A press brake that will bend 3/16 steel is going to be at least 4 figures, if not more. For the cost of a bit of metal, you could likely widen your press and also increase the width of the bottom VEE die to increase its capacity. Worst case add another 12 ton jack to share the load.
MP&C Shop Projects
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A press brake that will bend 3/16 steel is going to be at least 4 figures, if not more. For the cost of a bit of metal, you could likely widen your press and also increase the width of the bottom VEE die to increase its capacity. Worst case add another 12 ton jack to share the load.
surpdlr
Member
Are you familiar with SWAG? They make a lot of press brake "kits" for HF presses.
http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-Press-Brake-Kits_c_53.html
surpdlr
Member
Hey to you Robert!!!! Looks like you are making progress!
I can say that for me this "making a living" thing takes up too much valuable shop time!
Oh Well.... That is just how it goes I guess.
Have a great Christmas!
EdT
Well-known member
IIR, the width of the opening at the top of a VEE die is supposed to be 6 - 8 times the thickness of the metal being bent. So, as I learned, the little die that's 1/2" across the opening is fine for sheet metal, but won't work for 3/8 plate.
Crusarius
Well-known member
yup. that is in the future when I need it. I am going to make a break for 48" long sheet metal. unfortunately I have very high expectations and want it capable of bending 16 gauge stainless.
I am familiar with swag. my brake was made from spare steel I had laying around. it was quite a bit cheaper. Swag has however expanded their line quite a bit since last time I was looking.
BORING HOP YARD
Well-known member
That upper mount will look nice and clean when finished.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Robert, the radiator shroud and mount are turning out freaking amazing. Fantastic work as always and thank you for allowing us mere mortals to view your beautiful workmanship.
Mike, thanks for dropping in to check out the progress!
Don, I need to get a set of those, but for this application. I think as far as the threads on the rivet nut are recessed it would only have one or two threads at most engaged. You’re right though, a bit of need and determination get you backed in a corner and it tends to find a solution!
Nice job Robert.
These come in handy, but I understand you need it now and you make it happen!
Don, I need to get a set of those, but for this application. I think as far as the threads on the rivet nut are recessed it would only have one or two threads at most engaged. You’re right though, a bit of need and determination get you backed in a corner and it tends to find a solution!
larry4406
Well-known member
Very clever yet again! You never disappoint with your solutions and prowess.
Ohmthis
Well-known member
Robert I haven’t posted in awhile, but I’ve still been following along. The work looks great as it always does! Thanks for taking the time to document this build. I know a lot of people are loving and learning from it, I know I am!
Thanks for checking out the progress guys!
Well as normal, one change leads to one or more others. We thought we'd test fit to check out the clearance for the hood latch striker out in front of the AC condenser.
I missed getting a picture of our attempt, but here's a view of the original from the service manual.
No way the original latch striker will work with the AC condenser that far forward. So we filled in the rear bolt hole and bent the latch striker as close as we could to the latch hole, which gave us 1-1/2” more room.
The support structure would no longer have the rear bolt hole in the same location, and we needed to slim it down to the same width as the modified striker...
Next, the rear bolt for the striker will need to be horizontal now, so a stud is fabricated and welded in place, and the support bracket modified for this bolting arrangement as well.
Media blasted....
test fit....
.......and on to the next hurdle
Well as normal, one change leads to one or more others. We thought we'd test fit to check out the clearance for the hood latch striker out in front of the AC condenser.
I missed getting a picture of our attempt, but here's a view of the original from the service manual.
No way the original latch striker will work with the AC condenser that far forward. So we filled in the rear bolt hole and bent the latch striker as close as we could to the latch hole, which gave us 1-1/2” more room.
The support structure would no longer have the rear bolt hole in the same location, and we needed to slim it down to the same width as the modified striker...
Next, the rear bolt for the striker will need to be horizontal now, so a stud is fabricated and welded in place, and the support bracket modified for this bolting arrangement as well.
Media blasted....
test fit....
.......and on to the next hurdle
larry4406
Well-known member
The fit and finish of this is suburb, factory like.
Some poor sod will re-restore this in 75 years and be totally confused on how the factory parts don't fit.
Some poor sod will re-restore this in 75 years and be totally confused on how the factory parts don't fit.
Chateau Slate 66
Well-known member
And complain that the repop parts book doesn't match the "original" part on the car.
Excellent work. There's "making something work" and then there's "making it look like it came that way". You do an exceptional job with the latter.
gofastwclass
Well-known member
Robert, there you go again solving problems I didn't realize I had and making them look like they were engineered with the car. Haha!
You're always good at giving me a few ideas to resolve a similar issues on my own car.
You're always good at giving me a few ideas to resolve a similar issues on my own car.
Thanks guys, the subtlety we were looking for..
I took delivery the other day on a set of slide tracks so we used the opportunity to get the Arbor Press metalshaping dies from Pat Brubaker mounted under the table for better use of space. We used the Diacro press brake to bend some 1/8" aluminum for making some angle brackets for mounting.
For those with a Diacro manual press brake, be aware the factory cast parts may not be 100% compatible with cheater bars. This happened a few months back, and our billet steel replacement is holding up much better, still has yet to transfer the problem farther down the line, knock on wood.
E got the holes drilled out in the brackets, and I assembled the pieces..
This is much better.. a good start to cleaning off the table..
A demo of the process of using the arbor press....
.....and then today, Mike and I worked on blocking and straightening out the roof to get it a bit closer for painting.
We did find a stretched spot in the roof, and chased it around a few times in using the body hammer and shot bag. No matter what we did, it tended to still have an up and down wave, so too much metal. The roof has been covered in SPI Epoxy for a while and I had no intention of removing the epoxy, so we opted for the donut dolly (this one home made) as it would leave the paint intact over using a torch....
Part of the difficulty in using the donut dolly is insuring the hammer aligns with the dolly for the most effective shrink.
So we employed our magnet trick seen here:
.......once the trouble areas needing a bump outward were located (they were stretched inward), the magnet was placed directly over the spots and then we could trace the locations on the inside for proper hammer strike while the donut dolly was held over the corresponding location on the outside. This was about the best results I've had using the donut dolly.
Here are a few of the shrink locations used to straighten out the roof and its waves...
I took delivery the other day on a set of slide tracks so we used the opportunity to get the Arbor Press metalshaping dies from Pat Brubaker mounted under the table for better use of space. We used the Diacro press brake to bend some 1/8" aluminum for making some angle brackets for mounting.
For those with a Diacro manual press brake, be aware the factory cast parts may not be 100% compatible with cheater bars. This happened a few months back, and our billet steel replacement is holding up much better, still has yet to transfer the problem farther down the line, knock on wood.
E got the holes drilled out in the brackets, and I assembled the pieces..
This is much better.. a good start to cleaning off the table..
A demo of the process of using the arbor press....
.....and then today, Mike and I worked on blocking and straightening out the roof to get it a bit closer for painting.
We did find a stretched spot in the roof, and chased it around a few times in using the body hammer and shot bag. No matter what we did, it tended to still have an up and down wave, so too much metal. The roof has been covered in SPI Epoxy for a while and I had no intention of removing the epoxy, so we opted for the donut dolly (this one home made) as it would leave the paint intact over using a torch....
Part of the difficulty in using the donut dolly is insuring the hammer aligns with the dolly for the most effective shrink.
So we employed our magnet trick seen here:
.......once the trouble areas needing a bump outward were located (they were stretched inward), the magnet was placed directly over the spots and then we could trace the locations on the inside for proper hammer strike while the donut dolly was held over the corresponding location on the outside. This was about the best results I've had using the donut dolly.
Here are a few of the shrink locations used to straighten out the roof and its waves...
xtremek
Well-known member
Your donut dolly looks like it was originally made by the same manufacturer as some of my seal drivers. Your enginuity never ceases to amaze.
gofastwclass
Well-known member
I see your excellent helper is back. Very nice to see young people learning. The cheater bar looks taller than she is!
I wish you would have shared that little bit of advice with me 20 years ago. Haha!!
Brilliant work as always.
I wish you would have shared that little bit of advice with me 20 years ago. Haha!!
Brilliant work as always.
Had a couple questions about the donut dolly. Basically this is just like off dolly but on steroids, as supporting the panel surrounding the hammer strike gives a much more effective capture and shrink of the dent. This also helps to explain why alignment of the hammer to the dolly is so critical, and why the magnet alignment trick I showed in the earlier post works so well to make your shrinking more effective. The dolly should always be placed on the concave side to be able to hammer into the dolly and bring the panel back straight. For a larger, more pronounced dent I’ll use a flat hammer, like the Snap-on BF603. If the panel is wavy but still somewhat flat, then I’ll use a crowned hammer such as the Snap-on BF618. Use caution with the crowned hammer to not hit hard enough to add a dent, ideally we want to hit so that the metal pushes slightly into the dolly but the springback would bring it back to flush. (This comes with experience) It’s at this point that the donut dolly is most effective.
The video shown simulates using a flat faced hammer on a large radius/dent. This could be used to remove the dent altogether, or perhaps just reduce the sharpness of the radius, like the rear roof corner on a Model A. None of the tools we have will do everything, but I’ve found the donut dolly especially useful in shrinking where you don’t want to use heat (torch).
Dave, here are the unobstructed views..... I'd consider any of your leftovers that would address any of the damage shown.
The only damage that needed repair prior to the barn blowing over, were these two rust spots, the first in front of the passenger side door, and the second, the bubbling coming through just in front of the driver's door...
Other than that, natta, zilch. The roof was perfect, all the other panels were perfect, just needed paint. Here's the extent of the storm/barn damage, starting at the driver's front corner..
Hood....
Drivers A-post at the windshield, also about peeled off the mirror....
Panel in front of driver's door...
Driver's door buckled at hinge....
Bracket and door track that supports the driver's door...
Also note outward buckle behind the driver's door at the top..
Drip rail on rear.....
Passenger rear corner....
Roof....
Ceiling panels and supports....
The passenger side seems to have gone virtually unscathed. Looks like we have our work cut out for us...
The only damage that needed repair prior to the barn blowing over, were these two rust spots, the first in front of the passenger side door, and the second, the bubbling coming through just in front of the driver's door...
Other than that, natta, zilch. The roof was perfect, all the other panels were perfect, just needed paint. Here's the extent of the storm/barn damage, starting at the driver's front corner..
Hood....
Drivers A-post at the windshield, also about peeled off the mirror....
Panel in front of driver's door...
Driver's door buckled at hinge....
Bracket and door track that supports the driver's door...
Also note outward buckle behind the driver's door at the top..
Drip rail on rear.....
Passenger rear corner....
Roof....
Ceiling panels and supports....
The passenger side seems to have gone virtually unscathed. Looks like we have our work cut out for us...
Divcod
Well-known member
Robert,Dave, here are the unobstructed views..... I'd consider any of your leftovers that would address any of the damage shown.
The only damage that needed repair prior to the barn blowing over, were these two rust spots, the first in front of the passenger side door, and the second, the bubbling coming through just in front of the driver's door...
Other than that, natta, zilch. The roof was perfect, all the other panels were perfect, just needed paint. Here's the extent of the storm/barn damage, starting at the driver's front corner..
Hood....
Drivers A-post at the windshield, also about peeled off the mirror....
Panel in front of driver's door...
Driver's door buckled at hinge....
Bracket and door track that supports the driver's door...
Also note outward buckle behind the driver's door at the top..
Drip rail on rear.....
Passenger rear corner....
Roof....
Ceiling panels and supports....
The passenger side seems to have gone virtually unscathed. Looks like we have our work cut out for us...
Only part I have that might be of use is the drivers side header. Can ship it to you or will hold it until you start working on the truck. Let me know.
xtremek
Well-known member
When do you think you'll start working on the Divco? I'm looking forward to watch that.
An update on the Biederman truck, John came across a donor truck with an authentic 1947 Galion dump body, which matches his 47 Biederman perfectly.
It needed some repair work on it but it was a good one to start with. He took it to a local shop and had the tailgate rebuilt, added a cab guard and replaced the floor. It will show a few authentic dents when finished but he says he prefers that to a new edition body on an old truck.
These next pictures really show why we need to add the skirt between the cab and running board.
The skirt will rest on top of the running board flange, with a rubber edge trim to save some paint rubbing. Here's our sample bend that will rest on top of the flange. (it's shown upside-down...)
The dump body and other remaining parts will be also be painted blue, he plans to paint this spring.
It needed some repair work on it but it was a good one to start with. He took it to a local shop and had the tailgate rebuilt, added a cab guard and replaced the floor. It will show a few authentic dents when finished but he says he prefers that to a new edition body on an old truck.
These next pictures really show why we need to add the skirt between the cab and running board.
The skirt will rest on top of the running board flange, with a rubber edge trim to save some paint rubbing. Here's our sample bend that will rest on top of the flange. (it's shown upside-down...)
The dump body and other remaining parts will be also be painted blue, he plans to paint this spring.
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More progress on the wagon, we are adding a second interior light, so an original was sourced so they would match...
.....and media blasted, ready for primer..
Gary dropped off the rear seat so we could match drill holes into the side bolsters and install 5/16 rivet nuts for attachment..
And we found another low spot in the roof, likely due to media blasting the light bracket too close to the roof skin. We used the rare earth magnet trick to accurately locate the inside to outside for exact alignment of the hammer to the donut dolly..
outside, where we used the donut dolly to hammer into...
....and the inside, where we use the crowned hammer.....
Using this method we were able to locate, layout, and bump all of the low spots to a consistent crown to match the surrounding panel, all in less than 5 minutes. In this case, a much better option than mixing and sanding filler.
This video better shows the concept..
.....and media blasted, ready for primer..
Gary dropped off the rear seat so we could match drill holes into the side bolsters and install 5/16 rivet nuts for attachment..
And we found another low spot in the roof, likely due to media blasting the light bracket too close to the roof skin. We used the rare earth magnet trick to accurately locate the inside to outside for exact alignment of the hammer to the donut dolly..
outside, where we used the donut dolly to hammer into...
....and the inside, where we use the crowned hammer.....
Using this method we were able to locate, layout, and bump all of the low spots to a consistent crown to match the surrounding panel, all in less than 5 minutes. In this case, a much better option than mixing and sanding filler.
This video better shows the concept..
Mr onetwo
Well-known member
Very clever use of a pvc bushing to get the job done Robert. I used a 4 x 3 sch80 pvc bushing to make a ring depth setting tool to aid in the assembly of my 440. It is for setting ring end gap from a consistent depth square in the bore for file to fit rings.$5 versus $50 at Summit. Hope you have a very merry Christmas by the way!
Attachments
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txvwnut
Well-known member
Looks sharp. Now you gotta show the how it was made part.
larry4406
Well-known member
Nice repair on the Otterbox! I had the same failure and tossed it.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice repair on the Otterbox. Mine did the same thing about a year ago and broke the belt clip. Now I wish I would have fixed it rather than warranty it.
Fantastic repair.
Fantastic repair.
Thanks for the comments guys!
Today we were working on more interior parts for Gary to upholster. Here is the design for the trim rings for our speakers, the cutaway shows the relief on the bottom which provides clearance for stainless mesh. This should provide a more 55 correct grill for the speakers than the plastic ones it came with. My cousin JB is making the trim rings for us..
Mike trimmed out the slots we previously had for the bass speaker, it will also get the trim ring and mesh treatment.
We drilled holes in the rear kick panel arm rest for panel clips to hold the arm rest down. I thought these would be a better option than the wire clips..
We also needed an escutcheon for our seat belt to pass through the arm rest, as the retractor is located behind the kick panel. Not finding much in the local salvage yard but plastic to choose from, and little in aftermarket, we opted to make a sample out of steel to insure the seat belt buckle and harness support would pass through. We will make the final version out of stainless and polish them..
Cleaned up and "polished" with Scotchbrite rolocs to simulate what the stainless should look like..
In our arm rest two clearance holes are drilled, then a cut made between the two. Next, the two "tabs" are hammered downward to provide the void needed for the escutcheon such that they are tight enough to hold it in place.
Today we were working on more interior parts for Gary to upholster. Here is the design for the trim rings for our speakers, the cutaway shows the relief on the bottom which provides clearance for stainless mesh. This should provide a more 55 correct grill for the speakers than the plastic ones it came with. My cousin JB is making the trim rings for us..
Mike trimmed out the slots we previously had for the bass speaker, it will also get the trim ring and mesh treatment.
We drilled holes in the rear kick panel arm rest for panel clips to hold the arm rest down. I thought these would be a better option than the wire clips..
We also needed an escutcheon for our seat belt to pass through the arm rest, as the retractor is located behind the kick panel. Not finding much in the local salvage yard but plastic to choose from, and little in aftermarket, we opted to make a sample out of steel to insure the seat belt buckle and harness support would pass through. We will make the final version out of stainless and polish them..
Cleaned up and "polished" with Scotchbrite rolocs to simulate what the stainless should look like..
In our arm rest two clearance holes are drilled, then a cut made between the two. Next, the two "tabs" are hammered downward to provide the void needed for the escutcheon such that they are tight enough to hold it in place.
gofastwclass
Well-known member
Simply awesome Robert!
Ohmthis
Well-known member
The seatbelt trim ring is pretty sweet, about how long did it take to make one?