Low pressure metal forming

[enjenjo]

Did anyone see the article in the new street rodder on metal forming with an arbor press? I think I am going to try it, I can see several places where it would work good.

I am thinking that to get the tucks out of the edge, you could use a shrinker, I have done that in the past.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I do not receive any magazines ,  post some info if you give it a shot.

[unklian]

Saw the article, didn't read it.

No reason why it won't work, just a matter of generating enough force.

[unklian]

I've used a small arbor press for bending tubing, a larger one to bend plate.

[enjenjo]

Basically they make a universal die that stretches  and bends the sheet metal a little at a time. Then you finish it by hand, or with a wheeling machine.

[jaybee]

Sounds interesting.  I let my subscription expire but may need to pick this one up.

[Charlie Chops 1940]

Just got my issue today. I've tried it with mixed results using a hydraulic press but it's hard to control and a clumsy device at best. I've been watching for an arbor press but not with a high priority. Time to look harder I guess.

Charlie

[jaybee]

Has anyone experimented with this yet?  At this point I have neither an arbor press nor an H frame press, so it's a little beyond my tools, but it made for interesting reading.  I know that Ron Covell sees this as all one process, and I'm certainly not qualified to second guess him, but I see a couple of things going on.

The arbor press/sand bag set up is stated to be a substitute for a mallet and sand bag, and the freehand method is very cool.  Seems like it would be easier to place the stretches just where you want them, and thus the whole thing might be a little more controllable for those who haven't spent hours and hours beating panels.  

I understand that the process of pressing into a buck is the same thing as far as the metal is concerned, but to me it's a lot more akin to metal stamping.  They've just broken the stamping down into a multitude of small, localized pressings instead of one giant push.  You don't need an enormous press.  Your dies don't have to be as sturdy becuse they're taking localized pressure in small increments instead of massive pressure all over at once.  

It all looks very cool and for me as a relatively inexperienced metal shaper it strikes me as a bit less intimidating than "take this piece of sheetmetal and beat it against that shot bag with a mallet until it looks like something."  You can make a piece of twisted scrap just as well with either method I suppose, but it just strikes me that I'd do better analysis and think things through better if I'm as methodical and controlled as possible.