jtknives

Well I have been making progress on the press and figured I would give you guys an update. First I cut all the steel to length. I then cut out the openings in the top cross support and upper die tube to except the ram. And then drilled the holes for the pin. I used the plasma cutter to cut the die backers from 3/4” plate I welded cross supports inside the tubes, every tube has a cross support on each side and the upper die tube has 2 on each side. I then drilled the holes for the die retaining pins and welded the die backers to the upper and lower die tubes. Took almost 10lbs of 7018 rod after the 6011 root pass to fill the radius of the large tubes. I then drilled the holes in the upper die tube for the side guides. I forgot to take pictures of making the side guides but here thy are on the upper die. I then welded the base togather. You will notice I changed it a bit from the model. I then flipped the base over and started planing out the pump mount and drilled the holes for the motor and casters. Yes the motor is going under the press base. I then cut out the large hole for the boss on the pump with the plasma cutter. I drilled and tapped the pump mounting holes Pump fit like a glove. And I added a lock washer and a jamb nut. I made riser blocks for the motor and squared it up and then tacked the pump mount in place. The alinement looks about as perfect as I can get it and it’s much better then what is required for these couplings. Time to bolt on the casters I flipped it it over and all is good, all 4 casters are on the ground and it does not rock. Now it was was time to weld the tank mounting brackets in place Tank fit perfectly So that’s as far as I have gotten so far. I am quite happy with how everything is turning out up to this point and hope I can continue this positive forward direction. Below is a picture of the specs that I’m going after with this press build in reference to HP, tons and speed. Thanks guys for watching.

I am also in the process of building a press and thought I would share the build. I got all the steel and ready to start cutting. 8ft tall and 16" wide with an 8" wide opening in the front and 4" wide opening on the sides. The die plates are 16" long and lock into place with a stud that fits in a hole in the die plate backer and the support tube. All tubes besides the 4 uprights (1/4" wall) are 1/2" wall. The clevis on the ram and cylinder fit inside the tubing and the pin goes through the side wall of the tubing. Do any of you notice any problems with this design?

I was not saying your set up would not work. I was saying this is the numbers that the experts say to use. Your very close to these numbers but I don't think I would try it with a 3hp. Motors do have service factors but your not suppose to design a system around that number. I don't have the book and don't know Jim so all I can go off is the people that have a lot more schooling then I and thy say this is how it's done.

I ran your numbers through my calculator and with your motor and ram combo at 3000psi this is what you can run. This is assuming your running the pump at it's rated RPM and th low pressure side is 650psi.

This topic has perfect timing. Last time I posted here was in 2008 about this very same thing. I ended up building one back in 2008 and in fact I'm still using it but not by choice. I have a few pros and cons to say about this press. First pro is that it's very cheep to build and does ok with forging if your looking for somthing to help move steel/damascus faster then you can by hand. I have used my press a lot and I mean a lot and don't know where I would be right now with out it. All that being said it is slow and has pushed me to building a full size press. I just don't have the time to waste waiting for this press any more. My shop has become quite busy and the press is the bottle neck now. It's the one tool in my shop that every time I use I feal like such a newb and can't believe it's still around. But if your just using it to make damascus for small knives here and there then it's ok. It also does not take up much of any space. This was a big thing for me in the past. All my shops in the past where tiny but we bought a house last year and built a 20x40 dedicated knife shop this year. A larger air compressor will not make it run faster unless your compressor is so small that it can't hold pressure while pressing. As air pressure goes down so does the speed and force. You want to extend the release screw out into a T handle and mount the air valve on the floor so you can operate it with your foot. I have made a TON of damascus with mine and yes it's slow but much better then nothing. I weld up rather large billets with mine and the larger the billet the easier becaus of the mass of hot steel. Once you start getting thinner it gets slower. With flat dies you just take tiny bites around 1/2" at a time. Drawing dies work good as well but thy need to be small to really move the steel. Mine are made from 1" Diamater HSS endmill shanks welded to 1/4" plates. But thy are really aggressive and distort the damascus pattern so use them accordingly. Hope my insight helped you out. If you have any questions I'm more then willing to help. I'm going to be around a lot more in the future. Looking for other forums to spend my time. Not saying anything bad about the forum I have been on sence 2006 (I think). I just find that this place has more like minded people like my self.

O i'm glad i found this. I must say im new to this forum. I'm on bladeforums mostly, as JTknives. I have been wanting to build a press for some time but don't really have the need or the funds for a large press. i was thinking of making a 50 ton version as some of my round stock is 2.5" L6 round that i need to press down. I have one question. Why cant your leave the air valve on so its pumping all the time then just raise and lower the press with the T handle. I have access to a 20 ton press at work that we use for pressing bearing and other things into place, and i have noticed that if the valve is open it does not matter how fast you pump nothing happens but once you close the valve it starts going up. i don't see why this wont work with an air jack. If some one that has an air jack wants to try it i would be very excited to see if it works.