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I Forge Iron

Tooling


joeli

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Everybody,

I just had the good fortune to pick up a #2 Hopkins fly press.  I need to make a top tool/die holder for it.   I was thinking that having dies with a 1" shank makes the most sense. 

I'd rather make it once and be done, so in that spirit I'm trying to do some research before I start.  I've found very little on the web.  

I have lathe, mill, and welder so I can pretty much make anything.  If anyone out there has this press, I would greatly appreciate seeing a photo or sketch of what they did or have. 

Thanks everybody,  joel- 

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I have one. Mine came with just a flat die on it and I had a friend with a lathe make me a tool holder with a 1" hole and a set screw.  Unfortunately it's at my other shop---200 miles north (and in a different country from me right now). So I can't get any pictures for a while.

I've found a number of RR Bolts and dome headed trailer hitch balls that fit my tool holder and made some S-1 slitting/drifting tools from broken pharmaceutical punches.

I use a lot of top swages with the flat die and have even used the "modern" replaceable tips for rock drills for patterning.  I have some thick bars of steel on the table as my table has a central hole, Fun to watch a 3" thick 4" wide bar flex when the die hits it! We've done coining with it too.

Note I slipped some pipe insulation on the dependent handles to mitigate the THWAP effect when you are working intently on setting things up and the screw unwinds...

Can I be so crass as to inquire how much that set you back?

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