# Anyone make a bar shear for shop press



## AGCB97 (Mar 20, 2020)

Seams like it wouldn't be too difficult to make a shear for small bar stock to fit a 20 ton HF press. Anyone have or seen one?
Thanks
Aaron


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## Norseman C.B. (Mar 20, 2020)

I don't see why you couldn't, but on a manual one it would be a time factor issue, but with
an air over hydraulic jack I could see no issue, hell just make one and see....................................


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## AGCB97 (Mar 20, 2020)

Yes, I converted to  air over hydraulic.
I was hoping to see pictures for ideas.
Thanks
Aaron


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## RJSakowski (Mar 20, 2020)

How big a bar do you want to shear? Rounds, flats?


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## AGCB97 (Mar 20, 2020)

Mainly flats. I use a lot of 1/8 & 1/4" CRS seldom over 2" wide, mostly 1". I don't know what kind of tonnage is required for shearing. I've got a bunch of punch press die sets also so a 1/4 & 5/16" single round punch would be handy.
Just trying to make my shop press more useful. I've made a 18" press brake for it with 3 sizes of female dies, 1/4, 1-1/4 and 3-1/2".


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## RJSakowski (Mar 20, 2020)

AGCB97 said:


> Mainly flats. I use a lot of 1/8 & 1/4" CRS seldom over 2" wide, mostly 1". I don't know what kind of tonnage is required for shearing. I've got a bunch of punch press die sets also so a 1/4 & 5/16" single round punch would be handy.
> Just trying to make my shop press more useful. I've made a 18" press brake for it with 3 sizes of female dies, 1/4, 1-1/4 and 3-1/2".



I have a mechanical shear, Rock River Mfg., Janesville, WI. that has a 1/2" x  4" capacity that's just sitting idle and I would be willing to sell.  I has approximately 4:1 gearing and judging from the  from the heft of it can do some serious work.  I believe you can get an idea of the tonnage required from the shear strength of the material and the length of the shear x the thickness of the material.  I have some books on punch/die making that I could check.  From another source, a 1" diameter hole in 1/4" mild steel will require 20 tons.


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## Superburban (Mar 20, 2020)

These may give you some ideas, for purchase, or copy. They would handle the 1/8". I have the 8" grizzly one, and use it quite often to cut 1/2" bolts, And plenty of 2" wide CRS, approaching the 1/4", and it takes it. The PO added about a 3 foot extension to the handle, and mounted to the back of a 3 foot by 1 foot wide table. With more leverage, or somehow adapted to a press, it could take more. I don't know how long the PO had it, but I have not been easy on it the 8 or so years I have owned it, and the blades do not show any signs of wear, and definitely no nicks.









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Grizzly Industrial, Inc. is a national retail and internet company providing a wide variety of high-quality woodworking and metalworking machinery, power tools, hand tools and accessories.  By selling directly to end users we provide the best quality products at the best price to professionals...




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						5" Plate Shear at Grizzly.com
					

These excellent quality shears will slice through sheet metal and cut rebar and round stock, too. Features ground and hardened knives with an extended length handle for maximum leverage. Mounts directly to a workbench. Maximum cutting length is approximately 1/2" less than blade size. The 5"...




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						8" Plate Shear at Grizzly.com
					

<h1>M1040 Shop Fox 8" Plate Shear</h1> <h2>Using a Plate Shear is the fastest way to cut sheet metal, plate stock, and round stock to size.</h2> <p>The M1040 8" Plate Shear can be mounted for stationary use and features compound lever action for tremendous mechanical advantage. <p>Like all Shop...




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						12" Plate Shear at Grizzly.com
					

<h1>M1041 Shop Fox 12" Plate Shear</h1> <h2>Using a Plate Shear is the fastest way to cut sheet metal, plate stock, and round stock to size.</h2> <p>The M1041 12" Plate Shear can be mounted for stationary use and features compound lever action for tremendous mechanical advantage. <p>Like all...




					www.grizzly.com


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## pontiac428 (Mar 20, 2020)

I own a press shear.  It's in storage along with most of my other tools while I build my shop.  It's about 12x12" and weighs about 150 lbs.  Cuts a range of bar, along with angle iron and flat bar.  I'd call it a poor man's shopsmith.  I have not used it much, I usually use an abrasive saw and now the band saw is my favorite.  If I was going to build a wrought fence or something, the shear would be the tool I'd pick.

Edit:

It looks like this one for a real production press, only larger and with more die holes for different stock.


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## AGCB97 (Mar 21, 2020)

Thanks. That's what I was looking for. I may try to build a prototype before spending too much money. I guess this would be a poor mans iron worker.
Aaron


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## Weldo (Mar 21, 2020)

RJSakowski said:


> I have a mechanical shear, Rock River Mfg., Janesville, WI. that has a 1/2" x 4" capacity



Hey you wouldn’t happen to have a picture of that thing would you?  I’m curious as heck!

A few years ago I bought an old Whitney No.38 bench shear from eBay and mounted it to my bench.  It’s come in handy lots of times.  Sometimes you just don’t want the noise and dust of the grinder!


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## RJSakowski (Mar 21, 2020)

Weldo said:


> Hey you wouldn’t happen to have a picture of that thing would you?  I’m curious as heck!
> 
> A few years ago I bought an old Whitney No.38 bench shear from eBay and mounted it to my bench.  It’s come in handy lots of times.  Sometimes you just don’t want the noise and dust of the grinder!


Here it is.  Made somewhere between 1908 and 1938.  On closer inspection, it is probably a 1/2" x 2-1/2" capacity.  It's been sitting in my barn for more than 25 years.  A lot of surface rust but it still moves smoothly.


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## Weldo (Mar 21, 2020)

Whoa!  That is super cool!  I've never seen a hand operated machine with that kind of capacity.  The Whitney I have will do 3/16" and even that is tough to pull.


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## Janderso (May 14, 2020)

RJ, we had one similar to that back in school. The shop teacher wanted us to use it to cut angle iron so we wouldn’t ruin the horizontal saw blades. Cut like butter.


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