Can I make a angle iron shear out of bottle jack

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I was woundering if a guy could make a shear for angle, round stock, square stock, and flat out of a air powered hydrolic bottle jack.  I don't have a bottle jack powered by air, and know little about them.  But I think it would be worth a try for sure.  Not sure what type of steel to get for the cutting edges though.ThanksCharlie
Reply:Hey charlie,You have not indicated the thicknesses of material nor whether it is solid or tube with reference to sq. & rd.. Shearing(severing/cutting) that kind of material is done quite easily, economically, & efficiently with a dry cut saw. Your idea for any practical home/hobby use would be an effort in futility for the differing shape of the materials & cutting application needed. Even the steel supplier I go to, uses a saw to cut those shapes & they have a massive shear for flat stock. Of course, you are most welcome to "invent" a new wheel.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:Mostly solids, but I would like to notch tubes also.The ironworkers I see look like fairly simple machines to build, I think it would make a nice project. I might skip the air jack and go hydro only.
Reply:A man can do anything if want's to bad enough!Is it worth the time and money?AEAD 200LE, Lincoln precision tig 185, Millermatic 251, Spectrum 625 extreme, Victor torch , Smithy 1220LTD. and  Do all C-4 band saw ,  Always adding.
Reply:I thought the main benefit of a shear was speed of operation.  If you're using a bottle jack that advantage goes away.  You might as well use a saw.I guess there could be another advantage if the dies on the shear are cheaper to sharpen/maintain than saw blades.  A home shop will probably never do enough volume to matter.Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE
Reply:Only real advantage I can see is silence, and lack of flying sparks and crap.Although some serious hydraulics with real balls set up in a stout frame can be very useful in a metal shop, for a whole bunch of different purposes.Cheers,  Tony._________________________________Transmig 310 + Argoshield LightOxy acetyleneOxy propanePrehistoric stick welder_________________________________
Reply:If you wanted to it could be done you would need to spec out the material for the die head and a big enuff air over hyd jack for the thickest material you want to cut  then have A good tool die guy make it  then fab up a frame  it would be slow between cuts thoAs stated a dry cut works pretty good but I would like to build an air drive dry cut Paul.          OP never stopTrying I love mechanical techAnother day in paradise You only have to be smarter than the metal".   WeldiniMaking an honest living is nothing more than stealing from someone who can afford it and everyone feels good when it's over .      Weldini
Reply:Why not just buy an ironworker?Think you'll find that once you price one, that ol saw will be looking better and better.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:I don't have a shear but it seems like all the sheared pieces I've ever gotten all have, at a minimum, some degree of deformation on one end or both. Sometimes fairly severe deformation. Even when it's a very small amount of deformation it still requires a certain amount of attention with the grinder. At least for my purposes anyway. I think saw cut generally requires less clean up than sheared unless your doing ruff and/or heavy material fab. Of course I suppose a big consideration as to what is the best depends on whether you're the guy producing the cut pieces or the guy using the cut pieces."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:A saw leaves nicer cuts. An ironworker is faster and usually can bend and notch and do other operations as tooling is purchased. Tooling is expensive! If you want to proceed with this project just make a big hydraulic press, then look at the shear inserts that go into open cavity ironworkers and buy one of them to put in the press. Didi I mention that they are expensive?? Just a pipe notcher is likely going to run you almost $1000, a shear Attached is a pricing sheet for Iroquois Ironworkers tooling. Have I mentioned that ironweorker tooling is expensive?http://www.iroquoisiron.com/images/S...lingPrices.jpg
Reply:charlie, this is just my opinion, speaking from experience. i have a small iron worker, 25 ton edwards, with a shearing tool. it works great & is fast but it does leave a little deformation especially on round stock. it also came with apipe notcher which works great & i could use it on my flypress also.i basically use it for punching holes. i thought i couldnt live without a roper whitney angle shear,notcher & bender. its a pretty big tool & requires to be bolted down for use. it worked pretty good but i found myself spending a little to much time squaring the notches up. so i sold it. i am sure with a little creativity you can build anything, might be cheaper & faster to find one of these shears on ebay or cl if you really want one. I find myself always going back to my horizontal band saw for work like angle iron, pipe flats etc.    Bob