Bench Press From Scrap....

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Hey guys,Here is a project for those winter doldrums for someone who needs a small press for "odds & ends" and maybe some of the "newbies" could do some practicing on fabrication, fitting & welding to enhance their knowledge base. I've had several jobs come in that I needed to do some straightening and decided to make this unit a bench mount to conserve space and have enough power to press or bend some smaller repairs. The large stuff I generally take to work & use the 20T press there. I'm probably going to make a mobile stand for it so I can move it around. The material is all scrap from work that the boss told me to get rid of.....YUP.....I got rid of it. I'll detail the descriptions as per photo number. There will be 14 photos, that will be 3 posts, so please allow me to post all 3 groups before responding. Thanks... DennyPhoto 1): Scrap metal laid out to determine configuration.         2): The top was widened, pieces cut for fit, 12 deg. angle cut on top frame pieces, bottom "C" channel located & marked for (2) positions, rod guide cut & located.         3): Bottle jack mount fabricated, spring hangers welded in place, holes drilled for "C" channel positions, & joints beveled for welding.         4): Jack baseplate cut & positioned.         5): Return spring adjustment rods fabricated & positioned.Ok...Going to next series..... Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:2nd Group:Photo 6): Pieces set up on weld table to be tacked for proper location & alignment.         7): All joints welded with root & cover passes.         8): Joint weld.         9): Jack base guides welded, bolt holes drilled.        10): 12" Grade 10, 3/4 X 10 bolt w/nut located on baseplate, marked for welding.Going to next series..... Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Looks Great Denny!Nice to get "throw away" stuff to function.. You'll bend the tubing before the welds let go..Slap a coat of paint on it and press away!...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:3rd Group:Photo 11): Base angles welded & pump handle storage tube welded.         12): 12" bolt head turned in lathe, (2) press plate fixtures assembled & welded.         13): Finished assembly w/return springs adjusted for jack return.         14): Large & small press plates. Other accessories will include a multiple diameter press pin set, & the bottom plate will be drilled & milled for various opening configurations & shapes.Anyway, I hope this will give some of you a winter project or a needed unit to do some fixin's now & again. If you have any questions, please ask.....  Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Looks great.. I just made a press 2 weeks ago.. mine is a floor mount.. I think i'll have to have a bench model now too..
Reply:That's the cleanest pile of scrap I've seen all day!   How uh, does it do?City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Good idea, the bench top model. Ya don't need 20 or 40 tons for everything. I can think of a whole lot of times that a smaller set up would have been a lot more convenient.
Reply:Very slick!I know it's a toss up, but I wonder about preferences; when connecting tube like this. Do you like the top piece as a bridge or a cap?
Reply:sweet little set up pap, its great to make things out of scrap, all it takes is some imagination and have a need for something.good work and pics.G3miller... 225g, s32p, 250x, 304, 12vs, MSW41     victor o/a thermal dynamics cutmaster 50 lenco panel spotter        hobart hf-boxG3 Farms.....raising cattle, hay, kids and hell, ...oh yeah I'm a fire sprinkler contractor by trade.
Reply:I just made one out of some scrap they were going to toss at work it was s shipping pallet for a 18000 lbs counter weight Attached Images
Reply:hammer that is a nice press you made, and the best part it was free scrap.Now all you need is some legs for it.G3miller... 225g, s32p, 250x, 304, 12vs, MSW41     victor o/a thermal dynamics cutmaster 50 lenco panel spotter        hobart hf-boxG3 Farms.....raising cattle, hay, kids and hell, ...oh yeah I'm a fire sprinkler contractor by trade.
Reply:Looks good Denny!
Reply:Nice work man!My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:good job ,on both presses .i cant count the number of times i could have used oneChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:Hammer, That is a nice press you made..nice design..
Reply:Nice, I can see one of those in my future.  I have been holding off on building a full size press because of space restrictions.  A smaller press, like that, would take up less space and still handle most of my needs.
Reply:Hey guys,Thanks for all the compliments and to bighammer for posting his also. The only thing I forgot was to mention that the frame is 2 1/2"sq. X 1/4" wall.It makes is nice to do some comparisons and examine different configurations to find the best setup for ones' individual needs. Maybe a couple more of the fellows who made one will post theirs also. That way each will have a defining plus we can incorporate into a personal design.To Zap: Hey bro', you should see the other "scrap" we found in the back of our last storage bay. There were (6) pcs. of 2 1/4" sq. X .072 wall tube that are 24' long, (4) 24' lengths of 4" X 2" rect. .096 wall, (4) 16' lengths of 3" X 3" X 1/4" angle. We never use any of these configurations for anything except to make storage framing and there is no more room where we're at for storage. Guess where it's going??????? Yup!!!!To tanglediver: It has done better than expectations so far. Did some testing straightening some bent 1/4" plate and some 1/2" sq. with no problems and it really does a nice job pressing bearings. I have the bottom flat plate in the mill to mill the different openings I want on the edges and to drill 8-10 different diameter holes for pressing bearings or pins.To denrep: I had some thoughts about that and decided to make a cap config. so if there was any signs of stress, I could more easily cut thru the cap welds and go to a bridge config. Also, I felt the addition of the 1/2" plate mount for the jack really helped strengthen the top.Hope to see some more presses from our members....    DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:I did not have the time put in pratice this project, but anyone how have...good luck!Solidwork´s did not attached Attached Images
Reply:Interesting use of scrap.  Looks like some nice workmanship too.But a couple of questions.  The bolts holding the workplatform to the press legs, why bolts?  They look like about standard 3/8 bolts, right?  To me, that seems a little shy on the shear strength and safety factor.  1/2 inchers would give you almost twice the shear strength and a little more safety factor.  I think I would prefer shoulder screws or dowel pins or even hardened drill rod for those support pins, and then move the bolts holding the two halves of the press work table just inboard of the press columns.  Or weld the table halves together and skip the bolts.And why the long skinny ram post?  Yeah, it's 3/4 inch in diameter, but it's 10 inches long!  Yes I see your mid-support plate, but that bolt is still pretty long to put a couple tons of compression on it.What color did or are you going to paint it? About how much table deflection are you seeing when you crank on the handle?
Reply:Hey MoonRise,The bolts that hole the "C" channel are grade 8, 1/2" bolts and have worked fine so far as the testing I have done to see if I need any additional reinforcement anywhere. I didn't want to weld as I want to be able to move them up or down to the (2) positions I set up. The grade 10 vertical push rod also has worked without a problem. I have fabricated a couple other configurations with 1" & 1 1/2" stock for pushrod strength if needed. The press has shown no loss of integrity with the tests I did and if there was such an extensive repair that needed much more pressure than this press was built, I would use a much larger press where I work. This unit is for smaller jobs and configured for general repair/pressing.Going to paint the frame flat black and the "C" channel table orange as I like the contrast.Haven't seen any deflection yet, but will test with a dial indicator with the full 8T of force the jack provides just to see how much. With the 1/2" plate on the channel, I feel it will withstand quite a bit of pressure for what I need it to do. Hope that answers your query.....  DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:OK, 1/2 inch bolts holding the table seem much better.  Scale was a little hard to eyeball in the pic, and I was worried that they were 3/8 bolts.re: welding the table.  You don't have to weld the table to the frame.  Take a look at some other presses and see how the table halves are welded to each other via some spacer blocks and then the table weldment sits on top of the support pins.  To move it to another height, you just pull the pins and raise or lower the table.  But hey, if it works for you, great!Sometimes even a 'little' press job can take a good amount of force.  I was pressing out some steel pins out of an aluminum plate.  Small diameter pins and only about 1/8 inch thick aluminum plate, so it wasn't like it was a big project.  I was amazed that I actually had to pull on the jack handle pretty well before the pins POPPED out.  And they popped with a BANG, they didn't just slide out.
Reply:MoonRise, Thanks for the information. Some of it it is going to be very helpful.
Reply:Cool idea.  Very helpful to alot of us hobbyists.  Thanks for taking the time and trouble, we appreciate it.(Retired) Professional firefighter, amateur everything else I try to do...Oh yeah:  Go Big Red!   (You know: one of the 12 members of the Big 10 cuz we left the 10 members of the Big 12...)
Reply:The more rigid the press frame the less bang.  If there is no give at all in the press there will be no bang at all.   just sayin.  Mac