Francois

Hey Judson and Thomas. Thanks for the info! @Judson yeah 4.5t is pretty meager. I will have to get a cylinder that is at least twice the size (100mm bore). I worked out I can get around 15t at 3cm per second at 200 bar if I do that. It just means I have to modify the H-frame I already built. But thank you for the valuable information. I was thinking of using small surface area drawing dies, but I think it just won't be enough in the end and that is why I started this topic. @Thomas the billets are on average roughly 10cm x 5cm x 5cm (kinda enough to make a big Bowie knife with some spare material). I have built a leafspring (Appalachian) type power hammer that I usually use for drawing out after welding by hand, but I feel it is just not moving the steel fast enough and I was drooling over some forging press videos on youtube. But yeah, maybe I can simply use the press for getting better welds and see how I can up the ram weight on the power hammer or improve my drawing dies until I find the hydraulic parts I need. Will see what I can find in terms of 100mm bore cylinders on my local classifieds today. Thanks again for the info and have a nice day

Hi. I am building a forge welding press to make damascus billets for knife making. I have most of the parts I need and I got them from classifieds so they are second hand. The cylinder I have is not the biggest thing int he world with a 15cm stroke and a 50mm bore. I wanted to make it press around 15 ton at 3cm per second, but this simply is not possible with the motor I have (single phase, I would need around 700 bar and the pump I would need for that will basically kill the motor). I have estimated that I could get a max of 4.5 ton at the 3cm per second speed and that is pushing the limits. Would 4.5 ton be enough or am I seriously wasting my time? Will it draw the steel out too slowly after welding basically...