Williams Lowbuck Louver Press

Wow! That's super cool! I didn't see where the pumps were. Did he just hook them up to an electric motor via a pulley and belt?

 

Not sure if this will work but here is a link to my facebook page that has plenty of pics of my louver press.
https://www.facebook.com/brad.salye...set=a.1128862233005.2018467.1570706626&type=3

It was built out of 5/16" flat plate. The throat is 50" deep and I can reverse the die to actuall punch louvers in a 100" row if i want to. It is stout to say the least. You can see a '55 chevy truck hood I did, plus some other projects. The thing has paid for itself already and I just charge a $1/louver.

 

So YOU'RE the one that belongs to that incredible piece!!! Did you have the plates laser cut, flame cut, water jet? INCREDIBLE, man! Are you planning on adding hydraulics?

 

Yep pretty much, the second pump was just an extra reservoir tank!

Here you go, you probably missed them since it's all painted red...

 

AAA! There it is! I missed that! And those power steering pumps are CHEEEAP!! That's a great idea! Wonder what kind of PSI they'll handle... Hmmm....

The cylinder I have is a 6" stroke Miller. I need to look up the specs again, but it looks like this and is HEEEEAVY! Quite a beast. I bet that power steering pump would be plenty. I don't need to operate that cylinder at full kick...

 

Enough to punch a louver!!!

 

whodoyoufink how well do the dies hold up? did you have to sharpen them at all? I also am thinking about getting one. I have a bandsaw like the one posted but it is in good working order but does not cut out shapes very well. So I don't know if I should cut it up or sell it. But then I still need to replace it.

 

I have yet to have the die go dull. If I ever do need to sharpen it a few swipes on a surface grinder at any local machine shop should do the trick and not be too costly.

 

My dies are still plenty sharp. I hit it with some emry cloth and polish after every use and they are perfect. The die gap is critical to keeping them sharp. Too much gap and you start bending the metal instead of sheering it.

I want to convert to hydraulics, but I havent found a cheap pwerful enough setup yet. I'm still looking. I had my plates plasma cut on a big table at a local fab shop here. It was more reasonable than you would think. I have about $600 in everything including two sets of dies.

 

Those of you that have a hydraulic operated louver press, what are you doing for controls? Bi-directional valve levers seem like they would be a pain to work if trying to hold a panel still and work a valve lever. What's out there for foot switches or maybe a foot pedal that controls a lever?

Anyone have any idea how much pressure the average P/S Pump is capable of delivering?

 

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This is a louver press I have made recently - yet to punch louvers

I am getting custom tooling cut at the moment.

Pneumatic actuation

Cheer turns

 

Wow!! that's pretty wild looking!! Lots of knobs and switches, too!

 

What's the gap between the dies?

 

I use a regular bi-directional valve with a hand lever and works very well. The only time it give me any sort of trouble is when I have an item that has tall steep sides that make it hard to get at the lever. I have simply unbolted it and run it remotely as well because I set it up with a bit extra length in the lines.
I prefer a hand valve because there is lots of fussing around to get the holes straight, and it allows me to bring the top die down until light contacts the material, move the material to match my lines perfectly, the conrolably make the punch.

 

Interesting thread! All I can add is that the GM power steering pump puts out too much pressure for the old Mustang rack and pinion, made the steering twitchy. A kit was available to modify the bypass valve to lower the pressure.
Once I was trying to rid an old chevy truck of some rancid power steering fluid, so I pulled the return line off, plugged the port on the tank and filled the reservoir. When I hit the key it started and I shut it off as fast as I could turn the key back, but in that little bit of time it emptied that tank all over my floor! truly impressive what hydraulic pressure is capable of.
I'm thinking that with the large ram even with low pressure it should be very controllable.

 

GREAT info! Seems what I would need is a "4 position/3 way valve" to do this and they are readily available for reasonable (probably REAL cheap used. maybe even free). Something like this, I guess... (just for example sake)
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200339049_200339049

What are you using for a ram on yours? I love the idea of having the valve removable for access when punching louvers in a bizarre shaped or large panel.

Yeah, I have experienced this with MII adaptations as well. Too fast...

It looks as if a standard GM style PS Pump would deliver around 400-500 psi at around 2000 RPM (ish!). Anyone ever bother to check something like this? Seem a GM style pump with a REMOTE reservoir would work great for the application.

 

Cool! Thanks! I know you've posted it in other places, but feel like sharing some pictures of your setup again?

 

I don't have time right now to go though my giant, rat-tangle of pictures to find my press pictures, (I should be out punching right now!) but I will add some later.

 

What is the maximum gauge of sheet that can be punched with this type of press. I have a Good Times (which seems like the exact same press) and I'm a little apprehensive to step up on the metal thickness.

 

btt

 

Using the Williams Lo Buck louver head I can punch thru 16ga steel no problem. Not that I would want to do alot of them at that gauge it is possible to do it. In the roof insert that was punched with approx 250 louvers I used 16ga aluminum which punched like hot butter.

 

Dave included a pan for the c frame fixture when I bought mine. I have punched 18 gauge steel and 16 gauge aluminum with no problem.

 

Sorry, I got so busy the last couple of days that I forgot to post some pictures of my rig. It's in a fairly small room of my equally tiny shop so it's a bit tough to photograph, but here it is in it's entire lack of glory! It does up to 16ga. without so much as a grunt, has a bout 40" of throat that I wish was more like 50", and has about 16" of head room which I wish was more like 25". But it keeps punching and doing what it does everyday and asks for very little care and upkeep when all is said and done.

 

need louvers what is the other piece on the top die? does the Williams need a hold down spring like the mittler bros has?

 

The upper die bolts to a blade that in turn attaches to the ram. It not only carries the upper die, but acts to stabilize the metal being punched around the front edge of the louver. this is honestly one of the things I really don't like about the Williams setup, the lack of this stabilizer. It defines the front edge of the louver and well, stabilzes it by holding it flat at the end of the ram's stroke. I don't mean any insult to anybody's work, but in the pictures I have seen of panels off that type of press you can see some fairly heavy distortion at the front edge of each louver "bubble". It's not just that it is unsilghtly, the bigger problem comes as you are 25 louvers into the pattern and you realize that you have warped the panel pretty seriously due to the lack of this support piece. If I were to work with this type of press I would modify the upper die to include this process in some way.

 

saw some guy's punching louvers at the sebring race in 57, ended up finding that press in a junkyard in 74 in west palm fl. it was mde by G.M. co. it was an exact copy of press made by goodtimes louver co [post #6] sent a copy to goodtime of the manul i got w/mine. is same punch Gene Winfield used years ago in a mag. article. mine had a hand pump originally, punched 350+ louvers in a 51 merc. hood, took almost 8 hrs., i then got a air hyd. foot petal from granger. are flat top louvers, takes lot of pressur to shear the flat louver. a slight crown in the louver die would let it cut instead of shear. i think an electric hyd. pump might be better, the air really compresses and realy slams down. just my 2 cents. i still have the press.

 

I have to agree with the hydrualic versus pnuematic controls. I like how slowly the process works with the hydrualic controls and the control over the finished product it gives me. I ALWAYS do an "X" and "Y" type pattern. Many use a single straight line and let the lowerd die indeax on each previous louver as they go. But really look at louver patterns some day. Lots of them aren't really indexed straight to each hole, and many rows have a very subtle curve to them. If that lower die is out straight to the upper die by say .010 or so, by the end of 25 louvers you have one heck of a curve. Hence, I do the "X" and "Y" lines. This allows me to match up the centerline (X), and gently bring the die down to meet the crossline (Y). I just use the hydrualic pressure to "clamp" the panel in the machine then make my final adjustments for straight before pulling the handle punch. The pnuematic works in a much quicker manner and really doesn't give you that futz around time to make sure everything is where it should be before the punch. And, I always compare louvering to defusing a bomb... You just don't get any second chances!

 

Thanks for posting those pictures! GREAT! What did you say you're using for a pump? That cylinder looks a lot like mine.

GREAT tip on the stabilizer. Maybe someone can post some more examples of this. Essentially you're saying that you need to clamp the material before shearing and pushing the metal into the lover shape so it doesn't distort the surrounding materials, right? Maybe a rectangular and flat piece with the louver profile cut into it and attached with heavy springs to meet the metal right before the punch makes contact with the metal?