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Well I've decided to make a air over hyd press and at work we were getting rid of this hoist display.  I'm looking for ideas on how to attach the bed with out turing the I beam 90 degrees.  I plan on bracing the top a little more.  as you can see the flanges on the Ibeam are 7/16 thick and it is currently 84" tall.  do any of you have any ideas? Thanks, Rhine. Attached Images
Reply:For my hydraulic cylinder i'm looking to use a 20 ton air over hydraulic.  I think this material should be able to hold more but for my uses i don't see me needing any more.  any suggestions on how i can attach the bed? i don't think 1 hold drilled in the center would be enough?
Reply:I am currently making a press out of I-beam as well and have been working on different designs.  My thoughts on the holes through the uprights would be to box in the I-beam where the bed will be attached.  If you box it in with heavy enough plate and the right weld there should not be a problem.
Reply:I like the idea of the box with either 3/8 or 1/2" plate.  also what size holes and vertical hole spacing is everybody using? Thanks Rhine.
Reply:I don't know what "everybody" is using but if you box the beam in with 1/2" plate on both sides then I wouldn't go any smaller then a 1" hole based on these risers.  You should look up a chart listing the shear strength of different grades and sizes of bolts to make your final determination.My thoughts on hole spacing is that it depends on the hydraulic cylinder you have, how long is the stroke?  Then drill holes slightly less then the length of the stroke apart and you will have full adjustment.
Reply:I think that you have a nice start to a press, it is always great when you can reuse something.  Please post pictures of your progress I am interested to see how it goes and what you would do differently.
Reply:Do any of you see a problem with welding 3/8 plate across the gap of the ibeam and run my pens through 2 plates and also the center of the ibeam?
Reply:Originally Posted by miller211Do any of you see a problem with welding 3/8 plate across the gap of the ibeam and run my pens through 2 plates and also the center of the ibeam?
Reply:I agree with cutting apart, and then drilling after you have re-welded the structure the way you want it....Lincoln pro mig 180Lincoln Square Wave Tig 300/wp 20/home built water cooler Victor, Purox, Harris, O/A welding/cutting setupsVintage Craftsman drill pressVintage Craftsman/Atlas 12"x 36'' lathe7''x 12'' w/c band saw Everlast 140 st
Reply:The idea of leaving the frame intact and welding plates on the sides for the bed to attach is still workable even for a hobbyist.  Stack the two pieces of plate for the side on the frame lined up vertically and horizontally with where you want the bed to attach to the riser.  Drill a pilot hole through all three pieces of metal for all of the holes that you are going to have on that side.  After drilling the holes to there final diameter, either in a stack or separate, then you will need to get the two pins that you are going to use.  Pin one plate on each side of the riser using one pin in the top hole and the second in the bottom hole.  Make sure that the pins are straight both vertically and horizontally and then tack the plates into place.  Once they are tacked you can check all of the holes with a pin to make sure there is not a problem and then weld them solid.  This would be a simple way for a hobbyist to weld the side plates on with the holes lined up.  Cutting the frame apart, cleaning up the cut, rewelding the frame, welding a reinforcing plate to each side, and then drilling the holes for the bed would also work.  It comes down to personal preference.
Reply:It will be a lot of holes to drill, But You shouldn't have any issues drilling the I beam and the two plates seperately, then welding them with a pin through it to align it....I would think a 3/4" pin would be plenty if your only using a 20t press.HTP Invertig 201Lincoln Idealarc SP250Miller 180 AC StickBy farmall:They should have held the seagull closer to the work, squeezing evenly for best deposition.
Reply:Before you decide on your hole spacing, get a picture of how much travel your ram will be capable of. It it has a short stroke, you probably want holes close enough together to avoid situations where one position is too low, and the very next is too high. If your ram is capable of a lot of travel you might be just fine with a smaller number of support positions for your bed. I know I seldom use more than a couple of bed positions on my El Cheapo (tm) press.
Reply:well for some reason i have 2 usernames but here is the progress i made on my press so far.  next weekend i plan on putting casters on it and getting the cylinder installed, add a winch and try to build a brake for it.   Rather than try to get 3 holes to line up i just torched out oversize holes in the center then welded both sides on.  I measured from the top to the top of the hole and used the same spacing to get all 4 plates level.   anybody see any problems i may run into?  thanks, Rhine. Attached ImagesLast edited by miller211; 02-19-2012 at 05:39 PM.
Reply:sorry, didn't realize one was upside down. Attached Images
Reply:Hey Miller that is looking really good, thanks for showing your progress.  What size pins did you end up using for the bed?Last edited by Canner; 02-19-2012 at 06:04 PM.
Reply:1"X12" they stick out about an inch on each side.  i think i'll probally weld a washer on the front so i cna just push them in until they stop
Reply:I would have cut it apart with an arc air and started over.  It looks pretty good.  Lots of drilling....Show more like clear close up of the weld.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:All of the holes were drilled by a friend that owns a local fab shop,  it only took about 45min to drill all 40 holes.  I'll try to get some close ups of the welds.
Reply:How wide is that and what size channel did you use for the table?My name's not Jim....
Reply:its 36" inside.  the channel is 6"x3/8".  do you think i will need to weld some plate on the inside of the channel to keep it from bending?
Reply:I don't think 6" will do it.  My press is only 24" between uprights and I can make the 6" channel table deflect with a 20 ton jack.  I haven't checked it lately for flatness.My name's not Jim....
Reply:i just made a crude drawing put i hope its clear,  do you think if i added a piece of 3/8 plate where i drew the red line would work our should i upgrade to heavier channel.  if i need to upgrade how thick do i need to go? Attached Images
Reply:Thanks for all the help so far, I have another question.  I plan on making a brake for it and have 6ft of top dies.  right now they are in 1,2,3 ft section.  i have the factory bottom die but it is very narrow and very shallow ment for very thin sheet.  i plan on using that on the 3ft piece for sheet but need to need to knonw what size angle to use to make the other one for thicker metal?
Reply:Got to do some work on my press today,  thanks again to everybody who has helped me along so far.  I finshed the press and made a 12" brake for it.  i still have to get everything painted up and add some compression springs to the brake though.  also i plan on building a 18" and a 30" brake for it tomorrow.  I'm happy with it so far, i was able to bend 3/8" x 6" flat into a 90 however that is all the jack wanted, i wouldn't think it would do any more than that. Attached Images
Reply:Does anybody know a source for compression springs,  I need them to fit over 3/4" rod.  I tried home depot but there's we're a tad to narrow???I used valve springs on mine.  Freebies from the local automotive machine shop. Attached ImagesMy name's not Jim....
Reply:Nice work. What size angle did you use for the lower die?Century Powermate 100 ( my first welder)Lincoln Precision TIG 185
Reply:Thanks,  I used 2x2x 1/4. I think I'll switch to 1x1x1/4 on the next
Reply:You did a real nice job there.  I've got a mini-press brake I made as a last minute thing when I needed some bends is some 1/4" round. I use 1X1X1/4. Worked good and still use it on small stuff now.Century Powermate 100 ( my first welder)Lincoln Precision TIG 185