[TheForge] Making dies for cutting sheet metal?

[jallcorn at suddenlink.net]

Ironworker w/ shear pkg comes to mind. I'd need new blades on mine to cut really thin stuff. 

James A. 

> On Mar 15, 2014, at 10:35 AM, Jay Hayes <xmas4lites at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> Stack the 4-8 blanks and clamp or tack weld at the ends. Cut the teeth with a band saw, hack saw, or zip disc. Then unclamp or grind off the tack welds.  A cheap Harbor Freight band saw would knock it out in a few minutes with little cleanup.
> 
>> On 3/15/2014 7:42 AM, Bruce . wrote:
>> Okay, I think I count the following "votes" in favor of
>> ​
>> 
>> dies
>> ​​
>> 
>> ​      ​
>>   1
>> chisel
>> ​
>> ​
>>       ​
>>       1​
>> 
>> ​
>> ​
>> Forge
>> ​and​
>> grind
>> ​  ​
>>  1​
>> ​
>> ​
>> ​plasma
>> ​     ​
>> 
>> ​
>> ​
>>      ​
>> ​ ​
>>     1
>> water jet
>> ​
>> ​
>>           ​
>> ​ ​
>>   3
>> laser
>> ​
>> ​
>>       ​
>>         4
>> 
>> ​... with five people "voting"!
>> 
>> Only one vote for punch and dies -- or maybe 1 and a half.  Okay. on to the
>> next idea.  (BTW, I was thinking of making punch and dies myself, not laser
>> cutting them, using Streeter's method or something such.)
>> 
>> The chisel idea is interesting, but I expect it would involve a lot of
>> clean-up.  It occurred to me on reading this that I might be able to
>> combine techniques and acheive the end:  Punch a hole, shear to the hole to
>> make the "raw" tine, then use a smaller punch to form the end of the tine.
>> I may look into this.
>> 
>> I've tried forging and it works well, but is very slow, and not very
>> reproducible.  I started making a "die" (really just a support apparatus)
>> to facilitate forging, but ran into some troubles and decided to
>> investigate alternative approaches.  I may change my approach and try it
>> again.
>> 
>> Same for grinding.  If I change my approach as suggested, I might make it
>> feasible.  (I doubt that combining it with forging would be necessary.)
>> I tried milling, but I lack a milling machine.  Using a milling attachment
>> on a lathe, I ran into problems that might not be worth the bother trying
>> to overcome.  What comes to mind is to  mount a Dremel in the 4-jaw chuck
>> of the lathe (which would act only as a holder), then mount a stack of
>> stock in my milling attachment, and have at that with the Dremel.  The
>> milling attachment provides fairly close control of the motions, thus
>> compensating for my lousy hand-to-eye coordination.
>> 
>> I have been considering sawing these out using a jeweler's saw -- tedious,
>> but I can work from a pasted-on drawing and get the result I need.
>> 
>> So much for techniques I can do myself.  On to the ones I'd have to
>> contract out:
>> 
>> My limited knowledge of plasma cutting suggests it won't produce a clean
>> enough cut.
>> 
>> 
>> Waterjet and laser sound attractive, but I haven't the foggiest idea how to
>> get started with these.  Any pointers?  Do any firms advertise onesy-twosy
>> production?
>> 
>> As for the questions asked:
>> I'm aiming to make the combs from stock between 1/32" and 1/8" (1/16" is a
>> good choice).  I need at least 7 teeth so am aiming for 8 or more teeth for
>> now.  Later I might want to go to much larger numbers, but smaller sizes.
>> For the current design, the teeth would be 1/4" wide and spaced 1/4" apart,
>> and 2" long, including the complication on the end. The combs must be
>> reasonably identical -- not rocket science, but they must work together in
>> the final device, so must be compatible.  I would have trouble achieving
>> this with hand work, but any ordinary machining approach would be fine.
>> 
>> ​Thanks for your input.​
>> 
>> 
>> Bruce
>> NJ
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