By eyeballs glance, that's close in size to the Volvo torque rod bushing. I'm yet to confirm diameter

Wow, it's amazing what you'll find on the internet.

140-Series Torque Rod Bushings, from SuperPro...

I farted.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2012 01:29PM by ryanfay.

nice...

Myles,
To bad your way on the left coast. I made these from 1/8" plate using Harbor Freight 12 ton press and homemade die and then my Step-Son T.I.G welded them up for me with my $100 H/F machine.
Don

Quote
N. Versailles Cobra
Myles,
To bad your way on the left coast. I made these from 1/8" plate using Harbor Freight 12 ton press and homemade die and then my Step-Son T.I.G welded them up for me with my $100 H/F machine.
Don

pics of the homemade die?

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KF7RWG
http://www.utahrallygroup.com

Part of it is in the picture, lower left. That attaches to the ram of the press. There is a v-block that goes under it. When you lower the top part, it pushes the sheet metal into the v notch. Insta brake! You can even make round dies for larger bend radii.

Your eactly right Robert. Must be a H/F guy, also.
Don

I was gonna build something myslef that resembled this:

http://www.swagoffroad.com/20-TON-Press-Brake-Heavy-Duty-DIY-Builder-Kit-_p_42.html

Except that, they sell it so dang cheap as a "kit" - by the time you've bought all the pieces (if you don't have 'em) you'll actually be money-ahead.

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Scott,
Don't know how much brake die forming you have done, but the only problem I see with the one you have shown in your post is the same problem I had and why I made up the 4 3/4" long little die to do the mounts. "Real press brakes" have upper dies in various lengths which you put together or separate to overcome the problem. See my flat pix (and mount in place) attached and if you imagine bending 2 oposite sides 90 degrees, then you have to be able to get between the 2 folded sides to complete side 3. Short 4th side is separate and welded in. By the way. The (7) 2" holes were a real PITA with my little bench top mill. Not one of my better ideas. Dah.
Anyway. I'm happy with the result.
Don

I used to work in a stove shop (a place called "Country Flame" - we had two large pressbrakes (among other implements of mass-construction) and a rackfull of upper and lower dies, many so big we had a hoist to move them - I used to have bend-radius and die-angle thumb-rules committed to memory, but that was lo these many years ago (you could still count my age upon all my appendages in public, without getting arrested).

The above "kit" is merely a good start for what I have in mind - and it would do probably 75-80% of any "large" projects the home fabricator might need. Modifying it a little to do the more-specialized jobs isn't all that hard, it just takes a bit of ponderin' and fabricatin' skills.

Harbor Freight has a small brake that is designed fit in a 6" vise (I have one around here someplace) that has a "lower" v-block, and three "upper" blocks (a 4", and 2-2" or a 2" and a 1", I forget exactly) works GREAT up to about 12ga. or so. But you'd better have a really good vise, and lube-up the screw on it.

But hey - props for putting one together yourself and coming up with such a clean end-product. Necessity truly IS the Mother of Invention!

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Scott & Others,
Sorry. Didn't mean for my post to sound like a fab. lesson. Just thought an explaination of why the die was so small would benefit those that might not understand how I had formed the mounts.
Progress is slow when your old.
Don

Nah, nah - No apology needed - I didn't take it as a "lesson". But even if I had; even if you meant it as one there's still nothing to be sorry for.

I was merely relating a bit of my own history, (and if anyone needs to apologize - it's ME, as I tend to be Wordy!) and adding a bit of anecdote to keep the conversation running.

Personally, I LOVE to see descriptions and pictures of home-built tools and the projects they're used to create. I don't know which was cooler (to me) in the above pic Sean M. posted: the custom motor-mounts, or the simple-and-effective "engine stand" he used to locate the block while fabricating the mounts.

I used to be the "go to guy" at the last plant I worked at when they needed some kind of device or tool for a particular machine. I think I had the best time fabricating stainless tools for deboning machines and refurbishing an old lathe and a box-brake we aquired from another plant (all on their last legs - all given "new life". More "fun" fixing them than using them to build other machines, most of the time.

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