Basicall a 1/2 drive socket with a 1/4 bolt welded into it and a pipe for the reciever with a fender welded inside it and a couple pieces of xmoly tubing to shape the seat for the type of bolt head
From what I used to remember and don't qoute me on this,is that a 10% differance on the material thickness would work.
okay a bit off topic, bt i made male and female dies to form these endcaps for an aluminum oiltank out of an old pulley for an air compressor and some round bar i heated and wrapped around an old cylinder sleeve, 1/8" thick aluminum.
Simple bell-mouth die for tubing I made. it's just a hunk of heavy-wall tubing stock... like 1/4-inch thick. I put a 45-degree bevel around the end, square the other end, and flare tubing with it. I made it to make hammer holders on my hammer stand, mig gun holders on the legs of my welding table, a flashlight holder on the side of my tool box, etc. etc. This is the first forming tool I made for the press, but I've got a few I'm going to be working on very shortly. -Brad
machined a dimple die...actually 3 sizes.. because i'm too cheap to buy em. Not exactly reinventing the wheel, but its a press tool. used em on this.
Hey Brad, I'd be interested in seeing a full-machine pic of your sander there, if you wouldn't mind... I've got a vertical belt sander w/ a side wheel, but need to modify it ASAP. You could PM or e-mail to me, if you want. Thanks much, Mike
Using your tools (in this case, your lathe) to make your tools makes you more efficient and probably even smarter than the average shop schmoe. When my wife and I were first married, she used to ask, "Can we get [fill in the blank]?" Now, it's more often, "Can you make me a ..." But still, sometimes she tells me I'm cheap!!!
missed this read, Yeah, my shop press is one of my top five most important tools. I use it nearly every day. Ever since I got a 45 ton press brake, I stepped up my game.
nice work, ELpolacko!!! -- but tell us a little more about some of your dies, eh? Particularly like the logo, and the work on the firewall...
Here you go, I dragged out a selection of more interesting tools. flame cut circles for pressing bands and flanges quick recess and offset dies made from bearing races and wedding rings bars welded to plate for bending and straightening stuff Mustang II rack mount bend tool and spring pocket ramp Flange "dimple" dies Bead roller closing dies and recess dies for screw heads swaging mandrels, the big guy there I use for making 9" Ford axle tubes Odd shapes to bend tube and plate Here is a fun one, smashed tube die to make cool stuff with. Here is some more tooling I use to make my Mustang II kits with. This does the flare on the lower control arm mounts, helps stiffen the bracket and ease installation of the control arm. And if you look at the domes on the upper control arm mounts, they are made with this die.
Some more do-dads: Quickly made die to create a bead in sheetmetal for a Land Rover, no idea where but the customer brought me the rusty section to reproduce. Did this one to create the shape of the bracing on a Studebaker Gran Turismo hood. My first die ever was this stylized Mercury Mighty M I did for the sill plates in my truck, as pictured above. I built this with a sawzall and files. Long time ago. The die to make the wishbone mounts I sell. And now the more modern stuff I do with my press brake. Door spike on the 50 Mercury Quatroporte in shop now. Die and anvils used to make the design on the firewall. And some other generic tongue depressor shapes for the occasional stiffening rib.
Now I understand, Elpolacko, why you were so jacked up to get a 45t. press -- but your methods are just as sound if a guy would keep it to a lesser scale. Thanks for sharing this!!!
I use both the press brake and my trusty red shop press regularly. I use both to create cool stuff sometimes!
This is a great thread. I need to start getting creative and make the most of my press. I use mine to press in bearings or straighten the odd piece of steel. Gotta get busy.
so I made some dies to press swages in for my 40 floor, the panel went all over the place! How do you guys stop it moving around
with this simple kind of tooling you will get pulling, the materal that is forming the bead is pulled into the bead so you have to do some shrinking from the end of the bead to the edge of the material, tooling can be made to avoid this but it's alot more work to make, the material has to be clamped so the bead ends up being stretched into the panel, thats done with die springs or a die cushion or something along those lines, i would of made your part in two pieces, both pieces would of been cut longer to allow for the extra distance needed do to the beads, then you can shrink as i said earlier and the panels would lay flat.
Quote: <table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset"> Originally Posted by 201 When making the male and female dies, how critical is taking in the thickness of the material to be worked. I know alot of the stuff would be short runs( 1 or 2 pieces), but always wonder'd about that. Also does it have any affect on the overall dimentions of the piece being worked??? </td></tr></tbody></table> For punching, 10% of the material thickness total clearance (5% per side) is a good starting point. In general - less gives better holes, more give longer tool life. For forming, it depends on the shape you are trying to make and the material you are trying to make it from.
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