natenaaron Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 This is down at the scrap yard. obviously the ram needs to be changed but I was wondering about the structure. It is about 12 inches wide in the opening and obviously I would have to weld a flat plate on instead of curved. I can only assume this was used to cut pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 the sides would be a bit flexible as they are only flat, you need some width to them. you may be able to get the cylinder refurbished with new seals and rod rather than replacing it, ask locally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 By width do you mean welding another plate onto the side or something like a 1 inch bar? Would it need to be the entire length of the press or just the opening plus some to go past the opening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 you would need to go from the bottom of the table to near the top of the mounting for the cylinder with a box section or universal column (H) on the outsides depending on if you are using guided tooling or not, on my tiny press I use angle to make the sides triangular, see the pix in the dwarf forging press near the end of the thread. the bigger it is the more you need and I would add limit switches to set travel, at a guess you have over 12" of travel on that cylinder and all that takes time, mostly mine has 1/4" of travel before it is in contact with the work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 33 minutes ago, the iron dwarf said: you would need to go from the bottom of the table to near the top of the mounting for the cylinder with a box section or universal column (H) on the outsides depending on if you are using guided tooling or not, on my tiny press I use angle to make the sides triangular, see the pix in the dwarf forging press near the end of the thread. I see what you mean by the sides. Sweet little press. Can you explain the 1/4 of travel before contacting the work. I am not wrapping my head around it. Are you only pressing stuff of the same size, is the start point of the press adjustable, or do you use plates to raise or lower the item to be pressed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 on mine the start and end point are settable to a few thou, this means repeatable strokes that are faster and no wasted time like drawing out, I set it to just above the work as a start point and the desired thickness as the end and then I can get maybe a stroke every 2 seconds until I run out of hot metal, after a bit I remove the top tool and drop it in a bucket of water and put in a cool tool. changing the setting takes seconds in the small press I have just under 4" of stroke and about 7" height from table to bottom of tool holder, note for lots of tools you need to prevent the tool holder from rotating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 what are you going to use it for? check for a makers name and specifications on it, measure rod diameter ( often the cylinder bore is double the rod diameter ) also markings on the cylinder can indicate bore, rod and stroke and max pressure and from that you can work out force, mine is running at 200 bar which means just over 10 tons but max pressure is 250 bar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 27 minutes ago, the iron dwarf said: what are you going to use it for? After a talk with a doctor it is clear my wrists will not tolerate swinging the hammer for long periods. Darn arthritis. The plan was to swing the hammer for short term stuff like tapering, upsetting, finishing etc. and the press for lengthy stuff like drawing out and eventually pattern welding for blade work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I'd want to take a close critical look at how that is built before I used it for much. It appears to have been built from a large structural member, Wide flange (H beam) looks to be. I'd stiffen the sides if everything else looked competent. I'd keep it simple probably weld 7" 14lb.+ channel flange in from the foot to above the top ram mounts. Stitch weld it to prevent warpage of course. Wide flange reinforcing would be good and it'd give nice armored channels for the hydraulic lines. It'd be a LOT heavier and bulkier though. You'll need to price having the cylinder rebuilt, new or a refurbished one might be cheaper especially if they cred you with a core. Something else that drives me NUTS about home built presses like this one is all the rubber hose! Plumb everything possible in hyd rated pipe hose is a big power drinker. If you've ever seen hydraulic hoses pulse and jump on machinery you see wasted power. Ever notice how strong hyd hose is? Think how much energy it takes to expand it against woven wire reinforcement enough to make it jump like a shot snake. Make a receiver so the bottom die can be changed out and the receiver at minimum triples the rigidity and strength of the anvil. Interchangeable top dies is easy peasy, that's a pretty clean setup though it could use a little refinement for better rigidity. A press with flex in it is throwing power away. it shouldn't flex any more than it can compress the steel or cast iron in the structure. The most compressible component should be the shaft in the ram. We can talk about port sizes, GPM/PSI, valving, etc. I'd take a close look at that one, it might be a good departure point for a forging press. I think that one was used to fit or bend rather than forge. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 work out size of items and tooling you need for it to do the jobs you want, top tool + bottom tool + material you are working and allow extra, a lot of tools can be very simple like the flatter I made from a bolt head, think of ways to fit a top and bottom tool to it. my top tool holder is like a fly press 1" diameter and 2" deep with a grub screw and at the bottom the table is drilled and tapped as well as having a slide in plate that can lock in place. I have top tools that are just some 1" round, some with a radius on in one direction for drawing out or spreading, some punches and countersinks in one, a cutting tool, some with ball bearings on for indenting, drifts and lots more the bottom tools I use most are just a plain block of fork lift tine and another with a couple of holes in it though I have bend tools to make in the next few days too keep hoses short, metal pipe is better and if you can when testing check for deflection with a dial gauge to see if anything moves, before using it check all welds are good and nothing is bent or cracked, work out capacity of the cylinder and what you think the frame will take and when testing I extend the cable on the foot switch so I can be a safe distance away and have my minion on the switch for the power pack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 You are correct frosty. They cut the middle out of the H member. I am thinking this is not the way to go. By the time I have reinforced and changed everything I will have put enough metal, from the sound of it, to build a whole press. I will pass on it though. I am not going to say it will be easy but building one is doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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