Help designing a die

[angelfj1]

I make numbered brass tags which I sell to antique auto enthusiasts. These were used in the 1940's, 50's and 60's to identify cars built in England. These are made with an antique embossing machine. The brass stock that I have been buying is cartridge brass and comes to me in strips that are .875 wide and 36 inches long and .016 thick. The finished tags are usually 3 - 3.5 inches long and the strip stock is .875 wide. I need to devise something to trim the ends of the brass tags to produce a neat, near perfect radius. Or, in other words I want to round off the ends to a perfect semi-circle. I've been thinking about this for some time and I guess I would need some sort of trimming die with a semicircular profile. So, I think I know what I need. Now, I need some help to make it.

Maybe you have a suggestion!

Thanks, Frank

p.s.
This is what the tags look like out of the machine, including equally spaced mounting holes. However, as you can see, the ends are not quite round.

 

[Tony Wells]

Do you mean that you want full radius ends? And do you want to punch the mounting holes as well? And lastly, do you want to do the entire tag at once?

 

[easymike29]

Assuming these are not mass produced and you can change the location of the mounting holes, or change the overall length, you could grind the ends using the holes as a pivot point. This can be accomplished by making a simple fixture and grind using a belt sander, a bench grinder or a surface grinder.

Gene

 

[Bill C.]

Assuming these are not mass produced and you can change the location of the mounting holes, or change the overall length, you could grind the ends using the holes as a pivot point. This can be accomplished by making a simple fixture and grind using a belt sander, a bench grinder or a surface grinder.

Gene

I would use a belt-sander. I would also make two fixtures, one to drill the mounting holes and the other a sanding fixture. If he has access to a punch press he could blank out the plates but still will need a sander to remove sharp edges. It all depends on the quantity he needs.

 

[angelfj1]

Do you mean that you want full radius ends? And do you want to punch the mounting holes as well? And lastly, do you want to do the entire tag at once?

Tony: Thanks for the reply. Yes, if that is the proper term, I want full radius ends. So, for .875 width stock, the radius would be 0.4375. Correct? The mounting holes should be equally spaced, but are not critical. The width of the stock is OK for the finished product, and I dont need to "punch" out the entire tag at once.

Regards,

Frank

- - - Updated - - -

Assuming these are not mass produced and you can change the location of the mounting holes, or change the overall length, you could grind the ends using the holes as a pivot point. This can be accomplished by making a simple fixture and grind using a belt sander, a bench grinder or a surface grinder.

Gene

Mike: Thanks for your reply! No, these are made up one or two at a time. I might make 20 - 30 per year. I am currently using a belt sander to curve the ends. I am doing this free hand and the results are inconsistent and unacceptable (IMO). Also, I am not thrilled by the finish I get with the sander. I'm using 80 grit and I feel that the finish is a little rough. I haven't tried finer grit.

Regards,

Frank

 

[DAN_IN_MN]

I make numbered brass tags which I sell to antique auto enthusiasts. These were used in the 1940's, 50's and 60's to identify cars built in England. These are made with an antique embossing machine. The brass stock that I have been buying is cartridge brass and comes to me in strips that are .875 wide and 36 inches long and .016 thick. The finished tags are usually 3 - 3.5 inches long and the strip stock is .875 wide. I need to devise something to trim the ends of the brass tags to produce a neat, near perfect radius. Or, in other words I want to round off the ends to a perfect semi-circle. I've been thinking about this for some time and I guess I would need some sort of trimming die with a semicircular profile. So, I think I know what I need. Now, I need some help to make it.

Maybe you have a suggestion!

Thanks, Frank

p.s.
This is what the tags look like out of the machine, including equally spaced mounting holes. However, as you can see, the ends are not quite round.
View attachment 65347

What does the dies look like in the machine now? Could new dies be made and put in the existing die place? How many of these plates do you make?

Pics?

 

[george wilson]

You might be able to buy blanks made already. MSC sells some blanks of different shapes. I'm sure there are specialty manufacturers who make such tags.

 

[rangerman]

If you have an arbor press, a large vise, or a small hydraulic press you can easily punch the shape of your tag with a pancake die.

You can either order the pancake die online or you can make your own in your shop using a fine cutting scroll saw or a jeweler's saw to cut the desired pattern on a hardenable sheet metal.
Sandwich your stock material in the die and press flat with a vise or a similar press to shear the desired pattern
The process works best on thin soft metals like the one you are working with. The quality of your result would highly depend on how good or smooth you shape the cutting edges of your pattern die.

Watch this video and form some idea on how to apply it to your own project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHZtZWfX4aY

 

[Tony Wells]

Steel rule die is all you need for that.

 

[angelfj1]

I would use a belt-sander. I would also make two fixtures, one to drill the mounting holes and the other a sanding fixture. If he has access to a punch press he could blank out the plates but still will need a sander to remove sharp edges. It all depends on the quantity he needs.

Bill: I dont have access to a punch press. So, when I am finished using the embossing machine I use metal shears and cut the strip straight across.