luver punch???

[chopper tom]

Any ideas to make a home made luver punch!?

 

[T2T]

Looks like no one is gonna jump in on this one Tom...............I think the reason is a louver punch isn't all that easy to use let alone build. My brother and I are at the drawing stage on a press........The only reason we haven't built one yet is, we never needed it. I have a '32 Roadster project and I would like to louver the crap out of the trunk lid...now we need one! I'll take pics as we go........I'm hoping someone else has some ideas and will jump in.
good luck.

 

[chopper tom]

thanks t2t,i hate to say it but i did see some planes for a home made one on the H.A.M.B.,but i dont suggest asking any one anyting on there.
I'm glad some one else is trying to make a cheaper one too.

 

[Bonehead]

I am also toying with the idea, thinking of using my ironworker and making the dies for the louvers. I also think you could use a press. Both limit the size of the work, but I was thinking of making weld in panels. Who knows I still have some time to figure out what I want to build.

 

[motomech]

once upon a time i saw a guy use swamp cooler panels that he welded into his rod doors

 

[dawg]

there are some affordable dies on ebay that use a rubber female, the hard part is keeping thing lined up...

 

[Green Hornet]

Louvers

once upon a time i saw a guy use swamp cooler panels that he welded into his rod doors

That's a good idea, I like it.

 

[donsrods]

As mentioned, the problem is getting straight rows. If it is a single paneled item it isn't too bad, but when you have something like inner bracings or curves to deal with, it becomes very tough.

We shopped around and got prices from $ 1.50 per louver to $ 5.00 each. We finally settled on a guy in Orlando who did a terrific job on 224 louvers @ $2.00 each. My understanding is that the dies are the expensive part of the equasion, and wear out over time. For as often as we have it done it is just easier to send the part off and have it done.

It will be interesting to see what you guys come up with though.

Don

 

[24dodge]

I used the side panel off an old A/C unit , the whole panel was louvers and free!

 

[24dodge]

not as pretty as the real ones but it covered what I needed it to....

 

[motomech]

not as pretty as the real ones but it covered what I needed it to....

thats awsome love using stuff thats not meant for automotive use
(i wonder if my wife will miss the a/c return vent in the house)

 

[Staples]

louver tool

hey this is my first posting here,but the easyest louver tool ive ever seen was made with the bottom die bolted to the end of a bench with the top one mounted to the end of a straightened leaf spring about 2 1/2 feet long with a spacer on the other end so you put the piece in and then hit it with a hammer and if the piece is too round ya just flip the dies around and stick it in the other way,it takes one person to hold the part and one person to smack it with the hammer but it works really well and ya can move the pieces to fit anywhere,lol,and ya dont have any of the space limitations of a press

 

[Bonehead]

Were the dies homemade or storebought?

 

[chopper tom]

The hammer smacking way is what i had in mind [i've herd old timers talking about one that you used to be able to buy in the 60's or 70's like that ]
As fare as lining them up or wearing of the die ,what if you drew the pattern on the peace to be punched and took a die grinder with a thin cut off wheel and pre cut the lines so you could line up the punch easyer and not wear out the die because it dos'nt have to cut it's way threw the metal and with the lines already cut you don't have to worry so mutch about getting off on the luvers and ruining a valuable peace???
What do you think?

 

[dawg]

yea, you can cut slots and hand hammer your louvers, but the leaf spring tool sounds like the answer, any photos?...

 

[canterburyfour]

You spent 448.00 on getting your job done. You could have spent 384.00 and done it yourself and had the tooling for the next job.
http://www.lowbucktools.com/beadroller.html
or spend 500.00 amd start building the ultimate metal forming tool set.
http://www.lowbucktools.com/MM1.html

As mentioned, the problem is getting straight rows. If it is a single paneled item it isn't too bad, but when you have something like inner bracings or curves to deal with, it becomes very tough.

We shopped around and got prices from $ 1.50 per louver to $ 5.00 each. We finally settled on a guy in Orlando who did a terrific job on 224 louvers @ $2.00 each. My understanding is that the dies are the expensive part of the equasion, and wear out over time. For as often as we have it done it is just easier to send the part off and have it done.

It will be interesting to see what you guys come up with though.

Don

 

[donsrods]

You spent 448.00 on getting your job done. You could have spent 384.00 and done it yourself and had the tooling for the next job.
http://www.lowbucktools.com/beadroller.html
or spend 500.00 amd start building the ultimate metal forming tool set.
http://www.lowbucktools.com/MM1.html

Yeah, but sometimes you pay a little more and get a better job. Plus, it is so much easier, you just drop it off or ups it to him and it comes back all done. The older I get the less I like doing some jobs. The last thing I need sitting around is another piece of equipment that gathers dust for 11 months out of the year, I've got a bunch of those now.

Don

 

[chopper tom]

I'm sorry guys but you seem to be missing my point,when i say cheep-i mean under $50 dolors not under $400 !
Don't get me wrong ,i know you get what you pay for .But i want a home made idea, anyone can spend money.
If we all put our ideas to gether,i believe some thing can be acomplised without spending a bunch of money.it dosent have to be perfect it just has to work .
Every one thought i was crazy over my home made english wheels and neoprien hammers too but they dont now because i'm making money with them! It only costed me some machining time and some scrap metal and handles for the hammers .of course i had to do some resech and development witch is time consumming ,but it seems to have payed off !
I love to see home made stuff that works !I fill thats the hart of america ,thats what made this a great contry but now it has to be digitizedor some electronic gizmo inorder to be aceptible.thats why i think rat rods are so poular now causepeople whant to get back to the basics !
Ahhhh ...sorry for ramblin on and on.

 

[Bonehead]

I am with you. I could go out and buy one, but I like the challange of building something. So lets break this down. Building the press itself is basic. A frame with a deep throat that will not flex under pessure. The dies are the harder part, and it would be great to have an end mill for this part, but I don't think it is a must have. The male part, lets say that is the upper part, which could be moved with a bottle jack. And could be ground with a grinder, (from hard steel) to fit the inside of the louver. The female part needs a blade to cut a slot in the steel, and a depression to form the outside of the louver. ( I just used "depressed", and "female" in a hot rod forum). I think the blade should come off and on with a set of a bolts so it could be sharpened or replaced. This sounds easy.

 

[Gastrick]

You spent 448.00 on getting your job done. You could have spent 384.00 and done it yourself and had the tooling for the next job.
http://www.lowbucktools.com/beadroller.html
or spend 500.00 amd start building the ultimate metal forming tool set.
http://www.lowbucktools.com/MM1.html

Have you ever seen a row of rolled louvers compared to a row of stamped/punched louvers? There's a HUGE difference in louver quality and uniformity.