Decided on and ordered an ironworker

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At my wifes insistence I ordered a Uni-Hydro 42-14 ironworker yesterday. Her reasoning was that since I have a bum right arm/shoulder, the ironworker would make it a lot easier for me to do things one handed if need be........what a woman!  I decided on the 42-14 because it is a little more compact and lighter than the 50 ton models, which will make it more portable in the event I need to transport it to a job site. The only options I selected was the single phase motor and the 9" brake that inserts into the power cavity. It was a real nice experience dealing with Greg from Uni-Hydro. He not only gave me a discount off the base price of the ironworker, but also included 10 punch and die sets with my choice if sizes at no charge to offset the shipping charge. I have to call him back and let him know what size of punches I want. This is where I have a question for anyone that works with punch and dies. What would be the best size selection. As far as I can tell I will be punching holes for common bolt sizes, and for 1/2", 5/8", and 3/4" round hot rolled rod. I was told that the punch and die sets have a preset die clearance of .030-.035. Here is the list of available sizes:1/8", 5/32", 3/16", 7/32", 1/4",9/32", 5/16", 11/32", 3/8", 13/32" 7/16", 15/32", 1/2", 17/32", 9/16", 19/32", 5/8", 21/32", 11/16", 23/32", 3/4", 25/32", 13/16", 27/32", 7/8", 29/32", 15/16", 31/32", 1", and 1 1/32". They also offer punch and die sets in 64ths up to 63/64" but these cost a little more. Any help in determining a good all round mix of punch and dies would be greatly appreciated. I will be able to get 11 sets because one punch and die is included in the base price.............thanks.
Reply:Here's what I use on my 55 ton Edwards. You might consider adding an oval slot or two. I have a 1/4" x 1" and a 3/8" x 1" slot that comes in real handy. Attached Images
Reply:SDean,Thank you for the information. I really wanted to get the Edwards 55 ton model, but I am plannning to transport the ironworker to job sites if needed, and the ironworkers in the 50 ton range weigh a little more than I want to tote around. As it is I think I am going to have a problem coming up with, or designing a truck mounted crane to lift the 1300 pound Uni-Hydro on and off the truck which is a 1978 Ford F-350.Would you happen to know how a person can determine the punching capacity of certain sizes of punch and die sets?. My uncle told me that he was not sure, but thought he read or heard that the metal thickness should not be thicker than the diameter of the punch. Does this make any sense to you. Eventually I do plan on getting some oval punches along with some square ones for making wrought iron railings and similar items.The other thing I plan to do is eventually tap into the ironworker hydraulics and use it to power presses and other equipment. This will have to wait until I can find someone that is versed in hydraulics and can walk a dummy through it....................thanks again.
Reply:Pat:I know what you mean about weight. My Edwards weighs about 2100lbs. I've got it on casters and some days it's hard to get it rolling. :-)Would you happen to know how a person can determine the punching capacity of certain sizes of punch and die sets?. My uncle told me that he was not sure, but thought he read or heard that the metal thickness should not be thicker than the diameter of the punch.
Reply:I added a bar 90dgrees to the shear to everything square. And built a 45degree guide to make mitres. Attached Images
Reply:On the brake station I added wings on the left and right. Attached Images
Reply:And of course, a repeater bar on the outfeed side of the shear. Attached Images
Reply:SDean,Thank you very much for the info and photos. I will probanly have more questions in the future, and really appreciate you taking the time to help out myself and others.
Reply:Hello SDEAN, I just received my Edwards ironworker today and appreciate your photos. This gives me some ideas to run with.J P Streets Welding LLC
Reply:Jerry,Congratulations on the new Edwards ironworker. Please let us know how you like it, and any ideas for modifications that you come up with.
Reply:Jerry, Glad to hear that you got the new toy!The first thing I had to do with my new Edwards was to sand all the paint off of the tabletop on the flat bar shear side. They like to use that hammered texture paint on their ironworkers, and boy is that stuff sticky. The first bar of steel I tried to feed through felt like it had brakes, so I cleaned off the paint and everything slides easy now.:-)Give me a shout if you have any questions.