I have the basics; 12 ton press, 14" cut off saw, drill press, BFH, BF vise, bench grinder, belt sander, calipers, and a few other odds and ends.

Using 555th jig dimensions, i made a male flat bending die from two 1/4" x 3" flats and two 3/8" x 1" center flats.  I made the outside flats using my 14" cut off saw to get them to the basic dimension size.


I then used a bench grinder to get them within a few thousandths.  (no pictures of that, too hard to hold camera and metal)

The final step was to clamp them together.


And belt sand them to final dimensions.


There's how you make the male die.

The female jig will be bolt together also.  I need to make another run to the scrap yard for more steel, so it's on temp hold (probably until after x-mas).  My buddy has a welder so i could go that route, but since i made the male die with basic tools i wanted to see if i could do the whole thing with only the tools i own.  

I'll keep ya posted on the progress.  If you are having problems visualizing the manufacture of the male jig, i can add some picts i took during the process.

Caspian

Caspian45, I'm interested in seeing the pics.... Look forward to seeing them

joedoran