flaring holes

[baldthreads]

how would you flare a lip around 2 to 5 inch holes in a mild steel planel

[raley]

i may not understand your question exactly but im thinking you mean want a dimple die. swag off-road makes a set i believe.

[Joe Hartson]

If you are trying to put a flange/flare on a hole in a panel like shown below you need a die that will form the shape you want. You cut/punch a hole and then using a press with the die to form the flange/flared hole.



This is a die made years ago that will make the flared shape with a radius lead in.



Most of the dies you see for sale today don't have a radius lead in they have a beveled lead in.

You could also make a hammer form to make the shape especially on the larger holes.

[baldthreads]

I too made smaller dies for 1 inch holes. it is the larger holes 2 to 5 inch i need is a hammerform the only way to do the larger holes ? thanks

[Ron Naida]

Here is a little tool I made ip for tipping in.
You might want to be a little more carefull
for a neater tip up but in this case aneck was getting soldered in.

[Joe Hartson]

What gauge metal are you working with? You can make dies for any size you want. If you have a lot of hole to flare a steel die is the way to go. For just a few hole a hammer for makes more sense.

You can also make a die with a changeable center section so you can control depth of the recess and cut the hole after. Here is a picture of a die for making recesses for body mount bolts. The center is removable, you can make different height centers and have different size guide holes. The top die can also be changed to change the diameter of the recess a little.



Die design is the important part. You have to have a way to index the male and female dies and have a way to index it to the sheet. You can cut the hole first or after the flare is made. Just depends on what you are trying to do.

[Jim Stabe]

You can get an inexpensive pipe size hydraulic punch kit from HF that will punch holes up to a 2" pipe (2 3/8" od). They sell a 3" die separately (3 1/2") and that is what I used to do the inner door panels. I punched both at the same time and it went through it like butter. I made the flange die from some tubing scraps welded together and the angles turned on the lathe. It is also used with the hydraulic cylinder.

Door 007.jpg

Door 006.jpg

Door.jpg

[d110pickup]

Good stuff Jim; I like that idea!
Do the hydraulics seem to have enough power to go larger than 3 1/2" if desired?
Mike

[Jim Stabe]

Originally Posted by d110pickup

Good stuff Jim; I like that idea!
Do the hydraulics seem to have enough power to go larger than 3 1/2" if desired?
Mike

Everything I've done with it has been a piece of cake, the tool has not been even remotely stressed. There was no noticible difference in effort punching 3 1/2" holes in one sheet of 18 ga vs 2 stacked together.

[GregM67]

I think HF may make manual punch dies also..and so does Green Lee if you can afford them.