Thread: Project Sebring GT Spyder

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V8nutz - Thanks and yes, I made that. I actually made it to go with a female die to do dimpled holes in sheet metal.

When I needed to expand some tubes, I came up with making some simple guide plates that fit inside the tube and center the tapered die's stem. It works really well if the ends of the tube are square.

I made the male die with a long taper because eventually I want to make some different sized female dies. When I make special tools like this, I'm usually in a hurry so I can get on with whatever job I'm working on, so they're not often "finished" to high degree. Just enough to be useful.

I use a set of hole dies that are intended to punch holes for electrical conduit. It's a little more time consuming to do it this way instead of a one step die, but it's not too bad once you get the hang of it. I have a pneumatic jack in my press, so I don't have to do bunch of pumping by hand.