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Dimple die issues

togaflyer

Well Known Member
I started dimpling the VS skin with the C frame. As I proceeded, the dies began to stick together more and more until I had to use a pair of pliers to separate them from the skin. Can this be rectified.
 
Who made your dies?

It sounds like you may have bent the male side.

If you got them from Avery or Cleaveland, just give Bob or Mike a call. They'll take care of you.

bob
 
You might try lubricating with some oil.

I've used dies from both Avery and Cleveland. They are highly polished and never had this issue. If you purchased from either of these, suggest you give them a call. If not, probably should invest in some new ones from Cleveland or Avery.
 
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Excellent point cln1owner. Most frames should have a couple adjusting bolts. Forgot all about that...I just "set it and forget it".
 
oil an aluminum

I don't want to offend anyone or be a Mr know it all. A lot of people on this site know of or have heard of Ken White "the tin man" (TM Technologies). I have been to his workshops and one thing he talks about is cross contamination into aluminum. In short, don't pound oil ( or anything else)into aluminum. Try to keep the aluminum and you tool face clean. Like I said I don't want to offend anyone or anything but the person that taught me this is one of the if not the best metal guy in the world.
 
You get what you pay for...

I've found that the Cleavland dies are worth the $$$ .. I have the standard, substructure, and tank sets now. The 'spruce el-cheapo dies do not perform that well overall. I just riveted my LE and the fit with the Cleavland dies was perfect with almost no skin distortion.
 
I broke several

I've broken several dimple dies. Two things I've learned - (i) make sure your C-frame is adequately aligned and lower the upper die down snug with your hand before you give it a whack (ii) if you have a pneumatic squeezer, make sure you're not pressing the dies together too hard.

If they're sticking, the male die is probably bent.
 
alignment

I've broken several dimple dies. Two things I've learned - (i) make sure your C-frame is adequately aligned and lower the upper die down snug with your hand before you give it a whack (ii) if you have a pneumatic squeezer, make sure you're not pressing the dies together too hard.

If they're sticking, the male die is probably bent.

To expand on this post...
Is it possible you have the spring installed and the two dies were slightly misaligned when you hit it?
 
FOD

I found that the first culprit is usually a particle of aluminum jamming the two pieces together. No mater how well we deburr and inspect, we have Al sawdust all over our shop.
Blow it out with your air gun. Lubricants and wax may actually capture this debris and cause more sticking.
Just my .02

David
 
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