gasgas17
Well-known member
I wish my Boxster had hinges that nice on the console cover!
MP&C Shop Projects
- Thread starter MP&C
- Start date
snyder
Well-known member
Robert, do you still host metal workshops anymore.? I would love to attend one..
snyder
Well-known member
Im sorry , i thought it was in my profile. I will take care of that. Im in the baltimore area..
My wife's cousin JB, who works at Interiors by Shannon, contacted me the other day about making him a dimpling punch and die for installing door panel fasteners..
There's always room for improvement, so I thought I'd add a flat to one side of the lower die so it could be clamped in a vise for more stability. A short piece of V-block was installed in the Aloris tool holder and viola! We have a Southbend Milling Machine!
The alignment pin was added to the bottom die to help keep the panel aligned during the punching process, a 1/4" hole will be added to the panel where fasteners are needed.
Installing into the vise...
Our .06 aluminum test panel...
….that should work...
There's always room for improvement, so I thought I'd add a flat to one side of the lower die so it could be clamped in a vise for more stability. A short piece of V-block was installed in the Aloris tool holder and viola! We have a Southbend Milling Machine!
The alignment pin was added to the bottom die to help keep the panel aligned during the punching process, a 1/4" hole will be added to the panel where fasteners are needed.
Installing into the vise...
Our .06 aluminum test panel...
….that should work...
Toothaker
Well-known member
You make it look so easy. 
gofastwclass
Well-known member
...because he's a professional. 
jbmatth
Well-known member
I didn't realize I was related to you, or that I worked on interiors, but if you make a tool for me I'll happily accept it. Thank you Robert you shouldn't have!
JB
P.S. Have you met our other cousin? He does some crazy welding work and the welds aren't even hot when they are done.
JB
P.S. Have you met our other cousin? He does some crazy welding work and the welds aren't even hot when they are done.
Some days I can't leave well enough alone. I thought I'd see how stout my fancy hinges were before we get too far along in the upholstery stage of the console. I guess I had a gut feeling on these, but some slight side to side deflection rendered the hinges loosened, and the swage of the semi-tubular rivets showed some cracks...
We're a bit too far down this rabbit hole to change directions again, so I checked my inventory of semi-tubular rivets and found these HD items.
These are used in securing latches and hinges to the HD saddle bags and tour packs. When I paint the Harleys, I break these things down to nothing to get fresh paint everywhere, then reinstall the hardware with new rivets. These are stainless and have shown in the past to be rather robust, so we'll drill out all the off shore rivets and install these..
Comparison...
One set done, one to go..
We're a bit too far down this rabbit hole to change directions again, so I checked my inventory of semi-tubular rivets and found these HD items.
These are used in securing latches and hinges to the HD saddle bags and tour packs. When I paint the Harleys, I break these things down to nothing to get fresh paint everywhere, then reinstall the hardware with new rivets. These are stainless and have shown in the past to be rather robust, so we'll drill out all the off shore rivets and install these..
Comparison...
One set done, one to go..
slodat
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Robert- I would love to have a *********** press-n-snap press like you have there. Is this something you'd be willing to make for me? Also, I know JB (from social media) and Shannon's shop and work, quite well. That die is the kind of thing that make us upholsterers' day! Very nice work, as always!
Steve, that was made about a decade or more ago at a previous day job that had a Bridgeport (and some scrap aluminum ) and I don't have that access any more. The modified one is just slightly larger throat depth over the stock, I basically sized it for the reach I needed on the HD parts... I would suggest something along the lines of a Whitney press, in either foot or handle activated, and really have some room inside the throat. I'm guessing you need this for larger tarps/boat cover type things?
I think you could probably find one at an aircraft factory auction that seem to be prevalent on the west coast...
) and I don't have that access any more. The modified one is just slightly larger throat depth over the stock, I basically sized it for the reach I needed on the HD parts... I would suggest something along the lines of a Whitney press, in either foot or handle activated, and really have some room inside the throat. I'm guessing you need this for larger tarps/boat cover type things?
I think you could probably find one at an aircraft factory auction that seem to be prevalent on the west coast...
Saturday morning Mike and I went to look at a 39 Ford that needs a complete new wiring harness. What a rats nest the under-dash was, with far too many splices. When people run wires with no regard to movement and function of things like the cowl vent handle or parking brake, when three separate wires are spliced to go from one point to another, you just shake your head. For me I guess it validates what I do in sharing the various tips and methods in this thread. If it helps one person to get some ideas to better improve their own build, or it keeps hack work like we saw Saturday from happening, then mission accomplished.
When we returned from that, I finished up the remaining hinge conversion, and Mike cut out some 18 GA cold rolled and made some bolting angles for some inner fenders we have planned in dressing up the blah engine compartment. Undoubtedly there will be some components bolted onto the original inner fenders and these "covers", and this bolting angle will allow us to remove them for access without having to remove fender bolts.
Monday evening we had a departure, the upholstery has left the building! Well, most of it, we still have door panels, arm rests, etc, etc.... to address.
Thanks Gary!
Last night we cut out some bend sample strips to nail down our console lid insert, should get the final version cut out and fabricated Thursday night. Meanwhile, E and I worked on locating attachment holes on the mounting angles Mike had made. The original inner fenders were attached to the fender, and noticed we needed a mounting hole up front of our angles for better stability, so we added those holes and installed some rivnuts in the inner fenders. This will allow assembly without the need to hold washers and nuts on the opposite side.
E gaining some rivnut installing skills....
This shows the side by side with the angles installed.
Thursday we'll get the attachment holes for the new inner inner fenders located, drilled, and rivnuts installed. Then these parts can get sent off for powder coating.
When we returned from that, I finished up the remaining hinge conversion, and Mike cut out some 18 GA cold rolled and made some bolting angles for some inner fenders we have planned in dressing up the blah engine compartment. Undoubtedly there will be some components bolted onto the original inner fenders and these "covers", and this bolting angle will allow us to remove them for access without having to remove fender bolts.
Monday evening we had a departure, the upholstery has left the building! Well, most of it, we still have door panels, arm rests, etc, etc.... to address.
Thanks Gary!
Last night we cut out some bend sample strips to nail down our console lid insert, should get the final version cut out and fabricated Thursday night. Meanwhile, E and I worked on locating attachment holes on the mounting angles Mike had made. The original inner fenders were attached to the fender, and noticed we needed a mounting hole up front of our angles for better stability, so we added those holes and installed some rivnuts in the inner fenders. This will allow assembly without the need to hold washers and nuts on the opposite side.
E gaining some rivnut installing skills....
This shows the side by side with the angles installed.
Thursday we'll get the attachment holes for the new inner inner fenders located, drilled, and rivnuts installed. Then these parts can get sent off for powder coating.
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E worked Thurday evening on drilling holes and installing rivet nuts for the inner inner fender mounts.
Oops, I think she chipped a nail..
Meanwhile, I fabricated the console lid insert...
Today, Mike and I worked on the lower radiator mount. We tossed around various ideas, and settled on one that would keep the lower condensor mount a separate isolated part. We decided to use the same dies used to for the J-channel detail on the back of the 52 Chevy tailpan that we made up a couple years ago.
Here the J-channel detail is added on a piece of 16 gauge cold rolled steel..
Radiator test fit:
.
Oops, I think she chipped a nail..
Meanwhile, I fabricated the console lid insert...
Today, Mike and I worked on the lower radiator mount. We tossed around various ideas, and settled on one that would keep the lower condensor mount a separate isolated part. We decided to use the same dies used to for the J-channel detail on the back of the 52 Chevy tailpan that we made up a couple years ago.
Here the J-channel detail is added on a piece of 16 gauge cold rolled steel..
Radiator test fit:
.
gofastwclass
Well-known member
Well done.
Another part we're adding due to the length of this car is a second interior light. We chose to go with the original version, so here's a factory mount, spot welds ground out from the back side of the included section of roof crossmember. Then it will get media blasted, epoxy primed, and plug welded in place.
We got the baffle/lower radiator mount plug welded in place...
...and the rubber edge trim for our lower radiator mount added.. The "final" version will include weather strip adhesive to keep it locked in place on the radiator.
Needs to be pressed in a little more but this is the idea...
Side baffles for the core support were trimmed on the inside (for our larger opening) , new mounting slots added, and access holes opened up..
Lower radiator hose clearance to the battery support bracket...
We got the baffle/lower radiator mount plug welded in place...
...and the rubber edge trim for our lower radiator mount added.. The "final" version will include weather strip adhesive to keep it locked in place on the radiator.
Needs to be pressed in a little more but this is the idea...
Side baffles for the core support were trimmed on the inside (for our larger opening) , new mounting slots added, and access holes opened up..
Lower radiator hose clearance to the battery support bracket...
Yesterday I needed to shrink the flanges of a folded U channel, but the standard dies of the Erco wouldn't do the trick. I had a new set of extended dies but no base set for them.
The divider plate for the standard dies uses a different retention method, so we used some 3/16 flat bar to make some new ones using roll pins for retention device..
All good to go......
The divider plate for the standard dies uses a different retention method, so we used some 3/16 flat bar to make some new ones using roll pins for retention device..
All good to go......
larry4406
Well-known member
When there is a will, there is a way!
gofastwclass
Well-known member
I'm starting to wonder if you spend 50% of your time making tools to make the parts you use.
Haven't done any aluminum welding in quite a few years, need to get back in practice. I had a quick job to do for the Leo Club, the junior members of the local Lions Club. They will be carrying a banner in Veterans Day Parade tomorrow and needed something fabricated to hold the banner. I had some aluminum tubing, and made some "bolting" tabs to attach through the eyelet holes. One tube at the bottom adds a bit of weight so it won't flap so much in the wind, a longer tube at the top to allow walking to either side.
Attachments
I have a couple radius bends to do on the AC condenser bracket, so a piece of 1/2" 4130 was added to the Magnetic Brake die.. This will help keep things from moving, and it is welded on what is usually the back side, so no interference otherwise...
This will be the mounting flange to the radiator..
1" rod is used to form the radius on the side "covers"
A test fit before we cut out the gaping hole for air flow....
The center hole is cut out and a flange tipped for wrapping a 3/16" rod for wire edge. This should add plenty of strength, if the 16 GA wasn't enough..
Our anvil we made up for stretching the metal in the corners for tipping..
Where we left off....to be continued..
This will be the mounting flange to the radiator..
1" rod is used to form the radius on the side "covers"
A test fit before we cut out the gaping hole for air flow....
The center hole is cut out and a flange tipped for wrapping a 3/16" rod for wire edge. This should add plenty of strength, if the 16 GA wasn't enough..
Our anvil we made up for stretching the metal in the corners for tipping..
Where we left off....to be continued..
gofastwclass
Well-known member
Yep, you look completely out of practice Robert. Better brush up a bit. Haha!
Honestly I've purchased things that looked far worse than that - and didn't even think about penetrating. You and I may not look like a robot did the work but at least it looks respectable and will hold.
Very cool on the condenser mount.
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GLTHFJ60
Well-known member
Wow. That's ****.
Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Had a request to show how the inside corners were tipped for wire edging the AC condenser opening. Here's a video (with poor audio.. iPhone seems to want to do a noise cancelling) that shows stretching the inner corners. I do spend a bit more time and accuracy on the real part, this was a quick, down and dirty demonstration.
We drilled out mounting hole pattern in the AC condenser to the radiator, and added AVK style rivet nuts to the radiator cross bars to secure..
Installed, this will be the profile of the upper mounting bracket (about 24+ inches wide), that will share the AC condenser upper mounting screws. Not sure if we want to do this in polished stainless or paint. Thoughts?
The upper bracket will be attached to the core support also using rivet nuts, mainly from the back side to hide some of the hardware..
Had a request to show how the inside corners were tipped for wire edging the AC condenser opening. Here's a video (with poor audio.. iPhone seems to want to do a noise cancelling) that shows stretching the inner corners. I do spend a bit more time and accuracy on the real part, this was a quick, down and dirty demonstration.
We drilled out mounting hole pattern in the AC condenser to the radiator, and added AVK style rivet nuts to the radiator cross bars to secure..
Installed, this will be the profile of the upper mounting bracket (about 24+ inches wide), that will share the AC condenser upper mounting screws. Not sure if we want to do this in polished stainless or paint. Thoughts?
The upper bracket will be attached to the core support also using rivet nuts, mainly from the back side to hide some of the hardware..
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Go on www.McMaster.com and do a search for 95105A. That should get you in the right series (steel, splined for less chance of spinning). They have a wider grip range than the RivNut brand.. The tools are the aircraft style originally made by BF Goodrich, and for 5/16 the part number is C722-3118, and goes up to C722-1213. Smaller sizes, the part number is C845-440 through C845-2520. They are also available in metric, but I think you can see the part number and size correlation. A google search on the part numbers of the tools should find you a vendor, shop around for the best price.
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Retlaw 66
Well-known member
There's a manufacturer near me here in Pa, Penn Engineering. Might be something that will work well for you. Take a look:
https://www.pemnet.com/fastening-products/pem-self-clinching-fasteners-new/
WoodsTruck
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
- Messages
- 1,019
If you have a lot of other pieces of polished stainless to carry on a theme then go that route. Otherwise I think paint would carry over the factory look as if it were always that way and meant to be there.
Splendid work, carry on.
So this weekend I worked on the "new" dolly to remove some of the rust..
Started with the media blaster to remove all the rust and scale...
Next, the pits were removed using 60 grit roloc sanding discs, followed by brown, red, and then blue scotchbrite discs. Then some media blasting to give a good finish..
Lastly, some 320 on the DA to remove scratches from the dolly face, and a trip to the pedestal buffer with some thick gloves.
All that fun aside, back on radiator mounts. The upper will be a combination mount and also cover for the top of the core support. This will be 44" long, so to help the magnetic brake make some more crisp bends we'll thin the bend lines in the Lennox using a tipping die. the 44" length on the panel is a bit long for my 48" linear slide, so another section is added to give us 96" to play with. Just clears the Pexto shear..
Motion picture of the process:
Bend lines in place ....
….and we left off there for some turkey dinner. Should get it trimmed on the sides and folded up this Tuesday night.
Started with the media blaster to remove all the rust and scale...
Next, the pits were removed using 60 grit roloc sanding discs, followed by brown, red, and then blue scotchbrite discs. Then some media blasting to give a good finish..
Lastly, some 320 on the DA to remove scratches from the dolly face, and a trip to the pedestal buffer with some thick gloves.
All that fun aside, back on radiator mounts. The upper will be a combination mount and also cover for the top of the core support. This will be 44" long, so to help the magnetic brake make some more crisp bends we'll thin the bend lines in the Lennox using a tipping die. the 44" length on the panel is a bit long for my 48" linear slide, so another section is added to give us 96" to play with. Just clears the Pexto shear..
Motion picture of the process:
Bend lines in place ....
….and we left off there for some turkey dinner. Should get it trimmed on the sides and folded up this Tuesday night.
Crusarius
Well-known member
When you hit that with the tipping die does it bend pretty easy by hand? I can easily make a tipping die and machine. but my homemade brake is only 13" wide.
Wonder how well that would work on 3/16 or 1/8" material? I rarely ever work with sheet metal usually 1/8" or thicker.
Wonder how well that would work on 3/16 or 1/8" material? I rarely ever work with sheet metal usually 1/8" or thicker.
I don't think I could bend the 44" width by hand. The mag break will bend this thickness and width but leaves a lot to be desired on giving a nice crisp bend, it leaves an elliptical radius of sorts. So this is a bit of a crutch for better results. For the thicker pieces, how wide are you usually bending? If your brake will not bend what you want, I think you may be out of luck or looking for an estate sale for another machine.
YJ4000
Well-known member
That dolly looks great! On a side note I wish the stores near me in northern NY still carried the throw back Mountain Dew.
Ryan.
Ryan.
Crusarius
Well-known member
My brake is a home made press brake. it is 13" wide and fits into my 12 ton HF press. Works great. I can stall the jack on big stuff but usually bends what I want. Biggest issue is when I have something longer than 13". One it will not fit between the uprights on the press two I have to bend a little then shift then bend a little then shift. Do this till I get the bend all the way across. not the prettiest but it works.
I have bent 1/2" thick x 2.5" wide stock with it no problem. That surprised me.
I have bent 1/2" thick x 2.5" wide stock with it no problem. That surprised me.
xtremek
Well-known member
As always, it's a treat to follow your thread, magnificent work.