this is kinda ot but i know someone here knows the answers to my question! this was a customers vespa project about a year ago i replaced 4 of the 5 louvers on the side cowl with reproductions from a guy in california. now no longer making them doesnt have time etc etc. what would it take to have a die made of one of the louvers? who would i take it to to have said die made? also would the die be something i could use in my shop in a press and do it myself?the louvers come individually as well not as one whole assembly.they were tig welded at the ends where they meet the cowl . i bought the louvers for 15 dollars a piece last year. i now have 4 more cowls in my shop with customers waiting for 5 louvers each .and there are none to be found .
Hammerforming will be a lot cheaper, and quite quick to pop then out once you are set up for it. No more than a couple minutes per piece. I made these in less than an hour each:
buy the dies from the other guy?? round stuff is easy to throw in the lathe and spin i made dies for muffler caps and stamped many of them someone could digitize the part and cut the die on a cnc but i am sure that would cost the same as what you get out of all the projects
You may look into some of the new casting resins on the market. Smooth-On has a product called "Task" that is high tensile strength and suitable for casting dies. Should be easy to fabricate a positive and negative die and press the parts out of metal with a bench press.
if you think your going to sell 100s plus then make the dies yourself or pay a machine shop then use a H beam 50 ton press hooked up to air to press out.Depending on complexity and definition you may have to finish by hand.The process doesn't take minutes. I have dies i made for part pressing 32/29 roadster custom dashboards on my blog site www.themetalsurgeon.com
just doing a laser scan and a solid model would run $600 to $1000.If a die was made to do just one louver by somebody with a shop it could cost any where from $2000 to $5000.If you may be able to make a simple die and just run it through a pull max to make the shape.Would need to do somthing with the ends.
Can you find and end mill or router bit (for aluminum) with the same v-shaped profile? If so cut that into a block of steel or aluminum, shape or purchase a v shaped piece of metal for the male side and press away? -just a thought, I'm not a fabricator or even pretend to be one.
took a louver to the local general machinists they are going to make a male and female die from 4140 steel for 175 dollars. should work out pretty well for pressing 20 guage in a shop press i hope. so dont be afraid to ask! i was afraid dies would cost more then i would ever make back from selling and installing said louvers! def cheaper to have the dies made then to try to make them myself !! super excited about the new project! appreciate all the feedback guys!! these are a better shot of said louvers i replaced the bottom 4 with louvers made by the guy who doesnt want to make them any more
Cool, looking good Flop. Im interested to see your project unfold as well! Brian =) www.siebertcustom.com
Check Barry's build thread out. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7211307#post7211307
I don't see louvers here. I see 6 openings with 6 differant dimensions and formed edges. I see 6 beads or ribs of 6 differant lengths pressed in to the panel to give it some ridgidity after the openings are cut out. The panel appears to have some compound shape to it as opposed to dead flat which adds to the problem. Not super difficult to do. No quick solutions either. Luck.
they are called louvers in the scooter world ...why? i dont know scooter people are weird. thats what they are marketed as as well. after doing 2 sets... a flat louver is easily bent to have a convex shape. so pressing them flat really isnt a big deal. middle of january i will have the dies back i will keep you posted .
A couple minutes with a bead roller and a die to finish the ends (the die would be like the end of an open end wrench to lay at the end of the bead, then you'd smack it to finish the bead). I'm with John Warden here, they all look different to me and need to be that way to give it character, a single stamping will make them all the same. A bead roller die can be easily made. 20ga it kinda light, 18ga would be about right although i am partial to 16ga it is probably too heavy but i'd have to make a couple to be sure. Metalshaper could make the beadroller dies i'm thinking. Show us what you get, this is interesting - that vespa stuff has a life of its' own.
$175 for the dies to be made is a give away. I agree w/ Eugene; buy the dies from the other guy if he's truly done with them. May be a good side business opportunity!
i thought about getting bead roller dies made but figured it would be harder to keep a consistent straight line and then have to get them sheared after the bead rolled in them .i dont have a shear in my shop so that would have to be taken to the local sheetmetal shop and would be a pain to have 2 louvers sheared. so this way i can have 100 sheared pieces in stock press and use /sell without the extra drive/wait. the die will have a step to hold the presheared strips ( a little under a half inch) so all i will have to do is press away. also 20 gauge seems a little overkill for these louvers i bet 16 gauage would be atleast twice the thickness. appreciate all the tips will def keep you updated on these dies !
well laate is better then never !! got the dies today cranked out some louvers.for the price i paid for the tooling it will pay for it self a few times in one cowl .
The original Vespa louvers appear to have a slight arc. Will you be able to match the new ones to that same arc?
Hey Flop, Can ya make a Bondo splash form of the correct arc of the lovers? Maybe a quickie outa hardwood? With one of these made you can plannish each louver to the same arc, and make them look die stamped. Kool /fun project! " Humpty Dumpty was pushed "
nfleone that's a cool video on flow forming thanks for posting it Flop i checked out your website very cool, lots of projects since the 50 Pontiac thread
Great Idea! this one great site with alot of talent.And I have been learning alot of super fab ideas to expand on. Thanks Great Project lovers for the Vespa got to love those vespas LOL
heres some end results. 7 louvers i pressed are in these 2 cowls. 5 in the rally cowl on the top 2 in the ss cowl below!
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