Shop press thread-Let's see them!

[scott37300]

I'm looking at either buying or making(most likely) a shop press. So looking for pictures of other presses, either boughten or built to get some ideas from. The design seems pretty straight forward, some C-channel welded together, but just looking for some ideas.

And for the hydralic part I am thinking about using a 10 ton porta power ram with the hand pump, I have 3 of them that I don't use that much. Anyone see any problems with this idea?

So lets see some pics!!! Or any suggestions you have on what to include in the build or what you would change if you built your own.

 

[chewy7]

maybe get a 20 or 30 ton bottle jack for it

 

[scott37300]

maybe get a 20 or 30 ton bottle jack for it

I've thought about this but I don't really like the bottle jack setup. They are the cheapest way to get high tonage. I have the porta powers that are 10 ton and think that will be enough for now. Eventually would like to do full hydraulic setup with a bigger ram.

Can you use a pneumatic cylinder for a hydralic cylinder? I have some brand new 5" and 6" parker pneumatic cylinders that are 10" stroke that would be perfect for a press. But not sure if the seals or something inside that are for air will be alright to use with hydraulic fluid?

 

[Vicegrip]

I've thought about this but I don't really like the bottle jack setup. They are the cheapest way to get high tonage. I have the porta powers that are 10 ton and think that will be enough for now. Eventually would like to do full hydraulic setup with a bigger ram.

Can you use a pneumatic cylinder for a hydralic cylinder? I have some brand new 5" and 6" parker pneumatic cylinders that are 10" stroke that would be perfect for a press. But not sure if the seals or something inside that are for air will be alright to use with hydraulic fluid?

No they will blow apart at pressures well lower than you will see with a press. 10 ton is way too light IMO. Go big with a press. The time spent building a ten ton is about the same time spent building a 25. If you use it for anything other than pushing bearings in and out you will want a good wide table and some more power. I had an import 20 ton bottle jack press at home for years and it worked well but was too small to use for much other than bearings. Am in the middle of rebuilding a 1970 USA made ACCO 25 ton press I got for free. It has a cable lift for the the good sized table.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I've thought about this but I don't really like the bottle jack setup. They are the cheapest way to get high tonage. I have the porta powers that are 10 ton and think that will be enough for now. Eventually would like to do full hydraulic setup with a bigger ram.

Can you use a pneumatic cylinder for a hydralic cylinder? I have some brand new 5" and 6" parker pneumatic cylinders that are 10" stroke that would be perfect for a press. But not sure if the seals or something inside that are for air will be alright to use with hydraulic fluid?

Hydraulic fluid won't hurt the seals, but the air cylinders are not built strongly enough to handle the hydraulic pressures.

 

[scott37300]

Hydraulic fluid won't hurt the seals, but the air cylinders are not built strongly enough to handle the hydraulic pressures.

Would have been nice to use them but guess they can hang around till I find another use for them.

I will be building it big enough to handle a better hydraulic setup down the road. I might try the bottle jack route if I need the cheap power but I still want to try my porta power ram. And eventually get a nice big hydraulic cylinder and a hydraulic pump.

 

[slopdog]

Here,s my homebuilt press , Instead of boring holes in the channel iron flange , i bored 3/8 x 2 flat bar tthen welded them to the sides , 20 ton air over hyd jack push,s pretty good

 

[scott37300]

Thanks a ton for the pic. Looks like a heavy duty press. What was your thinking on using 3/8"x2" flat on the sides for the holes to support the table instead of drilling the channel?

Anyone have suggestions on material size and thickness? I was thinking some 6" or 8" channel for the sides and table and top cross member. I would like to build this once and have it be big enough to handle anything I will ever need by upgrading to a higher tonage hydraulic unit.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Thanks a ton for the pic. Looks like a heavy duty press. What was your thinking on using 3/8"x2" flat on the sides for the holes to support the table instead of drilling the channel?

Anyone have suggestions on material size and thickness? I was thinking some 6" or 8" channel for the sides and table and top cross member. I would like to build this once and have it be big enough to handle anything I will ever need by upgrading to a higher tonage hydraulic unit.

If I may answer, if you try drilling through the channel with a hand drill and catch the taper of the other side of the flange as the bit breaks through, you would know....... Kind of shocking to the arms and wrist. The holes also tend to drift to one side because of the taper as the drill exits. It all works much better if drilled in a sturdy machine setup, or with a magnetic drill. Your selected sizes of channel would be good to use.

 

[kool55]

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This is an older Dake 50 ton I picked up off CL a few years ago. Table winch feature and the press cyl. moves horozontally.

 

[amolaver]

kool55 - let me know if you want to part with that dake! it looks perfect (for me)

ahm

 

[kool55]

No-way Hozay.

 

[OccupantRJ]

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This is an older Dake 50 ton I picked up off CL a few years ago. Table winch feature and the press cyl. moves horozontally.

I used one like that daily for 8 years doing industrial repairs, and it's a damn good press. I mounted a gearmotor onto it with forward and reverse, to raise and lower the table electrically. I got tired of cranking that table winch handle. It had to be moved full range for the jobs I was doing. That was a modification well worth doing!

 

[kool55]

Got it for $700. A good cleaning and a $13.00 oil seal is all it needed. Good old American iron.

 

[peterbilr98]

here is my home bilt all hyd

hoto/wratchets038.jpg[/IMG]

 

[scott37300]

here is my home bilt all hyd

hoto/wratchets038.jpg[/IMG]

Nice, what size material did you use?

 

[scott37300]

Any side pictures for details of how things go together?

 

[peterbilr98]

THATS ALL THE PICS I HAVE ON MY COMPUTER CANT REMEMBER THE MATERIAL SIZE WILL CHECK LATER

 

[scott37300]

That looks like some serious metal there!!! Very nice.

 

[bmwpower]

OTC model Y125A, 25 Ton

 

[amolaver]

peterbilr98 - what, do you make diamonds with that thing! holy schmoley!

bmwpower - did you buy that new? if not, where'd you score it?

ahm

 

[amolaver]

Got it for $700. A good cleaning and a $13.00 oil seal is all it needed. Good old American iron.

you got a steal!

ahm

 

[Zengineer]

Don't leave us Neanderthals (ie: brute force methods) out of it!

3-ton arbor press. $129. Hard to beat it for the money, and sometimes its nice to have some "feel" while you are pressing something.

 

[scott37300]

Don't leave us Neanderthals (ie: brute force methods) out of it!

3-ton arbor press. $129. Hard to beat it for the money, and sometimes its nice to have some "feel" while you are pressing something.

I would like one of those also, we used them at one of my mill jobs to replace bearings on machines. Did you buy that new, if so what brand?

 

[OccupantRJ]

Don't leave us Neanderthals (ie: brute force methods) out of it!

3-ton arbor press. $129. Hard to beat it for the money, and sometimes its nice to have some "feel" while you are pressing something.

We have those all over our factory for light assembly. They work very well
for that purpose.

 

[bmwpower]

bmwpower - did you buy that new? if not, where'd you score it?

ahm

Found it on CL in NJ.

 

[Zengineer]

http://www.kmstools.com

I've used arbor presses for bearing replacements, rivet staking, for hemming sheet metal, and I think I'm going to make a mini-brake so I can brake up to 3-4" wide stuff in it. Should handle 3/16" thick material without an issue.

 

[dropd80s]

A buddy of mine has a large arbor press (about 6' tall) made in 1901. Can't remember what tonnage, but it is really an awesome machine. A lot handier than you would imagine. Would be even more handy if it was at my shop though....

 

[Shadowdog500]

This 12 ton press is $219 from Greg Smith.

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/12-Ton-Hydraulic-Shop-Press-with-Gauge-p/ht0803.htm

 

[Mmfh]

Here,s my homebuilt press , Instead of boring holes in the channel iron flange , i bored 3/8 x 2 flat bar tthen welded them to the sides , 20 ton air over hyd jack push,s pretty good

Ya know Slopdog, I got to looking at your press a little closer, and that is one hell of a press. Build like the proverbial brick S***house!

One thing I'd like to see is how the air is hooked up. Where does it actually go into the jack? I've got an idea but have not seen a picture yet that is in the right spot so I can see how the air line meets the hydraulic fluid.

Mm