Great strides were made today,I got the die bed on, the 1/2 plate on top, im out of 7018 so I ran a quick pass of 6010 on everything
This is the die i whipped up for now, has about a 3/4 opening, I lowered the press onto the angle to center it and also keep it from warping then tacked it up. Ill finish welding this week
Heres the buisiness end of the whole deal
Here is my first bend, 4 ft of 16 ga. It did this at about 300 psi on the gauge. chart says 2.2 ton per foot
I was worried about not getting 90 because my punch was machined 90 not 85 like i asked for, it was free tho so we cant complain. Its showing right on 90 but well see with the thicker stuff
This is a 3 ft long piece of 10 gauge, it was building pressure and the punch was starting to deflect out because I dont have the roller guides installed yet. 3 ft of 10 ga in a 3/4 die should be 31 tons according to the chart
In conclusion I think Im getting a whole lot more mechanical advantage than I thought. My tractor is only putting out 1500 psi on a 3.5 inch cylinder thats only 7 ton l, that 10 ga should have required about 30 according to charts so its possible im getting more like 5:1 not the 3:1 I thought.
Tommorow I need to get some more 7018, weld up the bed solid then work on making some guides to keep everything nice and straight. Hopefully in the next few days well be in action