Posted by Chris Ray on August 04, 1998 at 00:23:03:

In Reply to: Topic: tooling for air hammers posted by Chris Ray on August 04, 1998 at 00:20:36:

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Okay, I see the problem. Then Bill's suggestion should work pretty well for

that configuration. Make saddle dies. You can weld tabs on both sides of a

2" x 4" die, slip it over either the ram or anvil and secure with bolts

through the sides. You might want your bolt holes to be as far from the end

of the ram and anvil edge as possible though. Or you could get away with

smaller diameter bolts although I would think 3/8" might be minimum. Also you

could fit stopper tabs on the outboard edges of either the dies themselves or

coming off the ram and anvil. Little short ears sort of to keep the dies

aligned.

Anvil and ram each have short ear tabs fitted on to the narrow edges. The

dies could have straps welded and extend maybe 2" or so to fit over the ram

and anvil. One set of bolts per die or even a single bolt if you clear drill

straight through. I think it would work okay.

One problem I might see with this arrangement though is that the added

thickness of the straps welded to the dies could present a problem when

shaping the die.

Okay another solution then but it isn't pretty. Maybe you could weld a 4"

length of 1/4" angle maybe 1/2" up the side of the die. Bevel the inside of

the die and weld inside and outside then grind and file the inside weld flush.

Add a mating angle piece on the ram and anvil, drill matching holes and bolt

through that. This way you would have minimum interference on something like

2" x 2" x 4" die stock. This leaves 1 1/2" below the height of the die for

fullering etc.

Well, at least this is a direction you might follow until you come to the

right conclusion. There should be a simple and viable answer to the problem.

At least you know there doesn't have to be any machining involved. Dovetails

are nice but not essential. By the way, if possible try for minimum clearance

between the holes drilled and bolts used. Also if you can use bolts that are

not threaded all the way up the shank that would be best.

For accuracy I would probably bolt on the tabs or angle or whatever is used

first, then clamp to the die and then tack weld to insure a tight fit. If you

have oversized holes drilled, it may be easier to insert and withdraw the

bolts but it could cause the die to bounce slightly if the bolt comes loose a

little bit. Even so, that too is not really a serious problem. Not at all.

I almost missed it but Bob mentiond his die size to be 2" x 1" x 4". The side

mounted tabs might be a problem if the die height is only 1". Okay then, make

the tabs fit on the end of the dies instead and then have a small lip welded

on the anvil and ram, extended around the sides. 1/8" height should be

sufficient to keep the die in the pocket.

Chris Ray

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