NOAH Flanging 360 Tool

[Rootster]

Hello fellow Bearhawkers.

I'm working on forming the nose ribs for my Companion build and have come across an issue. I'm hoping it's me and not a piece of crap $350 tool that I bought to make my life easier when forming the flanges on the rib lightening holes. I bought the NOAH FLANGING 360 TOOL from A/C Spruce, I saw a video of it in use on YouTube, and figured the money versus time savings making forming dies would be worth it. Two things, it scratches and marrs the surface of the aluminum at right near the radius of the flange. Also it seemed to "potato chip" the rib like mad when I formed the first flange. I tried using a "bobstick" and Eric Newtons methods to relieve the stress around the flange and nothing seemed to work. Has anyone else used this tool? if so did you have similar issues? I'm hoping it's just the way I'm using it. Please any feedback would be helpful.. I don't want to believe I spent so much on a tool that doesn't work well.


Thanks

Steve
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[Sir Newton]

Very nice looking parts. All materials will warp during forming. Correct terms used to describe forming actions are shrinking or stretching. B-Spot took the time to make videos & published them on Utube. Here is a link to his channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_4i...channel=B-Spot
Peace Out
Sir Newton

[Rootster]

Thanks Sir Newton

I made a press form from MDF a while back, just for the one smaller hole, but thought the flanging tool would save time over making all the different sized forming dies. See attached photos, I did a flange with the die, and tweaked it with the bobstick as BSPOT's video, it turned out great. I'm just curios if someone else has used the flanging 360 tool with better success and can maybe give me some advise on what I'm doing wrong with it. IMG_4090.jpgIMG_4091.jpg

[BlueSkyRedSun]

Rootster! I'm sorry I didn't see this post earlier! I wish I would have written a review here on my experience with the Flanger-360 before you went out and bought one too. I had the SAME experiences you did. It marred the living daylights out of every rib I tried to flange. I tried waxing the rib, taking plastic off one side, both sides, making big adjustments and small adjustments. On the ribs that I did get to look MARGINALLY acceptable in the flange bend area, they potato-chipped the ribs so badly I couldn't straighten them to save my life. I'm sorry to say that I found no solution, I even went so far as to try contacting the manufacturer to see if they had any tips. Nothing but crickets in return. I contacted them to see if they'd honor some kind of return policy, again, I received no reply.

What I did discover is that it seems for some crazy reason, the Flanger-360 distorts the ribs in the OPPOSITE way that traditional Bob-Sticking or even pressing the ribs distorts them. In other words, trying to "push" the rib like is mentioned in the book, it will only make the distortion worse. Somewhere I have pictures of exactly what I'm talking about because I gave up with the NOAH tool and made press jigs, and sure enough I was able to straighten the ribs using the traditional techniques described here. In fact, looking at the pictures you posted of your nose ribs now, I think I can see the difference. Look down the chord line of your NOAH rib vs. your pressed rib. The NOAH rib is distorted with the edge flanges bent inward, the pressed rib is just the opposite.

My only suggestion is to keep your chin up and go forward with making the press jigs. If you're like me and already edge-flanged your ribs, you may find it easiest to make new jig holes in your center ribs to re-align the ribs in your new press molds.

I'm actually in a bit of a building slump, still getting the bad taste from this experience out of my mouth. Let me know if I can assist in any way, I've been down this road....

[Rootster]

BlueSkyRedSun, hopefully others see this and don't waste the money on purchasing one. I bought it out of sheer laziness as I really didn't want to spend the time making forming blocks and dies. But after attempting to flange a few holes I totally gave up and stated making forming block and dies. These turned out amazing and I'm super happy with the result. I just finished flanging all the lightening holes in the flap and aileron ribs this morning. See photos.

[SpruceForest]

Looks like a good outcome for what appeared to be a real material-wasting problem - those ribs look nice! Spent the first month or so of my own project buried in MDF dust, which is a double-whammy because my shop gets used for real work as well, but I am glad I put that time in at the start... def paid off. I looked at that tool early on and could not figure out how flange forming would happen without big 'shrinking' loads in the plane of the web. Have to think Spruce and at least some of their customers were successful in using the tool... got to wonder what the 'secret sauce' recipe might be?