Presses

Heya Guys, I finally made a mini press to make pattern welded steel for various projects. I copied many designes on the web and ended up having a friend weld it up... I didn't trust my welding skills. Anyhow it's a 12 ton air over jack on an h-press. I also had many sets of dies made for different purposes. We didn't finish with enough time for me to heat up any metal. I had to go to work :*( .. but as a test I crushed some wood in it. I also "tested" the welds by letting the dies press against themselves at max strength. Everything seems nice and sturdy, though I'll keep an eye on it for the next few months just in case. I tried to upload a video I took of th…

I just received a good question from another reader of IFI in regards to cylinder safety issues and I thought it would be good to post it here: "I know a couple of smiths that are using 6"+ diameter air cylinders in a hydraulic setup with a pump putting out 2500. From my understanding the air cylinders have a thinner wall and are not made for that kind of pressure. There is a rumor that this setup is dangerous and the cylinder can fail in the form of exploding, cracking and hydraulic fluid shooting out, etc. Though I am having a difficult time finding out any information about the kind of work loads these two cylinders can endure. Any suggestions or literature that I…

Hi everybody, This is my first post here. I am from the east coast of India, close to the 'Sun Temple'. I took to blacksmithing as a hobby since a year. Did quite a bit of research on the web for the needed guidance. Last March/April built a in-line treadle hammer, which came out very nice. To avoid noise pollution (I stay in an urban residential area) decided in favour of a press, and built one. This is a motorized hydraulic bottle jack press of 25 tonne capacity. The speed is around 6mm/sec. It is working very nicely. Also for practice sake, ended up making a chopper from leaf-spring steel. Have attached two photos. Hope it will be enjoyable for everybody. …

I picked up a nice fly press today; it's a C-frame and about equivalent to the #2 shown on the OWA site. It is the arm and weight type with a 1-3/4, 3-start screw (I already knocked the dog snot out of myself because I wasn't paying attention - won't do that twice, ouch!). Paid scrap price for the press but everything is there along with a 3/4 punch set that does a good job on 16 ga sheet metal. I'd post a pic but the website still won't allow it. At any rate, this fellow also has two old drop hammers that are relatively small. They are about 9 feet tall with no motors but do have the pickup wheels on top and were run with straps. I'm guessing but the rams are 200 …

I was at a machine shop yesterday helping to appraise it. The place was full of the most worn out beat down junk I have ever seen but sitting in the middle of the room was a massive press they said it was 10 ton but with a 12 inch ram and a 20hp pump you dont get 10 ton. We put in a bid on the stuff and will get it mostly because I was begging like a 5 year old at christmas for the press. I have been making a 50 ton forging press but now I will have 2 of them. I ran the 100 ton press and it is pretty fast, at least I think it is 100 ton hard to tell since it is so dirty and it was a shop built machine. The posts are 4 inches around and the platens are 3 inches thick.

Over the years I have managed to obtain a few hydraulic pumps . I was wondering what the difficulties were of linking the output of two together . I currently run a 10hp pump that puts out 4gpm and easily handles the 3000 psi I demand from it . I would like to link its output to the output of another pump possible a 5.5hp pump giving 3 gpm and 1500psi . this would in effect give me 7gpm to 1500 psi and 4gpm over that with the excess 3gpm being diverted back to tank through a relief valve. this would also give me the option of running one or other pump so as to not be using 15 hp constantly . I am going to be making a hydraulic rolling mill and twister and a b…

Anybody suggest where I would find a good used press of fair proportion I live in new england USA

Attached is the link to the article I wrote a couple of years ago for ABANA's Hammer's Blow. Maybe it will answer some of the questions I've been getting about my press and show the versitility of a press besides just making knives. http://www.abana.org/hbarchive/HB%20vol17.4/HB17_4McDaniel.pdf

I got the press pretty much finished with new pump, I have some pics here as attachments with some dies that I have made. If you guys have some ideas of dies that you use a lot more of a general purpose type or specific use and could put some pics up that would be appreciated. thanks.

This may or may not be an original idea. But I came up with this on my own. I have seen a similar tool of different construction at the Memphis Metals Museum. I was inspired by an old tire bender with rollers that could be dropped into different grooves for quick adjustment. It is a tool for bending straightening stock in the fly press that leaves no marks on the stock. I find it especially useful for bending top and bottom rails on curved railings. It is good for making irregular bends that don't follow a consistent arc. My Fly press, I think is a #8 I got it an auction for $55 it is a bit sloppy, has no stop nut and it seems like the thread was shortened at some…

What do you think? The price is right and it's a 2 hour drive. The dimensions are at the bottom of the page. Is it big enough for blacksmithing work though? These are not too common over here. Thanks for the advice. Jason http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=405688121

There I was at this auction; I swear I was there to get a blower for the forge and a post vise. But no one was bidding on this old press. So I picked it up (with help from a buddy) for 25$. Hay you can’t go wrong for 25$. But it has me stumped this thing seems more like a large c clamp then a press. There are no markings on the thing. The threads are screw theads not acme, It has about 8 inchs of travel. It has smooth travel and it is starting to clean up well. So if anyone has any ideas as to what this thing is feel freel to put in your two cents worth. In the pictures that is a line of oil not a weld. And yes I got the blower and post vise too.

So this is probably oversimplified but with the right dies and settings can a obi press be used in hot metal forging/pressing? the machine in question is a Johnson 27OBI press punch chris

Ive got a container full of gear landing at my shop today from England, The stuff was shipped by Jake James and some of it will be available... There are many #4, #6 and #8 fly presses, A Blacker powerhammer and Im not sure what else... I'll try and take some pictures.... the can is suppose to be there between 11AM and 1PM.... Jake and Jorgen will be down this morning some time.... Should be a fun day (as long as nothing was damaged in transit) I'll report back!

Hi guys, I've been watch for a screw press to pop up in Northern Ca for over a year. One is available and I'm looking for some advise. It is an American Can Company #3asp press and looks to be in good condition from the pictures. I spoke with the seller and it has a stop collar, a two start screw about 2 3/4" in diameter, about 7" of travel and 10" of daylight under the ram. He has a lift to put it on a trailer and estimates the weight at 1500-2000 pounds. He is asking $800. I've been looking at one of the #3 presses from old world anvils so the price in in the ballpark but this is a much much bigger machine. At the moment I don't have a way to get it off of a trailer…

I have an old shop press that my grandfather gave me when he shut down his shop. The only markings I can see are on a tag on the top crossbeam that says Red Arrow Towbar mfg. U-20590. It's one of the smaller presses that takes a bottle jack for power. I just want to find out if it will handle a 20T air/hyd. It has channel iron uprights and channel crossbeams. I can get measurements if it will help with an estimation.

I've been trying to buy a Fly Press through online auctions for about a year now,but never really had enough money to bid successfully,but I kept trying regardless. Well my patience finally paid off, for total price of $61 plus an hours drive to pick it up.It has an 1 3/4 " screw stands about 80cm tall and weighs ?, well my son and I think it weighs more than my 450 pound Peter Wright.It came with a fabricated stand which I'm going to use as a stand for my bench grinder since the press now sits where the bench grinder was. I painted the handle and counterweight and check nut and cleaned the rest up, now to make a clamping plate and tooling.

Well I bought the pump 3 years ago, just used it and after a couple of hours the bearing burned up. SO now I need a new one anyway. I am really not liking the idea of another cheap one, can someone point me to a place that would sell a better quality. thanks.

I just converted my press/log splitter to electric. I used a cheap norther hydraulics pump. 2 stage , 11gpm at 36oo. I have it on a freak drive 3 hp 3 phase motor. It works great, but it is noisy. I did a little research on it and found that other people have had that problem.. It is noisier at faster speeds. I was wondering if a better quality pump would make a difference. It seems that the electric run pumps are lower gpm, but possibly better built, and maybe need more horsepower for the same gpm. I am limited (without building a converter and getting a bigger motor) to 3 hp 3 phase motor. I can live with this one as is and build a soundproofing ventila…

I went an auction last week and picked up, what I think is a nice press. It has a 5" ram with 5hp motor. Thats it for the specs so far. I didn't have a chance to give it a good once over after I bought it. It also has a hand crank pump? Given the plumbing, It looks like it has a pressure bypass valve system with an extra pressure tank. Who ever built it did a excellent job! My main question is about variable frequency drives. The motor is 3 phase and I have single phase. One friend suggested I use a rotary phase converter. I have been looking at VFD's and they seems to come pre-configured to run up to 3hp. After that you need to run a bigger one and de-rate it. Any one …

Interesting set up. http://buchen-goodwi...ton/IMAGES.html

Hi, Here is a link to a vid we made punching 1.75" sq x 3.75" long 1045. The punch is H13. We used coal dust and Hofi lube as well.

firstly I would like to thank all the people here for there great information on this subject . I finally built a forging press . I have been gathering bits for a while and figured the only way to know from all the various ram /pump configurations is to go ahead and do it .all the theory is great. so from bits I have gathered I built a press . 10hp single action pump at 3.5gpm 4" ram. it is an inch a second under power . topps out at 3000psi .and is quite , no screech . I think the motor could handle a bigger pump possably a 5 gpm but as it is there is no strain on the motor so thats good and quiet . I calculate its putting out around 16 tonnes which is great …

Hey Guys, i am about to build my first Mini Hydraulic Press. I have been inspired from a User in This Forum who has also built a hydraulic Press with a hydraulic Jack! I use a 30t air supports Hydraulic Jack. I started to build the Press today, but i must wait for the Jack now because i dont know the exact dimension of the Jack. I will write here again if there is something new. Greetings from Germany

So im looking at a small 6ton A-frame bench top press from harbor freight. I'm only a hobyist and work primarily on blades and assorted wallhooks for the moment. My shop consist of an 8'x8' shed in my back yard that i added a 4 foot lean to style roof for extra coverage. I was thinking of buying this little press to help with drawing out forge welded billets as they have proven to be pretty hard to push around. The cost of the press is around $65. It has a max verticle working distance of 4" and a horizontal distance between channels of 10-12". This sounds like plenty of room to work with for what i am doing but i was wandering about the tonnage as i havent used a press f…