Indirect welding project....home made dimple die

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I was bored today and decided to try making a dimple die.  My buddy had a 1.5" hole saw, so I went with that.  I just made it out of 1018.  May make some more out of 4140 since this seemed to work.  The dimple angle is 35* from the plane of the metal being dimpled.  Not any welding involved, but used quite a bit for items being welded, so I thought I would share.
Reply:Nice! What kind of clearances did you use? Someone posted up a spread sheet a while back, did you use those or make something up? The results look great.
Reply:agree looks really good but what was the inspiration to build a dimple dieLincoln Power Arc 4000 Thermal Arc Fabricator 252 iThermal arc 186Thermal Arc 26 tigTweeko 200 amp spool gunHobart AirForce 400WP-17V-12R
Reply:I've got one that looks just like that.  Had a few chunks of something hard and decided to play a little.  Haven't tried it out yet, but it looks purty.  I think mine is 1 1/2" also.My name's not Jim....
Reply:It was just something simple to practice my lathe skills on.  A couple things I went off that I read was the dimple diameter looks good at 1.5 times the hole size and the 35* angle.  I machined the female first.  Faced it, drilled and bored the hole to 1.5 then beveled the inside until the edge of the bevel was 2.25".Then, I just machined the male to fit and clearanced it.  I think I need to take about .010 more off of the female bevel to clearance thicker material.  I will be happy if it works on 0.125. I don't think I'd do anything thicker.
Reply:Does is puch the hole to or just dimple an existing hole?
Reply:Only dimples an existing hole... I need to make some 2" ones.HTP Invertig 201Lincoln Idealarc SP250Miller 180 AC StickBy farmall:They should have held the seagull closer to the work, squeezing evenly for best deposition.
Reply:Nice work! How large of a press do you use?
Reply:Nice job!
Reply:excuse my ignorance, but what is the resulting dimple for?miller syncrowave 250hobart handler 140home made 400 amp engine driven in progress...
Reply:Originally Posted by AZdevildogNice work! How large of a press do you use?
Reply:I've also seen them with a 1/2" hole to use a nut and bolt if you don't have a press or can't get the part in a press, also some people have adapted them to be used with a hydraulic knock out cylinder
Reply:Hi Dimple dies may be made in very different sizes made to fit your need.  Attached are some on the ones I have made and used.  As you can see, you make small ones for recessing screw heads in panels. Have funTom Attached ImagesLast edited by acourtjester; 11-22-2011 at 11:30 AM.
Reply:Tom, Those are clean....I like it.  Little details that add so much to projects.  The way those finish the holes with the screws in look fantastic.  I can't believe how much I was missing before buying a lathe
Reply:those small ones - just hammer them for speed? or an arbor press?miller syncrowave 250hobart handler 140home made 400 amp engine driven in progress...
Reply:I'm guessing you could hammer them on sheet metal.
Reply:Nice work! I am adding them to my build list.Gordhttp://gordsgarage.wordpress.com/
Reply:How do you use them? Hammer? Press? Rubber duck?Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Typically a press.  I used a vise for thin metal.
Reply:for small one I just hit them with a hammer they have the guide pin for alignment.   Bigger ones use a press.have funTomLast edited by acourtjester; 11-22-2011 at 09:28 PM.Reason: adding info
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleHow do you use them? Hammer? Press? Rubber duck?
Reply:Those are slick! I do love the dimping. But the store bought ones are crazy expensive. For the money, I'll keep saving for a lathe and make some too.200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:I made a couple dies to work with pipe size holes so I could use the HF punch set. This is a 3" (3 1/2" dia) and 2" (2 3/8" dia). I need to make more sizes one of these daysCut an MGB and widened 11" C4 Corvette suspension and LT1 Chevrolet power & 6 spd. Pictures here:Part 1http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,7581Part 2http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,22422
Reply:I made a 1/2" one just playing around, worked nice on. 045 sheet steel, but on. 125 alum the flare didn't stick up as much as I would have hoped for. The diameter of the female flare is. 750 and the diameter of the male flare is about. 675 to be able to do 1/8" material, did I calculate wrong? Ill try to get a couple pics later
Reply:The flared portion sticks up about. 065 on the. 045 material and about. 050 on the 1/8"material materialhere are the photos (I hope, if I did it right)   just curious, looks like the flare should be higher off the surface, but this is all new to me
Reply:Kazlx:I'm very new at using my lathe, so I"m very interested in how to cut the tapered parts? How do you get the repeatability from the male taper to the female taper?Thanks for posting.Sign on East Texas payphone: Calls to God 40 cents......it's a local call...
Reply:Stampeder, I just got done doing inside and outside tapers in my lathe class. We used the compound set at the angle required. Everything got roughed out with the the power feed and then the tapers were cut using the compound travel. Set compound at the desired angle and set the compound ring to zero, cross slide to zero when you are ready to cut the taper.  You can skip the setting the rings to zero if you aren't shooting for an exact  start stop dimension, say if you already turned the center shaft down or bored the hole. Move the cross slide in and then take a cut with the compound. Move the cross slide out, return the compound to zero, and then advance the cross slide in farther and repeat. It's not as complicated as it sounds. The internal taper works basically the same except you feed out with the cross slide rather than in.Here's a couple good vid's on taper turning that probably explain it better. Not sure why I can't get these to embed today.Last edited by DSW; 12-01-2011 at 12:23 PM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by StampederKazlx:I'm very new at using my lathe, so I"m very interested in how to cut the tapered parts? How do you get the repeatability from the male taper to the female taper?Thanks for posting.
Reply:Thanks kazlx, think it was 35 or 38not don't remember. I will probably never do much 1/8", the sheet metal sample I did im happy with. I cut the male die back enough for about 1/8"material material
Reply:That's a 1/2" hole, I think the larger diameter ones will look better
Reply:If you feel like experimenting, I would say try a set giving more of a relief on the female side.
Reply:Will do, yea I am just playing around for now, once I get them how I want ill makea set of them
Reply:Same here.  I just turned mine out of 1018 CR, but I want to find out how to make them harder, or maybe use some 4140.
Reply:I think on one of the 4x4 forums someone used 4140 and had them heat treated, I dont remember what group it was, maybe pirate or off road forum, I think it would take me a long time to wear out the CRS versions as I wouldnt be using them very much. I just gotta play around some more to get the results I want, though if I could obtain some 4140 that would be great.......How much clearence did you build into yours?
Reply:I think there's about .030 on the taper.  I'm going to test mine on some thicker stuff and I might need to open it up a little.
Reply:Ok, so now I need to get a metal lathe. I'm a hobbiest so $10000 isn't in the cards, any suggestions on what I shoul look for? My bud has a jet, but isn't happy with it's precision
Reply:I have an old Logan I paid $1500 for and it works great.
Reply:Here is a video I made. I wasn't really intending to show this to anyone because it was more just for testing and learning my video stuff and youtube. But It shows how fast you can dimple with a hand pump. I was going to hook the ram up to my bender pump but as fast as the hand pump is there was no need (and it would be violently fast and not as strong). I timed 160 dimples and averaged it out to a $1.50 a piece to make my rate. 90% of that was drilling and deburring. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2SUAfzKB4Q[/ame]Last edited by travisc454; 01-05-2012 at 11:31 PM.www.performancealuminumfabrication.com