July 4, 201313 yr Hi. I have been thinking of a hydraulic press and am wondering what would be a good size. I would like to do drawing out, punching, drifing etc of bars up to 1.5". There is a 24, 34 or 50 ton available from Tommy McNabb. I'm considering the 34 ton version but i dont want to be frustrated and wish I bought the 50. Any thoughts and recommendstions? Also - what are the operations you use your press for the most? (besides damascus) Thank you!
July 4, 201313 yr Get the strongest and fasted 2 stage you can afford. It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Frosty The Lucky.
July 4, 201313 yr ''Also - what are the operations you use your press for the most? Thank you!'' I agree with Frosty but I like my 11gpm single stage 25 ton because it doesn't slow down when it goes under load thus the heat sink factor is lessened ............Operations? The first thing is make sure you know the do's and dont's of operating these machines, they can kill you. Bending/forming and closed die forging with presses is a treat...... B)
July 4, 201313 yr Author I tend to agree with the idea of getting the largest but the motor on the 50 is a beast. Do you know of any idiots guide to not killing yourself with one of these? I can see hot bits flying out at extreme speeds. Thanks!
July 5, 201313 yr Good Morning, Hydraulics is mathmatics. Pump Gallon Per Minute (output) to working ram diameter = GPM to PiR2 (surface area of piston) X stroke speed (calculate). 50 Ton = 100,000psi (pounds per square inch). If surface area of parting tool is 1/10 of a square inch, 50 Ton = 1,000,000 effort on the parting tool. If you haven't held the parting tool straight and it kicks, you have created an uncontrolable projectile. Stay sober!! Think before you do anything!! Make sure your Life Insurance is current!! Don't cry if you have an owwey. Enjoy the pressure :) :) Neil
July 5, 201313 yr All tooling should be locked into place..no hand held tooling until you get some experience. Tools should be wider than tall...3:1 is good ratio Hot cuts can be blunt and still part off work..."cutting edges" of 1/4" are not useless under the press. Angles of 16 degrees and less are OK...the sharper the angle the greater the chance of kickout. As to tonnage...I have at time though 5 ton was too much and 200 ton too little. Most of my work was done under a 35 tom and 42 ton moving at 0.6 inches per second. I had many many tools for the press. I'm currently gathering parts for a 160 ton and a dual 45/24 ton. Ric
July 5, 201313 yr Author Thanks very much for the input. So the bottom line question is: 34 or 50 ton. 34 uses a 5 hp motor and a single cyclinder. 50 uses a 7.5 hp motor and is a dual cylinder. Here's a link to the units. http://www.carolinaknives.com/getcategory.php?cat=8
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