Who here does homemade tools?

nathan · Sun Apr 26, 2015 12:58 am

I'm wanting a big shop press for bending, punching, etc. and wondering who else likes making their own tools? I'm thinking I will make a 36" 50 ton press, and if I have money left I want to make a slip roller, too. I hear steel is cheap, and I just got $140 for my birthday, so I think a trip to the steel yard is in order

AndersK · Sun Apr 26, 2015 4:00 am

I like tp make tools but they are mainly smaller hand tools for sheet metal.

Here is a good site for inspiration
www.homemadetools.net

TRACKRANGER · Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:25 am

Nathan

Good for you.

That's the kind of enthusiasm the world needs more of. Positive, progressive, challenging.

Don't be too disappointed if it takes a while to get all the parts, or if you need to save a little more along the way. You'll definitely achieve what you want. How did that line in the movie go? "Wipe on, Wipe off"

Keep us in the loop of your progress too!

Trevor

nathan · Sun Apr 26, 2015 11:56 am

That's what I like to do. This press will be my first really big project, so failure is definitely an option lol. I just cringe at spending the $1000+ on something like that, when I know I could make it myself for way less. Looks like I'm selling a welder today, so there is $80 more bucks. I'm gonna go hunt me some channels and angles tomorrow.

Homemade tools is an awesome site, I get their emails every day.

Andersk, what kind of sheet metal tools have you made?

One day, I'd like to make a water drilling rig, but that's a long ways off. I like to spend money on things that can be fun to do and that have a chance of making the money back. A big press and a slip roll to start. The press will have a brake, punch, and shear (eventually lol)

airrj · Sun Apr 26, 2015 1:07 pm

This one is 25T, but one of the better build videos that I have watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7K0jwcIAYQ

plain ol Bill · Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:24 pm

Nathan if you heard steel is cheap someone is lying to you!

BWR · Sun Apr 26, 2015 9:50 pm

Nathan, your not alone here I built a lot of the tools that I have now. I built my press a few years ago because I couldn't see paying the price they wanted for the size press I needed. I built mine 6' tall and the table is 2' by 4' and is built out of 6" I beam. I used a 50 ton air/hydraulic bottle jack with a long air hose on it for obvious reasons lol. This should be a good project with many years of service for you, good luck and keep us posted.
-Brad

AndersK · Mon Apr 27, 2015 8:43 am

nathan wrote:
Andersk, what kind of sheet metal tools have you made?

Slappers, stakes, mallets, bead roller dies
Can dig up some pics if you're interested

plain ol Bill · Mon Apr 27, 2015 7:08 pm

I used to make a lot of Damascus steel for knives I made. I made a press to forge weld under and use it for general forging work. Will add in a pic of it. Used a 4" cylinder on one side and a 6" on the other. This monster would press a 1" wide x 6" long x 6" tall Damascus billet down to 2" wide without any problems - of course this billet was around 2200 degrees at the time too.

GreinTime · Mon Apr 27, 2015 7:41 pm

Bill, I don't know about out your way, but scrap in Ohio here is down to $90 a ton... That's the cheapest I've seen it in a long time. I'm sure the local scrap would be pretty amicable to selling some of the stuff they have for a fair price.

nathan · Mon Apr 27, 2015 9:45 pm

Hell yeah, I'm interested in pictures!

At 90 a ton for scrap, I may have them ship me some down to Texas! How much would that cost? Lol

My scrap yards here were selling at 40 cents a pound about a year ago I have heard that it is around 25 or 30 cents now...

Here's my next question for y'all. I'm looking for a little guidance here:
I have two welders right now, along with a grinder and little porta torch, but that's it as far as fabrication equipment. I can use my little FCAW machine, but my stick machine is out of commission due to not having 220 in the new garage yet. Should I get the 220 running and get a tig setup for my stick welder, or should I tackle this press project first? I'm confident in my "little" wire machine, as far as penetration, weld strength, and my own ability. I have one potential customer that wants skid plates built, and I think that it would be awesome to be able to bend them with my own brake.

plain ol Bill · Mon Apr 27, 2015 9:47 pm

Sam out where I live in the sticks we have very few scrap places and those send all of their stuff to China. Don't know of any that sell to the general public around here.

AndersK · Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:23 pm

I dug up some pictures of some simple tools I've made

Body file holder, the file lies on a "stump" used to shrink metal on

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Some various templates for recesses or dimples.
Some oak, jigsaw, holesaws and a wood router is everything needed

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They were used to make this

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Wood mallet I made from legs of the kitchen table

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Tool for tipping edges (can be shimmed to take different sheet thickness)

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Tipping dies for the bead roller

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Some slappers, made of leaf springs

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Beater bag stand, made from an old water tank

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AndersK · Wed Apr 29, 2015 3:50 pm

Continued, 10 attachments maximum...

Holder for stakes, fits the beater bag stand

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Some stakes, the smaller curved ones are coils from car springs

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Some tools, self made and modified

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pretty much everything used to make this

http://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/v ... =10#p51398

motox · Wed Apr 29, 2015 4:44 pm

anders
nice assortment of shapers.
craig

Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:12 pm

And nice assortment of projects done with said shapers!

Steve S

nathan · Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:34 pm

That's cool! You doing hot work with them, or is it all done cold?

exnailpounder · Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:56 pm

Wow. That stuff is amazing! You guys are geniuses in your own right!

AndersK · Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:08 am

Thanks gor the kind comments.

I mainly work cold but sometimes, like with the parts for the dragonfly, I need to anneal when it work hardens.
The size and degree of shaping would make them crack otherwise

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exnailpounder · Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:06 am

Anders...those dragonflys would sell like hotcakes over here. I showed the wife and I guess I have a new project to try...thanks buddy!

nathan · Tue May 05, 2015 6:01 pm

Is there a site or app that you guys use when calculating working load limits? I know my father in law has a book, but he is ill (out of contact most of the time) and lives an hour away (hard to make that drive for just a book). I am trying to see what size material I should use for this press.

nathan · Sun May 17, 2015 1:15 am

So, here's what's happening with this brake:

1. I got 250# of of structural shapes and brake dies for $80. Score. It is all 50ksi steel, and the best part is that 100# of it is a premade frame of C6X10.5 channel that is 36"X20" inside dimensions.

2. I figured out that the frame will take 50 tons. I used a calculator recommended by an engineer at work. I am going to use two 20 ton bottle jacks for my load. And I confirmed from the engineer that the whole of the load will not be on each horizontal part of the frame (20 tons will be upward pressure and 20 tons downward pressure). This puts the 40 tons within my working limit.

3. I sourced bottle jacks from my father in law who no longer needs them.

4. I'm sitting in my garage fitting everything up and I'm only going to have to cut one stick of I-beam, and it will all fit up within 1/8". How much luckier can you get with a pile of random scrap?

5. I even got a TIG torch, so I have gotten the bulk of my two biggest projects done.

I have no idea what to look for on craigslist now lol. I spend my free time sitting on the toilet searching craigslist and Facebook. Now I'm getting on here and Instagram, so my life is changing because of finally completing a project! Lol

taz · Sun May 17, 2015 3:55 am

AndersK, those are great tools and top notch work.

nathan · Sun May 17, 2015 7:33 pm

plain ol Bill wrote:I used to make a lot of Damascus steel for knives I made. I made a press to forge weld under and use it for general forging work. Will add in a pic of it. Used a 4" cylinder on one side and a 6" on the other. This monster would press a 1" wide x 6" long x 6" tall Damascus billet down to 2" wide without any problems - of course this billet was around 2200 degrees at the time too.

Am I wrong to call that an ironworker? Or is it more of a power hammer? You just inspired my next project.

homemadetools · Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:28 pm

AndersK wrote:I like tp make tools but they are mainly smaller hand tools for sheet metal.

Here is a good site for inspiration
http://www.homemadetools.net

Jon here from HomemadeTools.net.

I know this thread is an old one, but thanks for the mention

To celebrate our 20,000th homemade tool, we made a new ebook featuring our top 50 homemade tools. You guys are welcome to it for free:

http://download.homemadetools.net/50MustReadTools.pdf