Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Make your own gas pump doors

This is all you need to make your own gas pump doors. Will easily fit in any garage, might be a little noisy.


[URL=http://g.imageshack.us/img79/press424do7.jpg/1/][IMG]

Tokheim, 1951.

Jack Sim

Amazing.....I've seen early footage of the Wolfsburg factory and there was a press that was approximately twice that size with 2 men operating it pressing top sections for the split beetle. It is incredible at the innovations in sheet metal presses at that time with everything else being so different than today! Rich

Jack, I've looked for one of these on Ebay, but no luck. The wife said I could put one in the garage, as long as the vehicles still fit also.

Now that's what I'm talking about!! Maybe santa will be bring me one of those next year and a various assortment of dies to go along with it. LOL

oh yeah..... several thousands sheets of steel too!!

Keep posting the great pics Jack!

db: Isn't that a tall 39 door????

Rich,
Around 1996 I toured the VW Wolfsburg factory and saw the press you mentioned. Originally they had a number of them, now they have one left just to show what they used to press out the old Bugs.

Don't know when the picture was taken, it was in a 1951 brochure, and you are correct, that is a tall 39 door. Some versions of the 39 were made until 1959.

Jack Sim

Jack the other day you kind of eluded to a "Third " book is this true ? I'm curious . I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two books you did about gasoline pumps. The first , I found at Barnes and Noble . The second I bought at borders. A third , how interesting .... Ed Shaver

Im curious. Probably a dumb question. When you press something as large as a door, or especially half a Beetle, how does the metal "stretch" that much without getting too thin or breaking? Is the metal heated first?

I always woundered about that too Vermonter.


Travis
Topeka, Kansas

Vermonter, & TT

I have often wondered about that also. Let's just reduce it down to a simple gas pump door, do they just wompt the s... out of it, or do they prepare the metal before hand? I would like someone to give us a good answer.

Looks like I am in good company, so maybe its not such a dumb question!
Any metal fabricators out there?

The answers to your questions are-yes, they stomp the shoot out of it, but very precisely. They do not pre-heat the metal, problems with metallurgy and actually changing the metal(s) properties. They do lubricate it, with special "draw" lubricants which are usually water soluble oils. I've been there, done this with auto sheet metal panels. One large piece of sheet metal in, one large stamped piece out. A lot of parts require trimming after pressing though. Some parts require as many as five (5) different passes through as many presses. Try to figure out how to make the roof of a 1980's era GM Station Wagon out of one piece of sheet metal. I know that GM and US Steel have been working on using pre-painted sheet metal that comes in on large rolls, is trimmed to size, then ran through presses without any cosmetic damage to the part. No paint booth required on these vehicles if they get it to work. Some appliance manufacturers are using it now. IF you ever get a chance to see a modern stamping press in action, take it, it's a lesson in life. NOTE: KIA Motors is building their new plant here in GA., they recently received their first stamping press which was built in Korea, shipped into Savannah, Ga. and specialty trucked and escorted to the job site near Lagrange, GA. One press will consist of five (5) oversize truck loads. Each piece was blessed by a Korean priest in Korea and then again when it arrived on the job site, and will be blessed again when assembled. My understanding is that these presses will be approximately thirty-five feet tall with twelve feet below normal floor level. Not really unusual for these.

I'm not a metal stamping guy - I'm a Graphic Artist.

But . . . I've worked in the automotive industry for over 30 years and have some experience with metal stamping plants.

Short version - they 'Whomp the s&%t out of it'. LOL The metal is not heated prior to stamping.

Stamping dies are designed to take into account the malleability of the material being used. And the dies also take into account the ability of the metal to hold the final shape desired. To this end, dies are sometimes designed to 'over form' some features so when the metal is released - and it trys to revert to it's original 'flat' form - it ends up where the designer wanted it to be.

Anybody that has tried to bend a 90-degree corner in a flat piece of metal will understand this. You have to bend the metal past 90-degrees so when it trys to spring back, it ends up where you want it.

And . . . the metals ability to strech over the dies is also part of the die design. You can only stretch it so far before it will crack/split or fail. This is why very complex designs are sometimes created using a series of dies that starts with a thicker piece of stock.

I hope this helped.

Later . . .

Jim

Thanks guys. Interesting.

WOW - that is heavy lol.

Has anyone ever seen gaspumpheavens press's? I am curious if they are that big!


Travis
Topeka, Kansas