For those of you that have or are familiar with fly presses I’m very curious about the ratings.  It seems like 3t to 8t are common.  I know what a 25 pound power hammer can do vs a 100 but what sort of things do the big fly presses allow vs a smaller one?  It seems like it’s a very useful tool for repetitive operations like cutting a line in. A bar for a ribbon twist, putting a precise offset in a tong handle, pressing in a touchmark or using in conjunction with a swage block etc.  most of these operations don’t need a tremendous amount of force.  Downside is a big one will probably cost more, be expensive to ship and be hard to install in the shop vs a smaller one.  

Also the really large ones either require multiple operators to move that inertial weight or are motorized in some fashion.  They certainly have their place (mostly for production operations IMHO), but are no substitute for a power hammer or hydraulic press in a typical hobby blacksmith shop.  I have a small one, but very rarely use it.  I don't see how you could easily use it in conjunction with a  normal swage block, but all the other operations you noted are certainly reasonable.

Latticino, I’m sort of surprised you don’t use yours very often, they seem pretty handy in a lot videos I’ve watched them used.  When I said swage block I was thinking of a little one to dome a spoon blank or something.  I have a power hammer but no press yet. I really mostly want a press for eye punching. Have you ever punched an eye with your fly press for a hammer or axe? I bet punching holes in flat bars with a fly press is fun. 

Edited March 13, 20251 yr by Momatt
Added

Latticino has the advantage of having a very nice Anyang power hammer and a good treadle hammer, so his mechanical smooshing needs are generally covered.

The problem I have with using the fly press for punching larger eyes for hammers or axes is that the fly press is relatively slow and the tooling heats up too quickly.  Accuracy is great, but I have had trouble adequately cooling the tooling so it doesn't distort.  Both the treadle hammer and power hammer have the capability to hit fast, and the tooling is portable and easier to cool.  None of my equipment is very heavy duty, so I need to hit multiple times to get through a larger blank used for hammers or axes.  I typically use the treadle hammer for these as it most closely mimics the act of punching with a striker, which is the way I first learned this operation.  Maybe I'll try the fly press again if I can make up the eye punch out of H-13 or similar.

I have always been jealous of the videos of Uri or Liam punching through hammer and axe eyes with a huge press or hammer in a single heat.

 

That makes sense. My hammer is a tire hammer so not a ton of room for a punch over a billet. I intend to try some short handled punches with the bottom die off.  

Every time I forge I use the fly press. Probably because I have no hydraulic press or power hammer and my fly press generates around 12 ton pressure. It is a big one I can operate by my self in a very uncomfortable way, so often I ask help from someone else to swing the "flywheel" (more correctly flybar). I enjoy a lot how silent these tools are. 

Momatt, I was lucky enough to find someone that was willing to offer me the fly press. It was a block of rust and it was missing the counterweights. It had been sitting outdoors for years under the rain,  scorching sun and ice. Luckily nothing was broken or cracked. Probably just like me, you do not need to buy a flypress. Factories used them and once not in use, just placed them outdoors. Often people took them and placed them in gardens as an ornament. Look around, you may be lucky, though it may take some time. I saw a smaller fly press missing the flywheel. I asked the owner to sell it to me but the guy tossed a number that belongs to the realm of fantasy. What was important is that the frame, screw and ram were in very good condition. You can always make a flywheel at home.