- Joined
- Sep 13, 2004
- Messages
- 1,553
Ron Claiborne said:Nick those are good looking dies and im sure you are very familiar with your press and that you as other that us one for a while get in tune with there machine ,know what you can do and what you cant its part of the process of using a press .
The reason I dont like combo die is not for the person that has learned his machine its for the guy that has never used one , Im sure we all have the control that we need to do what we want but for a person to start with combo dies can remember I said can cause some trouble not all ways for sure . The person that has experience with others presses or have had the good fortune to watch some one else use one will have a different understanding of the power of a press than some one that has never used one or is trying to learn on his own .
. Most ( Not All ) that start using a press for the first time tend to go to long before reheating and they have the idea that tonnage will keep mashing steel even after the dies stop putting the press in a undue strain , combo dies are great for people that have a understanding of their press and learn to reheat keep it hot when off center that needs said .
I use combo dies myself I tend not to offer them to customers that have little or no exspearance using a press thats the reason I mention it to Mike he has never used a press and hes going to a lot of trouble to get the press he wants . My only intent is to let him have some time learning the power before , then if he feels he needs a combo die he will as we all do build them as he goes
They are dies for forging all types of shapes on a press some have come up with some that I was blown away with and they work great but some of these dies are a one time press with very hot steel to keep from hurting the press or them self .
But as you said if you can think it up it most likely can be used but even you will have to admit its best to know your machine before trying them
Bowie
You are making some very good points Ron. You have to know the limitations of the press in order to work safely. If I understand you correctly you are saying most people dont reheat soon enough and end up damaging the press. How do you know when its time to reheat? Is it the color of the metal, the feel of the steel or a combination of both?