Im searching for someone who can emboss or stamp Letters into a tailgate, im trying to get something for my project. Does anyone know someone who can do this? Or have any pictures of stuff done?
If its not too intricate, a bead roller and some hammering can do a pretty nice job. Kivi Kev has a post here with some awesome work. Check here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144995
Here is an example of doing it by hand http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=221597&highlight=rubber post #30, says the metal is backed up by a rubber inner tube.
Here's another way to do it. I use 16 gau cr for my patterns which will give good definition. I maintain 1/16" gap between male, and female dies. Iv'e got a 50 ton press, but 12- 16 tons is good for alum. or sheetmetal. The part in the pics is a top cover for an alum rad. Rich
I've cut male/female patterns out of sheetmetal and then used them as "dies" to then squish the metal into shape using an ewheel. Basically a hybrid of press embossing and using a bead roller. Since you go a little at a time the force is quite low compared to press work. Also since you are using "tooling" you don't get the telltale signs of using a beadroller either - works pretty good really, but more time consuming than using a beadroller.
i've researched and day dreamed about doing this (i often day dream a long time before i commit. that way i get most of the major bugs worked out in my head ). Busch and Busch (here on the HAMB) use the male/female die method to stamp their logo into sheet metal. realy cool but alot of labor, hand grinding and CAREFUL measuring to make the dies match each other.... and don't forget to leave room between male and femal for the thickness of your material.
one of the hot rod magazines a couple years back (might have been Tex Smiths Hot Rod Mechanics )ran an article on stamping a tail gate using "bondo" as the dies!They took a casting from an old Ford script tail gate which they used to make a "bondo"male die from,The bondo was backed up with a piece of 1/4 inch plate. They did several very nice stampings with just the "bondo"plate If I remember right they backed up the sheet metal they were stamping with a thick stack of news papers.I haven't tried but I think you could make some thick male and female dies with this stuff one from each side of the piece you want to copy line them up and press your metal between them.as nuts as it sounds you could do the same thing with concrete !
kustombuilder: I agree it can be a little tedious, but the results are usually worth it. The example I posted is easy since I make the die the same size as the piece being pressed. Simply set the female die on the piece being pressed, and scribe the inside form. I use masking tape to attach the male form onto the scribed area. Tape female to the bottom of the piece . It took two pressings for this one since I had to move it to do one half at a time. The 1/2" plate that sits on top of the piece being pressed has had the edges radiused to keep from marking the piece being pressed. If I'm doing a one off design I'll cut metal pieces that I can tape to the design which locate it from 2 edges. Lots of ways to make the die line up easier. The rule of thumb for clearance between dies is the thickness of your die material. This will give you the most defined press. Enlarge the clearance for a softer edge. Try it you'll like it! LOL Rich
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