Let's see some sheet metal shaping

Don't know that I'd go that far OJ, I do try to improve from one job to the next and apply any lessons learned (mine or someone else's) to make the next one go smoother. Sometimes that works, sometimes it's scrap.

Good seeing you again yesterday, glad you could come down and spend some time in the shop!

 

How does it work?

Steve

 

Place the panel flat on the table, use the "half pipe" as a punch to crisp up the ends. No fuss no muss.

 

Cool - such a simple tool yet it makes a huge difference in the quality of the beads.

Steve

 

Had some questions about how we did the "J" detail for the bumper seal..





I missed getting some of the pictures of the dies, so had to go back afterwards...


These are all the dies used, I had three different lower dies to progressively fold the sides in. The location is set by using a backstop on the first pass, using the die show on the right..





This is the final die shown with a sample run...

 

Hey how are you guys cutting sheet metal thats is so straight?
Just bought a Milwaukee double shears but cant cut true straight.
Any input in this HF unit?

 

Seth I have one of those 3 in1 machines. Works fine for what it is .
On cutting straight lines , rough in your cut to about 1/4 to 1/2 inches of your line then tin snips on line . Also a shear is nice . Good to hear from you , did you get moved . Blue

 

Hey Blue.
Thanks.
I am still in transition...
Im working in Vegas and I go see my son every weekend..
Most of my tools are in Ca including my coe...
I'm about to bring it to Vegas to get some work done on it..
Im still looking for a place I can afford that has space for all my stuff and a place to work on it.

Say..wat kind of tin snips are you using?

 

Wiss snips , l&r plus a pair of bulldogs now and then for really thick stuff . Also use some Malco zip snips . But mostly Wiss for last 50 years . Blue

 

Offset snips, where one blade is off to the side or offset and allows the metal to slide past the pivot. You can cut right thru the middle of a sheet.

 

If you are using a shear, you should have no problem cutting a straight line without hand shears.
Do you mean that you can't cut a line square to an already straight edge? Or is your shear not cutting?

If your shear isn't cutting, make sure your blades are adjusted, and sharp.

If you can't cut an edge square, make sure your guides are square.

If you can't use, or square your guides, you can do this. This method is also good for shearing a large piece by yourself.

Mark your cut line, then use your hand shears to make a small cut on your line so that it also bends down a little tab on the side that you want to cut off.







Now you can put your material in your shear, and you use the little tabs you just cut to hook on the lower blade of the shear, so that you have your material lined up right, then shear it.








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I think what Seth is talking about is electric hand shears .
I do the same on my stomp shear Cretin . Use to do all my lay out for duct work with a prick punch and snips . Blue

 

It's 3 units in one & it can't do any of the operations well enough to justify the floor space.

These don't want to follow a curve, and are hard to run a straight line. Great for hacking.

These will cut any way you want to go, as long as the sheet is flat and the curves aren't too tight.

A rig like this nibbler cuts tight radius and shaped panels. Like a ribbed truck bed, floor pans or tight radius on formed panels. Drill a hole and cut with it anyplace in the middle too. Runs off a drill you already have.

 

Oh you're right, I missed the part where he said he got the Milwaukee double shears, and thought he was talking about the shear in the photo. My mistake.

In that case yup, cut close then hand shears.

 

I also completely agree with this statement. I had one of those, and it just sat in the corner because it really did nothing well except take up space, so I sold it. Never missed it since.

 

Switched trannys so I am in the process of making a new tranny hump.

my hillbilly radius bender... 18 guage kicked my ass bending 24" by hand.


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^^^ That looks great. Can you show a pic of the dies you used. Can't see the bottom die in your pictures.

 

Great job, how did you fab the rear end of the cover ? Thanks


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I have the battery version of the Milwaukee, rated at 14 ga capacity. Works well, but as noted is limited in radius cuts. I've found if you trim close to the line in repeated straight cuts, leaving less material than the blade width, it will then go back and trim practically any radius you like.

 

A 34 Chevy I changed from flatbed to pickup box. I didn't make the fenders.

20170113_144501 by wingedexpress posted Jan 13, 2017 at 8:26 PM

20170113_171119 by wingedexpress posted Jan 13, 2017 at 8:26 PM

20170110_150824 by wingedexpress posted Jan 13, 2017 at 8:33 PM

uh

 

What did you use to form the diamond tread pattern?

 

I wonder about the larger 52" models that are supposed to be rated for 16 ga - anyone have any input on those?

Steve

 

One of those sells new for approx 2300. For another 500 on top of that I was able to buy a 12 ga rated Pexto shear with 3PH rotary converter... Not that it's the same machine, but for that money you should be able to get so much more capability in a used machine



I'm a cheap bastard but would rather spend what I have on good, quality machinery. Unless you have space limitations that make a 3 in 1 machine appealing, I would steer toward good used multiple machines.. If you must get the 3 in 1, you can always look for used on CL or otherwise, that way you're not so much into the machine and can come out better if you decide to upgrade to multiple machines down the road..

 

Wow, that is quite the brute! The floor space is definitely the issue for me otherwise I'd hit bidspotter.com and buy 3 machines. I'd prefer made in USA anyway and I think all of the 3-in-1s are overseas junk...

 

If you're on FB or IG, check for sodakbigjoe, he recently got one of those 3 in 1 machines from a Baileigh contest. I'd ask how it does with it's rating of 16 ga, and if he had to BUY one, would he still pick that one. I have one of their magnetic brakes, got in a contest for about half off, and just recently got one of their MH19 power hammers used, at just over half price. Again, I'm a cheap bastard, and don't know that I'd have either of these machines if I had to pay full price. But the mag brake can do some neat stuff, it is a bit over rated as it doesn't do 16 ga with as crisp a bend as I think it should. That's why you'll see me thinning a bend line with a tipping die for crisper bends. The power hammer, it's a beast, and USA made. All of their yellow stuff is made in WI at RMD.

 

Good luck finding much locally. I always keep my eyes open for stuff and very little ever seems to be available in the prairies. I always cringe when I see guys buying Bridgeports for $1000 in the US and you can't buy a cheap used bench top Chinese mill for less that $1200 around here. There was a guy on instagram trying to sell a working Bridgeport with a phase converter for $1000 and it took him days to sell it (I think he was in Detroit) that would be $4000 here all day long. We also get killed on shipping from the U.S. When I bought my bead roller I was going to buy it from Baileigh as Shane was super helpful but shipping was going to be close to $600 for a $1000 machine just made no sense.

 

I hear ya - we get our asses kicked on shipping stuff here. I bet there's more selection in Eastern Canada than here as well...

 

i had a 10ga 48" sheer, with manual back guage- 3 phase. I got it working perfectly then tried to sell it. I don't really need it because most stuff I cut isn't straight. I couldn't give the thing away.
Too big for the garage guy and too small for the pro fab shop.

 

These are from the Eastwood kit, I absolutely love it.



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If you look at the first pics, I made it too long so I could cut the rear portion off and angle it down. I tack the parts together and sadly clamped a ball peen hammer in a vise and used that as a dolly to roll the edges together into a radius.



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