just got this!! eight hour drive..(thanks so much Martin!) Looking forward to punching louvers in my shoebox hood for the first project..I have always loved Steve Anglins black shoebox coupe..so mine will have the hood done similar... like this then customer work.. so anyone in melbs need louvers? Hit me up! tell your friends!! Just has a three inch die at the moment, I would love to get a really rounded die ,may even have a go at making one if I can find some tool steel. woo hoo!
yeh i can tell its going to be a slow,careful process doing hoods and other big panels.. looking forward to the challenge! I was toying around with building one..this came up for less than i could get the ram kit for..couldnt say no!
I just had a thought - I noticed in the pictures that you don't seem to have a table that fits around your press. For the love of your back, please build a table that fits flush around the dies, and extends about three feet forward and two feet right and left. You will find it so much easier to do your work with the piece supported. One other thing, This is going to be a bit hard to explain, but as you work a crowned item - lets say an early fifties Chevy hood, you want to keep the hood blocked up so that the point that will be punched is flat to the die. One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started was to just lay the hood flat on the table, and let the press push the metal down to the die. Can you say thousands of little ripples and dents from the sides of the dies? Not to mention the hood wouldn't fit it's hole any more! Practice on a couple of junk hoods before you take in any commercial work, or do any hood that you truly care about. Trust me, it's a steep learning curve... I f I can answer any questions for you, feel free to P.M. me. Chip Quinn
Thanks for the advice Chip..yeh i was thinking the hood has to be propped so the surface you are punching is flat on to the die plate,its a little forceful when it puches through. i will build flat surface around the die plate so support is easier. I think Ill ask around the local body shops for some junk hoods to practice on first. another question.. with nothing in the press if you move the dies together it has a slight "overbite" i.e. the top die doesnt just slide into the bottom die,it catches on the straight lip. is this how they are set up or do I need to shimm that out? it pressed the above louvers no problem, but it does them with a bang, quite suddenly. having never used one before, not sure if this is normal, or if it should be more gradual?
The one I used to "borrow" on occasion years ago, we used to set the cutting edge of the male punch tight against the flat edge of the female die. This always worked fine for me, & I figured that this was cutting the same way as a pair of snips. Shearing & punching at the same time. I'll be using 4140 grade steel when I make the punch & die set as its easily worked & easy to harden. It depends how many louvres you'll be punching over the years, I guess. Good luck, I look forward to seeing a few pics of your finished work thanks Bob
All in all good advice.. Though instead of a table I put adjustable rollers on mine.. depending on the hood it may be more or less of a bang. But mine makes a nice pop/bang as it does the louver, as for the overbite, I can adjust my dies and the tolerance is very close but I don't let it catch like that.
In an ideal world, the two dies would mesh together with no space between them. I do know that my press frame does flex a little bit as the process happens, so I do have a little bit of as underbite on mine when I'm doing heavier materials. Most the time though, just meshing the two makes a great looking louver. Picking up junk hoods is the best way to learn how to do this stuff. I did allot of that the first couple of years I was doing this stuff, and when the opportunity presents itself, I still do. It allows me to see just how far I can push myself in design and layout. See, In my opinion, there is allot more to doing this stuff than just laying out straight lines. If a hood has some front to rear taper, I try to work that into my pattern. So the vast majority of my patterns have just a bit of "fan" in them from front to rear. It makes the pattern more "organic", like it grew there rather than was added on. Unfortunately, I dont know how to post pictures to the hamb, but if you P.M. me, I can e-mail you some picts to show what I mean. But to do that type of work, you have to know how your side clearances work, and what can be fit into the space you have comfortably. The only way to get there is through practice. Good luck, Chip Quinn
KA CHUNK. Looks very similar to mine "Good Times Louver Company". If you look close at the attached picture you can just make out the lightweight knee braces for supporting my work table, made from 1/2 " square tube that pins to the main frame for easy removal. I also put a single swivel/locking caster under the nose of my press and fabbed a big hinge thingee from pillow blocks bar and plate that mounts to the wall and the back of the press, this way when the press is not in use and with the table removed it swings tight to the wall and saves some floor space. I like to use old phonebooks, sandbags, and sometimes the old lady to support the workpiece. Have fun, John
Hey Chip, good idea on the table. Do you have any pics of your set up? I looked around but couldn't find any. A picture is worth... you know the saying. (Edit) Doh!! I just finished reading your last post. If you figure out the computer thing I'm sure we'd all love to see it.
Hey lowsquire I have never punched louvers before but have several unique presses for my work. I set my blade gaps at .002. When I was first taught by the pros they showed me how to set clearances with Tally Ho paper! from what I running these presses is that you do not want an overbite. The press will still work but greatly reduce its longevity. My main press regualarly sees approx 1.3 million cuts before the blades need a sharpen - I am OCD on blade clearance and .55 steel. I have an old blade made from K110 I can send you if you like that you may be able to use for a new profile - check K110 on a Bohler chart at any tool makers for make up. Hope this helps Cheers Turns
for the shearing part the clearance is 10% of the metal thickness thats standard for metal shearing, but can be adjusted to suit your work too much clearance you wont cut
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