Project 1 by redbeard : Hydrualic Shop Press

[redbeard]

This is a shop press I built a couple of years ago. The outfit I worked for long ago during my life as an air compressor mechanic had one, and it didn't look too hard to build, so I figured why not. I acquired and cut the steel quite a long time ago and finally got it together after getting the HF 3-in-1 to drill all the holes.

The overall height is 6ft with a bed width of 32in. The I beam is 5 x 5 x 5/16 and all channel is 1 3/4 x 5 x 3/16.

Everything except the jack and grade 8 bolts was scrounged or gifted so total cot was around $20. I don't remember how much time it took, other than that it was way too long.



Details of the top attachment, guides and table.



The HF 12 ton jack (I was too cheap to spring for a bigger one) also doubles as the ram for my cherry picker.



Improvements for when I finally get that elusive "round tuit":
Tap the die holder for a setscrew
Drill, tap and install 1/2 grade 8s for top beam.
Install real hooks for springs.
Prep and paint (ha ha ha).

Oh, and I almost forgot, it bends 4" worth of 1/4 without breaking a sweat.

[everlastsupport]

Ed,

Looks nice and big. I need to put wheels on mine, it has handles on each side, but takes two to move it.

The 20 ton will make even thicker bends if you ever need them (done 1/2"x4" no problem) .

What type 3-in-1, the multi-purpose machine? If so figure you got $300 back on that investment.

[redbeard]

What type 3-in-1, the multi-purpose machine? If so figure you got $300 back on that investment.

And here I was kicking myself because I hardly ever use it. It is a now discontinued HF T5980 mill/drill/lathe from 4-5 yrs ago. About 600 if I remember correctly plus another 150 or so accessorizing at Enco. Still haven't gotten around to teaching myself basic machining yet, so it sits forlorn in the corner waiting for me to build it a bench.



I do have some bigger stuff to bend coming up, so I'll probably wish I had a bigger jack. Anybody love math so much that they want to figure out the max capacity for me?

[everlastsupport]

Nice little mill for $600.

Here is a link and has a little calculator on the page too.

http://www.accurpress.com/toolingref....html#location

[redbeard]

Thanks Mike, that is a handy chart, looks like I might need a bigger jack!

The math I was thinking of was actually "how big of a jack can I stuff in there before the press fails?" If I get the final bolts installed, they shouldn't shear til 71tons, I remember looking up the table supports and they were plenty beefy too, but I never bothered to look up material strengths and do all the calculations to figure out when things would start to bend, just kinda guessed that it could handle 20-25 without a problem.

BTW, I forgot to ask did you build yours too?

[everlastsupport]

Well, being mild steel, it'll more than likely bent rather than fly apart if you push it to far, just keep an eye on it the first couple 100% bents on thick material (say 1/2" over 4" wide bends; that was our test). If it's welded and good welds, yours looks like a 20 ton jack will not be a problem.

I looked at the HF press unit (the on-sale for $169 price; normally $250) and it is bolted (low grade bolts) and thinner metal. The HF one would have been fine with some welds on it. A member (Scooter) modded one up and it came out nice. In fact, his brake (and swag offroad) got us going on making ours. Swags brake is nice if you have the spare cash.

We used the press and brake two days ago to make spotlight brackets for a golf cart we lifted. So we use it, thought it can be in the way at times. We have hammered and bend a lot of things on it as well . Come is handy, like a tall vise or anvil at times.

My son and I made ours. 3x3x3/16 sq tube I think it was. We cut most in 1/2 with the plasma. Mine is shorter in height due to "free materials ran-out", but allows me to lift it with the brake off of it and move it. It is about 4' 6" tall, but stout.

One think I wish we did was make it wider, 32"-36" would have been nice. We ended up I think at 22" or 24".