chimmike Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 so I have a 12 ton shop press. What can I use to modify it to make an effective forging press? I know the air-actuated hydraulic bottle jacks can be rather slow....if speed is a concern with regards to needing to constantly re-heat, that's a sacrifice I am willing to make. however, if there's a reasonably priced higher-speed air actuated hydraulic bottle jack I can use, any suggestions? I can reinforce the frame of the press as needed. Just trying not to spend $1500 on this. Would prefer to spend 1/3 of that or less! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 you cannot reheat it whilst the press is in contact with the work, and as you cant add control gear to reduce the stroke so your jack has to travel a long way. on my presses I can set limit switches for both directions so the tool can start at maybe 1/10" above the work and will go down to a pre set point with great accuracy repeatably, I can get a stroke a second on some jobs if it is set up right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimmike Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 well, I know I can't reheat while the billet is in the press, but I am trying to find a cost-effective way of forging down 1" and greater billets without hours on the hammer/anvil. if I can get a couple of forging presses on the shop press before having to reheat, that'll be great. Right now the bottle jack on the 12 ton press is manual operated, so I can do the very thing you're suggesting: pre-set the travel. However, if I can get a air-hydraulic bottle jack that has decent inch-per-minute movement, i'd like to do so and beef up the frame to allow more forging per billet heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 as soon as the tool touches the work it will cool it and the tool gets hot will post some pix tomorrow of some 1" round that has been in my press and had 2 heats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimmike Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 The best I'm coming up with for now is the harbor freight 20 ton air/hydraulic bottle jack, then making the release mechanism a one-handed operation, then maybe adding a foot control for the air valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimmike Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 So as a proof of concept I heated up a 1" diameter chunk of sway bar steel I have and was being stubborn on hammer/anvil, and without ANY modification to the press, was able to forge it down an effective amount. With the right setup, more accurate dies, and an air/hydraulic bottle jack in place, I suspect this could be quite useful to me for just a few bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverNZ Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Instead of focusing on a press have you thought about using/making a roller type press for drawing out your bar stock there is lots of good examples on good old youtube and they shouldnt be expensive to build with a bit of cunning scrounging Cheers Beaver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimmike Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Well, for what I want to do with steel I would prefer a press. Worst-case maybe I could get some suggestions on a pump and piston to use with a 1hp motor? With the knowledge that I OBVIOUSLY have to heavily reinforce the entire stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimmike Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 For example: Will this setup: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Log-Splitter-Build-Kit-13gpm-pump-4-cylinder-Detent-valve-mount-coupler-/281769690521?hash=item419ac84599:g:XcUAAOSw~gRVx-ZJ work with this motor, effectively? http://www.harborfreight.com/3-hp-compressor-duty-motor-68302.html or would this be a better choice? http://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-agricultural-farm-duty-motor-68288.html I'm not looking for perfection. Oh, and I know for that setup, I'd need to build an entirely new stand. I'm OK with that, and not worried about it, I just want to know if that pump/cylinder kit will work effectively with that motor. I'm not an engineer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 here I would use a 3hp motor as that is the largest you can commonly get to run on single phase and 3 phase is not available to most people at home, the new cylinders I buy have a max pressure of 250 bar but I prefer to use them at 200 bar. then you need a solenoid valve to control it and a pressure relief valve to set the max pressure here is a thread about mine when I started, it has had a lot of use since then, note the limit switches you want page 2 and the pictures where it is painted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 a couple of pix of a bit of scrap inch round after a few random hits and 2 heats by someone who had never seen one of my presses before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimmike Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Very much like your build! I am not sure I would need the limit switches as you have them, if I get the kit I linked to and the 3hp motor. I will be building an I-beam frame to use as both a guide and massive structural rigidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 the limit switches set the travel so when you put your foot on the footswitch it goes down till the switch opens and when you raise your foot it goes up until the other switch opens, this means: A you can set it to come down the the same depth each time accurately and B it saves time by only going up as far as it needs to rather than all the way a common for both switches goes to the control voltage supply and the two normally closed contacts go to one side of each solenoid valve, the other side of the control voltage supply goes to the common of the 2 switches in the footswitch and the normally open contacts go to the solenoid valve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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