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  #11  
Old 02-20-2011, 07:42 PM
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Ben, thanks for posting the information about your bus and about Flexible buses in general. Kind of make me want to have one but that won't happen. Hope you show pictures of it as you progress with the restoration and update.
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  #12  
Old 02-21-2011, 01:28 AM
bobadame bobadame is offline
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Hey Ben, I did spend some time pondering the trim on my Clipper. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that to accurately duplicate the original trim would require either a very long custom punch, a press brake and an accurate back stop to do one flute at a time, or as Joe suggested, a roll forming machine. A bead roller or a Pullmax and a very skilled operator might be able to pull it off but It would be difficult to make the pieces as straight by the latter methods. I read a bit about roll forming and spent a little time drawing the final station dies. I think it would require a minimum of 3 roll forming stations. The first set of rolls would coin, or tip the top of the flutes slightly. The second set would begin to form the flutes and the third set would set the final shape. Before the roll forming operation the edges would be joggled in a brake. I forgot to measure the length of the individual pieces but I'm sure the trim is fitted together in sections not over 8' long. The ends could be hammer formed over a metal form with heat or they could be welded on then metal finished. There are also risers at the ends of the trim to adapt it to the curved sides of the bus at the front and rear. These are about an inch high at the thickest section.

I'm not in a position to do this any time soon. I do have most of the hardware to build the rolling machine and I have access to a CNC lathe to turn the rollers. I can imagine that before the end of the year I might have something at least started. There are many talented folks around here. Terry Stolarski and others can do some amazing things with a Pullmax. Maybe someone will be willing to try it that way.
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  #13  
Old 02-21-2011, 01:36 AM
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I built a rolling table for my pullmax that can feed a 10 ft sheet through.
That can give you nice clean lines.
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  #14  
Old 02-21-2011, 01:42 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Hartson View Post
Ben, thanks for posting the information about your bus and about Flexible buses in general. Kind of make me want to have one but that won't happen. Hope you show pictures of it as you progress with the restoration and update.
A buddy of mine was given one. It had been used during the 50s (anybody remember duck and cover)
(obligatory sheet metal content - )
It had a lead lined box built in as a mobile radiation/if not bomb shelter.

Cool old bus.
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Old 02-21-2011, 09:54 AM
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Someone posted pictures of a cable and winch system to pull the sheet through a Pullmax. This might also help to keep things straight.
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  #16  
Old 02-21-2011, 10:08 AM
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Bob, if I was going to do it in a pullmax the first thing I would do is brake the sides to form a channel and use that as the guide to keep the lines straight.
It would take a couple of passes to get the flute shapes right I think.

Do you know what gauge the stainless is?
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Old 02-21-2011, 11:08 AM
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Dyce also posted a picture of his rig.

a one track system with clamps to hold the sheet.
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  #18  
Old 02-21-2011, 11:52 AM
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Went out in the shop to see what you could do with a pullmax and a bead roller. Here are some picture of a piece of 20 gauge ss, 2-1/2 wide spacing on the flutes and 5/16" deep. Just used some existing die I had. Only did 2 flutes.
Was a little hard to take pictures because it is the mill finish and shiny.







Think it can be done this way but it would take 3 people. One to feed, one to guide and hold it steady on the discharge end. Eight foot long pieces would be a challenge.
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Old 02-21-2011, 12:39 PM
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Joe the original stainless is less than 20 gauge, maybe 22 or 24. There are 6 peaks and 5 valleys. The distance from peak to peak is 2.6". I agree with the plan to start with a hat channel. I haven't worked it out yet but I'm pretty sure the flat blank started as 16" wide. There are 1" horizontal flanges and the vertical section is about 7/16" The radius at the top of the peaks could be adjusted to make the 16" blank dimension come in. 16" would yield 3 strips from a sheet with no waste. The bend allowance/bend is around .05 or .06.

Maybe I'm making too much of this but I think the hard part would be getting the panels exactly uniform and straight over a length of about 30'. That's what led me to think that the best way to do this would be a press brake or a dedicated roll forming machine.

Last edited by bobadame; 02-21-2011 at 12:44 PM.
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  #20  
Old 02-21-2011, 01:01 PM
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Bob, I agree that the best and most accurate way to make this trim is in a roll former. Once the dies are made and you can get a siding or roofing manufacturer to agree to make it you are in business. You can buy slit rolled product from a mill in coil form. The siding manufacturer could set up their machine load the coil run it through a flattener and produce one coil lengths worth of product. The problem would be the ends and being able to accurately cut the fluted material without distorting it. With the amount of buses out there I would think there is a market for the trim.

The 20 gauge material that I used in the short section wanted to flop around a good bit. For long pieces this could create a real problem and would probably need some type of hold down. I don't have a feed or discharge table that would be needed for both the pullmax and the bead roller to produce the trim. This would be an expensive project because of the amount of cost in setting up the equipment. The roll former is the way to go especially if the gauge of the metal is thinner than 20 gauge.
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