Ceilidh ... Re: "But I've got nuthin' to say"

Hydraulic Die Forming Forum

Re: "But I've got nuthin' to say"

OK, I'll throw in my $0.02.
Steve Nosek here = Just retired from 28 years as an Electronic Test Equipment hardware and software engineer. Mainly involved with testing and testers for integrated circuits but did some marking and related activities.

Metal work is pre Electronics. I did a 4 year apprenticeship in the sheet metal shop at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. Learned pattern drafting and all equipment in a large production facillity. Press work was punch, power brake, hand brake and hydralic. We did very little drawing but lots of bending and punching.

I have been playing with some of Dar's single piece blanking dies and am in love with them. I do my hydraulic work on a 20 ton lash up. I also have a 32 inch Jet Brake/shear/slip roll plus an Enco beading machine. I have an fairly good library of metal working books covering every thing from black smithing to the English Wheel. I think the English Wheel is neat but I'm spread to thin to start messing in that direction.

I have tried to draw a couple of shallow pans about a foot in diameter but was unsuccessful. I have some of the most interesting wrinkled copper as a result of this. It makes a half descent bird seed dish.

Tthe urathane never ceases to amaze me. I had bought some 95 durometer from a plastics supply house and have made a bottom die for my brake with it. By the way - in case somebody cares - the reason I paid the extra $150 for the Jet combination machine instead of an Enco version was because the Enco does not have removable bottom dies.

One last item is that I am looking for a source for a set of custom made die rolls for my beading machine. Anybody know anything let me know --- SAN

Thu Jun 17