I was making a patch panel for a 53 cadillac today and I needed to make a little brace that was rotted. The brace had real tight bends on it, so I decided to make a die for it and stamp it. I made the dies out of aluminum and machined them in my bridgeport but you could plug weld a couple of steel pieces together to get the right dimensions. I then drilled some holes for some bolts and the bolts also acted as alignment pins. Put the whole thing in the vise and tightened the hell out of the bolts and a little trimming later had a perfect replacement piece. Sorry for the bad pictures my camera is a piece of junk Thanks, Jon.
The whole thing took about a half hour to make. That includes the stamped piece. The restorations I do for my customer's have to be as close to factory as possible. I could have used a brake and then hammered over the edge's but it probably would have taken the same amount of time.
Hey Jon, That's some great fab work there! It looks oem from where I'm sittin'. Thanks for taking the time to show us this. Swankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard The Tainted Pork"
If you're gonna make a stamping die make sure you allow enough "clearance" for the thickness of the metal you're stamping... made that mistake before. Nice tech... thanks.
I've often wondered if there isn't some material that could be used to make very small run dies. Something you could cast around an existing part. Maybe concrete? Epoxy?
Nice job I have often thought about doing something like that, but never followed thru. You got to love it when a plan comes together. Thanks for the info.
I think that I have heard of people using delrin to make small run dies. I think that it is hard enough to stand up to the pressure. Thanks everyone for the comments. If I have any other little tech items I will post them. Thanks, Jon.
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