New press

[churchjw]

Just finished up my new press. Its used a 50 ton bottle jack. Got the jack from Northern tools. It was on sale with a coupon. I think it was right at $75.00. I looked at the air over jacks but they were out of my price range. I'm not in any kind of production so slow is fine. All to the steel is free scrap I collected.



Started with 3 steel plates 36" * 8" * 1". I cut these into 6 plates. I decked these off on one side on the mill and chamfered the edges at a 45 .375" in. I then put the plates together finished face to finished face and welded the edges. So I ended up with 3 2" thick plates. I then decked the plates flat and milled the edges.



I drilled 2 holes in each 2" in diameter. I then board the holes for the middle plate .020" over to give clearance. I faced and center drilled the riser bars. I put them on the lathe and polished it with 600 grit. I also drilled and taped 1/2-13 holes in each plate for mounting plates and tooling.



Next assembly and tack welding. Everything went together perfect. It is as square as I can measure.



Finally welding with an arc welder with 7018 rods. A touch of paint. Ok yes I had gray left over from the grinder project. I think everything in the shop will end up gray. LOL



The final project. I worked better than I hopped. I tried a piece of .125" bronze 1" * 1". I etched a quick plate of tool steel and put it in the press. It crushed the bronze down to .075" and picked up every little detail from the plate.

I will post some picture as I do some projects.

The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to mount a pressure gauge to the jack. Any ideas?

Jeff

 

[Charley Davidson]

Nice job Nice writeup Let's see more

 

[ScrapMetal]

Very sharp little press, that would come in real handy at times.

-Ron

 

[12bolts]

very nice Jeff,
Short of tapping into the HP side of the jack hydraulics I think you may need to go the load cell way for a pressure indication.
As a side note, does the sliding plate come back down readilly when you release the pressure, or does it tend to "cock over" and stick at all?

Cheers Phil

 

[churchjw]

very nice Jeff,
Short of tapping into the HP side of the jack hydraulics I think you may need to go the load cell way for a pressure indication.
As a side note, does the sliding plate come back down readilly when you release the pressure, or does it tend to "cock over" and stick at all?

Cheers Phil

Haven't had any problems so far with it binding but have only tested with short movements. I am going to add some return springs on the sides to help with the return just to make things faster.

Jeff

 

[Charley Davidson]

Do you have a way of keeping the jack centered in the press? That would help with any binding problems if you end up with them.

 

[lockstocknbarrel]

Jeff.
What a brilliant shop addition and fantastic project.
I see the hook ring on the top so what does it weight......................
Regards Beagles

 

[12bolts]

Jeff,
What did you drill the 2" holes with? And how did you ensure that everything remained lined up as you did?
Did you get some form of pressure measurement on it yet?

Cheers Phil

 

[churchjw]

Not sure what it weighs but I can't pick it up. Can barely sit it upright. The ring is a must have to lift with a engine hoist. As I get older the back can't just move the stuff I once could. :lmao: The holes were stepped drilled. Center drilled, 1/4", 5/8", 1", 1 1/4", 1 7/8" then a 2" 3 flute end mill. This gave a nice tight fit for the top and bottom plate. The center plate was bored with a boring head to 2.020". I have played around crushing everything I can get my hands on. :whistle::whistle::whistle: No problems binding yet. I am hoping to screen print my first die set this week to etch them. My plan is to use a dial indicator to get the same depth on the pressings. I have looked at a lot of DIY sites on how to put pressure gauge on the jack but none on them look like the jack I have. Looking at the exploded view of the jack that came in the manual I just don't see where I can tap in.

Jeff

 

[12bolts]

Jeff,
Can you post up a scan of the exploded view?

Cheers Phil