I was planning on making Batson's H frame press according to his directions, but in the materials list it calls for 3 x5 x 1/4" angle for the four uprights.  this seems a little light to me and when I look at similar presses like the carolina custom knives 24t press the uprights appear to be 3x 5 x 3/8".  anybody made one or have any recommendations?  also, last time I was at the scrapyard I came across two pieces of 5 x5 x 1/4" square tubing and I thought I could make the uprights out of that instead for a design similar to the Claiborne press only having the cylinder on the bottom pushing up. this would be the cheapest option, but I want to make sure it is strong enough.  I do think Batson's design looks the strongest as far as having plenty of surface area for strong welds.  Using the square tubing would require the joints of the horizontal section to be simply butted and welded, instead of the sandwiching that happens with the angle in Batson's design. any insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

So long as you don't go with lighter you should be fine. It's only a little adjustment in some of the measurements to make that kind of modification.

Of course I've never built a press like that so I could be way off. Got salt?

Frosty The Lucky.

I would be interested in the actual number of press's made with Batsons informational booklet as a reference over the years....my guess - many hundreds. They work well. As with most projects like this - people tend to use materials they have easy access to and make adjustments accordingly. I use mine a fair amount.

the reason I am being paranoid is that when I read about  Matthew d walker's press it describes torsion in the frame that had to be reinforced and it was made of 5x10x1/4" square tubing. I really have a hard time believing that could happen. here is the press I am talking about:

http://matthewdwalker.com/visit_my_studio/forging_press.pdf

I used 3x4 x1/4 inch tube for uprights with a bottom mounter cylinder. 4.5 inch used a 16 gpm pump. getting close to 20 tons and does a fine job at that speed.

With a 3 hp motor and a 11 gpm pump I don,t think you would be happy with the performance.

I didn't read the article, does it say where the torsion occurs?  5"x10" is rectagular tubing and judging by the pics I'd guess it's wracking sideways if it's moving. It's what you get for not gusseting frames where the force is applied on pivot points.

That's just a quick look guess mind you and I'm wrong often enough.

Frosty The Lucky.

sorry, frosty, I just re-read that part of the article, the tubing is actually 4x10x1/4" and he describes it " as not stiff enough with some rolling movement when working on the diamond or off centered on the dies."in some of his YouTube videos the frame has been reinforced along the lateral portion of the midsection of the tubes with 1/2" or so plate.

Good info in that article.

Bigger is awlays better when building something. Hydraulic presses are subject to extreme loads so plan accordingly.