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Metal working tools

168K views 836 replies 120 participants last post by  Deuling 
#1 · (Edited)
Metal working tools *Need Box And Pan Brake Opinions*

So I have been having alot of fun with my dimple dies this year. Im wondering what other tools I could take advantage of for more cool sheetmetal working capabilities.

Using an Iron Worker, and have hole punches from 1/4"-1". Wish I could find bigger ones to cut down on hole sawing for bigger dimple dies.

But none the less, what other cool sheet metal working tools do you like playing with? Recomendations for vendors etc?











 
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#4 ·
Get a hydraulic knockout punch and the dimple dies to match the sizes. Barbed wire offroad sells a kit of them on e-bay. Then you can dimple anything anywhere... Middle of a 4x8 sheet? No problem. Also the knockout dies go up to about 2.5-3" diameter or close... I'll have to measure to make sure.
 
#6 · (Edited)
#7 · (Edited)
Yeah, doesn't SWAG sell a kit to adapt a HF something to punch holes w power?

Milwaukee makes some cool hole saws intended for use in an impact driver (yes, impact) w an ejector spring and shoulder so they dont drop all the way through. But IIRC they're kind of oddball sizes for electrical KO's
 
#8 ·
Having a Rivet fan and spring loaded center punch for layout work is priceless.

Rotobroach hole cutters are the only way to go if you are doing dimple work. Hell, they are the only way to go if you want a round hole in just about anything.
 
#12 ·
J/k Shortly after the sale I had a spinal surgery that went sideways and had to have a second one to fix that one, 3 surgeries on my spine later I was left immobilized in a recliner 24/7 for about 12 months. Took another 18 months or so after that for physical rehab and get my shit straighten out. And by shit staightened out I mean the whole episode left me with a major morphine addiction and a fatass 280 lbs from sitting in a goddamn chair for a year and a half.

Speaking of metal fab tools ..... Check the crooked fawking titanium fab work :laughing:
 

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#15 ·
J/k Shortly after the sale I had a spinal surgery that went sideways and had to have a second one to fix that one, 3 surgeries on my spine later I was left immobilized in a recliner 24/7 for about 12 months. Took another 18 months or so after that for physical rehab and get my shit straighten out. And by shit staightened out I mean the whole episode left me with a major morphine addiction and a fatass 280 lbs from sitting in a goddamn chair for a year and a half.
Damn dude. Glad you're back in the land of the living. Hopefully the worst is behind you and things are looking up again. It's good to hear from you.
 
#14 ·
Doing most automotive type projects will probably only require a handful of Clecos to hold the assembly together during fitment however the larger or more complex the assembly the more Clecos that are required to keep it in alignment.
 

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#16 ·
Rivet work can look cool as well and is fairly simple to do once you get the hang of it. Minimum tool investment as well. The cool factor comes in the design, detail and craftsmanship.

Air hammer and a bucking bar will get you started.... As well as some solid rivets :laughing:
 

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#18 ·
A Beverly Shear would be high on my list.

Even when I had 2 scotchmen iron workers the B3 Beverly was one of the more handy tools in the shop. I'd even settle on a Beverly look alike as used beverlys are hard to come by.
 

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#20 ·
x2 on the Beverly Shear. I lucked out and bought one at an auction for $35. I don't think anyone there knew what it was.

Bead roller is another one that's high on my list for sheetmetal. You can get all kinds of creative with different dies and combinations of dies.
 
#22 ·
Obviously they are not as strong as a bolt and nut but if you are using the correct size hole they should be holding the parts together firmly enough to be handled.

There are four basic size in the spring loads

Silver 3/32" (2.4 mm)
Copper 1/8" (3.2 mm)
Black 5/32" (4.0 mm)
Gold (Brass) 3/16" (4.8 mm)

Then there is also the wing nut type that has more holding power as well as a clamp type and I am sure a few other speciality ones I am not aware of.
 
#25 ·
At least now we can do 1/2", 3/4" and 1" holes without having to drill any holes. So thats a plus.

Also can punch all standard bolt sizes between 1/4" and 1"



 
#26 ·
Iron worker punches are cool if you have a lot of the same size hole to do or are punching holes in more then sheet metal.

I had 1 scotchmen with a single punch and it ran 1/4 holes all day, and a second one set up with a turret. Great machines but for anything short of a busy welding shop or production facility they are spendy.

I had a manual turret punch at my home shop and for anybody wanting to do tin work I would recommend these for 2 reasons. Mostly because they are fairly common at equipment auctions and can be had cheap. And second, no need to change dies for different hole sizes. I paid $50 for a 32 hole and $100 for a 16 hole at auction.
 

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#28 ·
I had an idea to try dimples in some perforated steel yesterday.

Aside from the sharp edges, I think it could be used for some cool pieces.

I got all nerdy and made a video too as I was excited to punch and dimple on the same machine :flipoff2:

 
#33 · (Edited)
Damn. This is gonna be an expensive winter :p

Who makes an affordable electric bead roller? The hand crank seems like it would be really hard to do anything curved unless you have 2 people.
 
#131 · (Edited)
I'm a little late but those could be done with the pie dies from PDank Racing. I finally bought the set of 7 dies this past summer. I haven't used them yet aside from making a sample piece.

It looks like I can't post pics. Here's a link. Pete doesn't have them on his website, you'll have to contact him.

PDank Performance and Off Road Parts

Pdank Pie Dies by PDANKPete | Photobucket



You're doing some nice bead rolling Deuling :)
 
#36 ·
Yah, its probably just a dimpled panel laid over a flat panel.

But if they exhist and you could just make fixture to hold the dies vertical aligned, it would be really cool.
 
#37 · (Edited)
I ordered up one of the woodward fab 18" depth bead rollers.

I cant afford the MB one.

Now to figure out how to hook up a variable speed motor and footpedal to it. Im terrible with electrical knowledge.... There is a milwaukee right angle drill in the shop, those things have tons of torque, I wonder if I can add a foot pedal to that and hook it up without having to rip the drill apart and not be able to use it normally.

Bottom-line pricing on K-Tool International - WFBR6 at ToolTopia.com
 
#38 ·
Go to Woodward fans website and check out their power kit assembly video.

Now make a bracket similar to theirs but to mount your drill.
For variable speed just zip tie the trigger in place @ about 17 rpm
And use a on/off switch to power up the drill

HF has em for about $10
Power Maintained Foot Switch

That said, I think you will find that hand cranking isn't so bad if you are doing occasional projects on it. One other thing I would add is the fence for doing straight lines until you get good at it.
 
#39 ·
I plan on using the shit out of this thing.

The hand crank while doing curved stuff sounds like it will bring the suck.

Thanks for the recommendations.
 
#41 ·
For me it was the opposite , Straight lines are more difficult to make look good on a manual because each time you crank it you get a little wiggle in your line, isn't as notice in a radius. But a little practice goes a long ways. I have a buddy who can crank out a bitchen looking panel on POS harbor freight bead roller like nobody's business.
 
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