making five identical cylinders 42 mm long, but they were not quite equal, with a maximum difference of 0.23 mm. This is acceptable for less precise parts, but it upset me a little. However, I decided to continue, since it was enough for my purposes. One of the main problems is the surface quality of the parts. The steel used was probably of low quality, bought cheaply at a hardware store. In addition, due to vibration during processing, the parts were not as smooth as I would like. While working on a lathe, I noticed that the handles were uncomfortable to use - small, with sharp corners. This led to the fact that I hurt my fingers, and had to put on gloves, which is not very safe. It turned out that in this aspect, Chinese manufacturers did not take ergonomics into account. Next, I needed to make a long cut of 20 centimeters. I decided to use my old disc cutter, but the process turned out to be long and laborious - in an hour I managed to cut only a third of the length. The cutter temperature rose significantly, and eventually everything jammed. I had to finish the job with a regular grinder. Then it was necessary to remove excess material from the part - 0.65 millimeters. I set up the cutter and got to work, taking into account the errors of the previous stages. However, the workpiece was crooked, and I had to leave a small reserve. When one of the parts was ready, I started on the second, but ran into a lack of material. I had to improvise and connect two smaller parts. This added work, but I managed. The final stage was attaching the handles to the frame. All the pipes that I found in the workshop turned out to be unsuitable - either too thick or too soft. This really threw me off track, and a real "tool depression" began. I went to the workshop for almost a week without much enthusiasm, and the project did not move forward. In the end, I asked for help from a friend who is also interested in metalworking, but has more serious equipment and experience. Not only did he respond to my request, but he actually took on the remaining tasks. Together we made stainless steel handles, and the result exceeded my expectations. All that was left was the painting stage, after which the tool was ready. This project took much more time and effort than I expected, and without the help of a friend, it might never have been completed. Thus, I was once again convinced that sometimes it is easier to buy a ready-made tool than to make it yourself. This process turned out to be labor-intensive and dragged on, but I am glad that I completed it. Thanks to everyone who supported me along the way. I hope the next project will go faster. Until next time!