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My Mini Hydraulic Press


Thunder

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I though a few of you might enjoy this little project.

here is a graphic of my mini press, (the beer is unopend and for scale):

press9.jpg

 

I can get about 5-6 crunchs from one billet heat. Cost about 70.00 for the jack - on sale at HF, most of the steel was laying around my shop. I did have to buy about 2" of 1" X 2" flat bar for the upper die and die set. 100.00 is a high estimate of the cost. There is a full page of info on my website.

Hope this helps

T. Toler

Thunder

press9.jpg

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Love it!

Let not the swords of good and free men be reforged into plowshares, but may they rest in a place of honor; ready, well oiled and God willing unused. For if the price of peace becomes licking the boots of tyrants, then "To Arms!" I say, and may the fortunes of war smile upon patriots

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Pretty slick! Did I miss something or did you forget to tell us your website address?

 

Ken

 

 

Opps - the link is here:

mini hydraulic press page link

 

there are about 12 graphics, and a little discussion at the bottom.

Disclamers at the top are for those that need disclaimers.

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Was just reading not long ago a thread on one of the forums about someone trying to perfect a semi-automated version of the bottle jack press by putting a motor & crank on the press handle. Wonder how that's going?

 

Nicely done, T. A well-crafted little machine.

 

randy

"Despereaux?"

"Yes...?"

"You didn't cower."

"It looks like a sword."

"It's a CARVING KNIFE!"

"It's BEAUTIFUL..."

"It's DANGEROUS!"

"Do... do you have any more?"

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Let's see some pictures of some squished steel.

 

How about a video?

I made a video last night and linked it on my website here: press video.

 

What you will be looking at on the video is a 1" round bar with a 1/4" flat bar handle, I drew it down to about 1/2" on the first heat and draw, - the flat bar handle is good for a reference point on the forged thickness, the video only show a couple of heats, just so you can get the feel of this little press and keep the video file relatively small. Nothing fancy - only about three presses per heat. On thinner material it is pretty easy to get about 5 presses per heat.

I'll try to get some graphics of the pressed steel up for guys with dial up connections.

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any good for welding damascus billets brother?

 

I would think it would work fine for damascus,

I just built it and started testing it about a week ago,

its not as big and fast as a full sized press but it is pretty good for small work.

 

By the way - I am a Boilermaker also.

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Was just reading not long ago a thread on one of the forums about someone trying to perfect a semi-automated version of the bottle jack press by putting a motor & crank on the press handle. Wonder how that's going?

 

Nicely done, T. A well-crafted little machine.

 

randy

 

 

I saw and considered the motor driven version,

its a little more complicated.

 

Thanks for the compliments from all who responded.

TA. Toler

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I love it simple cheap what more could you ask for! i was wondering could you ad some adjustable stop points to keep the ram from returning as far and speed up your action on it?

 

Thanks for the post

 

~~DJ

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I love it simple cheap what more could you ask for! i was wondering could you ad some adjustable stop points to keep the ram from returning as far and speed up your action on it?

 

Thanks for the post

 

~~DJ

 

Yes adjustable stops can be done.

I will post more pictures of die sets and modifications as they are completed.

T.A.

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How big is the compressor your running off of? i am seriously considering building one of these until i can get my big 40 ton press done....

 

Thanks

 

~~DJ

 

It's not very big,

I'm at work right now

I'll post back the size when I get home tonight - late.

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Was just reading not long ago a thread on one of the forums about someone trying to perfect a semi-automated version of the bottle jack press by putting a motor & crank on the press handle. Wonder how that's going?

 

Nicely done, T. A well-crafted little machine.

 

randy

 

WOW! that looks awsome, I think I would do it like that if I could find an airpowerd jack here in Norway.

 

Randy, I don't know if you are talking about my press, but if it is, it's coming along quite well. I'm currently trying to find the right drive belt and fastening the motor. I'll give an update to my post when it's finnished.

Marius A. Bacher

 

"To learn and not think over what you have learned is perfectly useless. To think without having learned is dangerous." - Gore Vidal

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Marius - it could have been yours, I don't remember where I saw it. I thought it was a cool idea, I'm glad it's progressing - I might try that configuration before I'd go air powered- seems like it could be done cheaper with the crank, if it works just as well. Did you have any trouble with the crank going too fast for the jack? For sure- let us see it when it's up & running.

 

This is cool stuff!

 

randy

"Despereaux?"

"Yes...?"

"You didn't cower."

"It looks like a sword."

"It's a CARVING KNIFE!"

"It's BEAUTIFUL..."

"It's DANGEROUS!"

"Do... do you have any more?"

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Hi everybody, Madmike new member from France, I will introduce myself a bit more when less busy :rolleyes:

I made nearly the same press about a year ago but didn't have much time to play with it as I'm self building my house but I can confirm that it welds damascus like a charm :P

The only few differences : as I had a second 20T jack only 'hand operated' waiting around in the dirt, I used it to make an ajustable height table under the air jack, it presses downward instead of upward so the air operated jack don't eat scale and flux, I also added a treadle so I can work with both hands free... When you 'toe depress' the treadle it goes up, when you don't touch anything it stays at the height it is (so it doesn't move all way up) and when you 'hill depress' the treadle it presses...

I need to fix the treadle while 'toe depressing' is too hard : automobile parking-brake cable means a lot of friction and the 'hill depressing' is a little too loosy... So I'll move back the pivot near the hill as the valve switch is very sensitive... I also need to move to a quick change die system, I made bolt on dies but my air-wrench is a wonderfull air sucker and it drives me crazy to see it eats about twice the air the press eats...

Ingredients : a chunk of beam, chunks of rail road rail, chunks of heavy-wall round tubing, washing machine springs, bicycle chain, parking-brake cable and welding sticks everything off the shelf...

Oh I was forgotting, I love my beautifull 'grey-orange free of charge' finishing compound so don't ask for paint :D

 

IMG_2224.JPG

 

 

Nice job Thunder, I hope you'll enjoy yours as I do with mine !

 

And please excuse my 'rusty english'...

Edited by Madmike
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How big is the compressor your running off of? i am seriously considering building one of these until i can get my big 40 ton press done....

 

Thanks

 

~~DJ

 

Ok - looked at my compressor lsat night - its a Sanborn 3 HP, 22 gallon tank, pressure is set at about 110 psi.

I got a youtube account and posted a wider shot of the operation of the press, it is linked here

.

T.A. Toler

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Hi everybody, Madmike new member from France, I will introduce myself a bit more when less busy :rolleyes:

I made nearly the same press about a year ago but didn't have much time to play with it as I'm self building my house but I can confirm that it welds damascus like a charm :P

The only few differences : as I had a second 20T jack only 'hand operated' waiting around in the dirt, I used it to make an ajustable height table under the air jack, it presses downward instead of upward so the air operated jack don't eat scale and flux, I also added a treadle so I can work with both hands free... When you 'toe depress' the treadle it goes up, when you don't touch anything it stays at the height it is (so it doesn't move all way up) and when you 'hill depress' the treadle it presses...

I need to fix the treadle while 'toe depressing' is too hard : automobile parking-brake cable means a lot of friction and the 'hill depressing' is a little too loosy... So I'll move back the pivot near the hill as the valve switch is very sensitive... I also need to move to a quick change die system, I made bolt on dies but my air-wrench is a wonderfull air sucker and it drives me crazy to see it eats about twice the air the press eats...

Ingredients : a chunk of beam, chunks of rail road rail, chunks of heavy-wall round tubing, washing machine springs, bicycle chain, parking-brake cable and welding sticks everything off the shelf...

Oh I was forgotting, I love my beautifull 'grey-orange free of charge' finishing compound so don't ask for paint :D

 

t59721_IMG2224.JPG

 

 

Nice job Thunder, I hope you'll enjoy yours as I do with mine !

 

And please excuse my 'rusty english'...

 

Very nice machine!

Thunder

T.A. Toler

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Opps - the link is here:

mini hydraulic press page link

 

Thunder,

 

Nice press. In the pictures it looks like you have two dies, but I don't see any method of attaching one as a top die. Do you just use the crossbar as a flat anvil or do you have a method to attach both top and bottom dies? I am thinking of a set of flat dies and a set of fullering dies.

 

I make small stuff so this press looks like the answer. Quieter and small enough. My bottle jack is on order now.

 

Larry in SE Alabama

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Thunder,

 

Nice press. In the pictures it looks like you have two dies, but I don't see any method of attaching one as a top die. Do you just use the crossbar as a flat anvil or do you have a method to attach both top and bottom dies? I am thinking of a set of flat dies and a set of fullering dies.

 

I make small stuff so this press looks like the answer. Quieter and small enough. My bottle jack is on order now.

 

Larry in SE Alabama

 

The press is really in a protoype stage, the top bar now serves only as an anvil, but on the next version it will be adjustable and movable. I have put three videos of this press on Youtube to make it easier for people to view, Youtube videos of mini press look at the video marked "Flattening, squaring, drawing, mini hydraulic press" it shows die changes from flattening to drawing, this video is about three different videos cobbled together.

 

On the next rework of this press I will be changing the bottom ram bar so that dies will lock in more securely and I will be changing the top so it can accept a die. Right now some of my die sets stick to fluxed billets and it pulls the die set off - not good - needs improvement.

 

The heavy flat bar billet in the video is seven layers using 1095, 1080, and 15n20 - it is already welded and I am just flattening, then squaring the bar.

 

In the portion where I am drawing, that is a coil spring - 5160 that I flattened and then drew out. When you make the press be sure to look at the t handle release, it makes the difference of this puppy working or not working quick enough to do any work.

 

Thanks TA Toler

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Thunder,

 

Thanks for sharing your project I just got back from the scrap yard buying materials for the press and it looks like it really will only cost about $100, even buying all the materials got 12' of 2x2 3/16 wall square tubing about 4 feet of 1x2 bar stock for anvils and tooling and 4' X 8" X 1/4" plate which is more than enough material to make the press for $40. Throw in the jack from harbor freight with a 15% discount coupon $64 when its back in stock at my local store and total cash outlay looks to be about $104 now all I need to do is get it put together.

 

Tim

Tim Musselman

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