Help - Not pressing anymore!!!

[dragonflySmithy]

Just fill it back up with the right type of oil.

[Little Forks Forge]

Bleeding is not working at all. I am able to get the ram to move - but it is not locking at all with the valve closed. In other words - I can push the ram back up and it stays up (no air pressure pushing it back down again)... I am forced to take it to a shop for repairs I guess... Thanks.

[rigger]

Originally Posted by Little Forks Forge

One of the guys in our shop was using this press to bend some metal, without being trained on it.. (but, I digress). When he was releasing the valve to home the press cylinder he loosened the valve too far and oil started spilling out - since then the press does not press at all.

I need some direction in repairing this. My thinking is that the valve screws down onto some kind of one-way valve and that loosening the valve too much unseats the one-way valve - but I'm unsure as to how to repair it, or even if I can do it in house.

Any help would be appreciated.

I'd say you've got a bad cylinder.

When the seal on the piston fails (as they must eventually) the oil gets pushed into the "dry" side of the cylinder (when the piston moves in that direction), and out the power valve (not the flow control). Depending on how you have the system plumbed, you may also see bubbles coming up inside the oil reservoir caused by air being pushed into the "wet" side of the cylinder; this is then "proof-positive" showing the cylinder seal is blown.

The question I ask myself in a case like this is "Where did the oil come from and how could it get from there to the puddle on my floor?" The answer is almost always (except for leaky hoses, etc.) a blown cylinder piston seal.

Many cylinders are re-buildable, some being much easier than others because of ease of assembly. This would be the least expensive "fix" of this problem.

By the way, since this is my first post, I'd like to say "Hi everyone." What a great site this is. I'm just starting out with a small anvil and small gas forge (and plans for a larger one). I'm looking forward to learning and hopefully, eventually, contributing some day.

Dennis