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I have the Hyd press table plates worked up with the angle iron guides bolted to the bottom of them to keep them aligned. Now I am working on the wooden sheet metal brake needed to roughly shape the work pieces to fit into the forming dies before putting the dies in place on top of the work pieces for forming. That process has been working in my brain for quite a while but never would actually come into focus. I finally just started it and am letting it kind of develop in a sort of organic fashion. I actually have it nearly finished, but I need to go to the hardware store and get about 3 hinges for it. Then the manner of mounting them is still kind of out of focus.
I have several sheets of the first kind of aluminum I am going to try with these dies. They are .050 in thick. I am still kind of hoping to make the pans out of .063, but still feel that .050 may be the heaviest that I can form in my dies. However, as I look at these sheets I have in .050, I am beginning to think that 063 might very well work out. We will see shortly.
Next only is the electrical connection to the press and filling the press up with 15 to 20 gallons of Hyd fluid. Then, in the back of my mind I wonder if the press will even function. I don't really know why they were selling it.
Oh, Yes. I forgot about the outrigger. I still have that to make, but I don't think it will take much.
I finished up the little wooden sheet metal brake I had in mind to pre bend the work pieces to fit between the dies before the big pressure is applied. Here is a picture of it upside down with some epoxy curing.
Actually today was kind of a milestone. I marked a piece of aluminum that will be my first workpiece then bent it in my little wooden brake That only took about 20 minutes and the brake worked just as panned.
I was writing a lengthy post about my current progress, but when I was getting close to the end it all went away for some reason. I don't know if it is my computer or this site; but I guess the point is simply that I have made some more progress with the final details and will be attempting to form one of these pans in the next two weekends.
I was writing a lengthy post about my current progress, but when I was getting close to the end it all went away for some reason. ...
Jerry BTDT - its a pain, and the last thing you feel like doing is typing it all out again. About time the geniuses at Apple & Microsoft figured out that we always want the option to get it back regardless what unexpected key combination deleted it (!!)
Yes, there is, D. I got my new 50 Ton Hyd Press up and running a little over a week ago and then I had to divert myself to work up a batch of the airplane Wheel Covers that I have had standing orders for for nearly a year. I have 40 of those formed and trimmed out up to the final finish stage. I have the outrigger for the Hyd Press nearly complete and can finish that in a short period. Then I have a new batch of 928 Cowl Covers formed at the plastics shop where the vacu-forming set-up is and I'll be spending this afternoon there trimming them out of their blanks. I have standing orders for several of those also. Nevertheless, I am planning to spend tomorrow wrestling the big chunks of aluminum dies out to my pickup and over to the shop where my press is and setting it up and seeing how it is going to form one of these pans. I hope to have a picture of something late tomorrow or Sunday.
Last edited by Jerry Feather; 11-11-2020 at 10:46 AM.
I kind of amazed myself today. I actually got to the point that I said I thought I would. I have the Cowl Covers roughly cut out and ready for final finish and they are now here at home where I can get them ready to ship a few. I didn't do any more with the Airplane Wheel covers, but didn't think I would, probably until next week. Then I spent most of today doing some final details to the Belly Pan Forming Dies, and with some help from my daughter, Aaren, we got them loaded into my PU and out to the other shop. Then, again with her help, we got the dies set up in the Press and ready to press. Then I realized that one final part of the equation is some shims to go between the center male die and the inner end dies. Those are needed to make up the extra space I ended up with and which I will use to adjust for the thickness of the material being formed. I went ahead and pressed the center die to its bottom and find that it looks like it is forming all the way. There is a bit of spring back, but that can be caused by just the resistance to the metal even after formed. Before I can take it out and look at it I need the shims. If I can find enough material in my shop this afternoon I'll try to work some shims up and then go press the two ends. I did hear a couple of muffled pops in the forming, but I hope that was something beside the aluminum being formed breaking. It remains to be seen. Here is a picture of the final setup just before pressure was applied.
Last edited by Jerry Feather; 10-03-2020 at 04:52 PM.
In the forming process, and not shown in the picture above, is a heavy 1 inch thick steel plate that is almost as large as the top center die. and on top of that is a heavy steel bar that is about 2 by 3 inches and also nearly as long and the center die. Those steel items help to spread the load so that the aluminum is not required to form at it's extreme distance from the press ram since it is not stiff enough. I think this press can fold one of these 2 inch aluminum plates quite easily without the steel stiffeners. I'll show those steel items in the next pictures.
Last edited by Jerry Feather; 10-03-2020 at 06:21 PM.
Me too , but now mine seems to be blunted by that last cup of wine in the box that i have been drinking out of. I think it will be tomorrow morning that I find the shims and get back to the final forming of this pan.
Well, that went pretty well, from a procedural standpoint. but the result is far less than successful. On the other hand it is kind of successful in that it shows what can be done and probably with not too much work over of the dies. The first of these pans that I have formed is broken out in very many places, but I don't think any of them are fatal to the whole project. I'm going to work over the dies to soften many of the places where the aluminum ruptured and a few where I think it might have sheared.
Jerry, that is just amazing even with the problems. Almost makes me wish I had a car it would fit on. Curious: How many can you make with that die before it gives out?
Last edited by chart928s4; 10-05-2020 at 12:32 AM.
08-08-2020, 03:54 PM
