Hydraulic press w/plates and brake attachment

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I have needed and wanted a press for some time, so I finally got off my *** and put this one together.The frame was built out of 4" channel, as were the top and bottom cross beams.The carriage height adjustment holes are 7/8"diameter on 5" centers.The carriage pins are made of 3/4"diameter cold rolled round stock,with large washers welded at one end,to act as stops.The carriageitself, is made of 5" channel with 4" channel spacers.The jack cradle is another piece of 4" channel.The jackis a 12ton model.I believe from harbor freight.The verticle cradle supports are 1"diameter axle shaftsfrom a garden tractor,cut to 12" in length.I drilled holesin the cradle and turned the ends of the supports downto 3/4"diameter,with a1/4" shoulder height.This allowedme to weld them on both top and bottom of the cradle.The tubing these slide in,is just some scrap I had on hand.The upper crossbeam is made from two pieces of channel,with a piece of 1/2"x8"flat stock running the whole width and depth on the bottom of the crossbeam.There is a small piece of 1 1/2"square tubing welded in place to locate the top of thejack.In between the two upper crossbeams, there are two small pieces of 4"channel welded on center,in the shape of an " ][ " beam.The feet are made of two pieces of 3"x3"x1/4"angle,24"long.The main frame is bolted with 3/4" grade8 boltsand lock nuts,as well as welded with 7018 rod with my Lincoln buzz box.The springs and eye bolts were foundat a local surplus store.Press plates: I purchased a piece of 1" thick by 2` squareplate from a locale scrap yard.I then marked out two 8"x8"squares,along with the triangles and half round shapes with my torch.The plates were then cleaned up with an angle grinder and a flapper wheel.The brake attachment: Suprizingly it works pretty damn well.It consists of a piece of 1/2"x8"flat for a base,a piece of 2"x2"x3/8"angle for the bottom die,along with two piecesof 1 1/4x1 1/4x1/4 angle for support.The top half consists of a piece of2x2x1/4 angle with a piece of 2" solid square stock,centered and welded inthe "V". There is a 3" long piece of 1 1/2"id tube welded on center of the 2" solid square.There is another piece oftube welded to the bottom of the cradle,on the jack center line.This allows the use of differant length attachments.They get held in place by 3/8" set screws.To date,I have been able to bend 1/2"x2" mild flat stockwith no problems.I have also used it to bend 3/8"x6" mildflat stock to 90* easily.I`ve seen very little,ifany,deflectionwhen doing this.
Reply:Nice work on the press.This one doesn't "vibrate", right!!??  - Paulhttp://all-a-cart.comWelding Cart Kits and accessories
Reply:Looks good.  I hope you "over engineered" it though.  Presses can be a dangerous piece of equipment if the setup is not stable.  I've seen stuff come out of these and just about kill someone when a dummy didn't know what he was doing.  I'm sure that you do or it wouldn't look so stout. Hobart 140 Handler w/ gasHyperTherm Powermax 380 Plasmaoxy/acetylene
Reply:good work on the break attachment, I've been considering building one of those for the press I have but wasn't sure if it would even workyou got me all excited now! Freelance Fabber91 GMC 3500 Portable welding truckLincoln Weldanpower 8000 gas welderMiller CST 250 Smaw/Gtaw inverterMillermatic 210 gmaw line welderHyperterm plasma
Reply:Good work Rob,I don't think presses get enough praise because they set idle so much. They are another tool where the results are product of the jig(s).
Reply:That's really nice. Good work. I especially like the brake. I already have a Post Tools 20 ton (so they say) press. I will certainly consider making a brake like yours. Thanks.   Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:Thanks for the kind words. I`me very happy with the results myself. when it warms back up, i`ll give it a nice paint job, so it looks better.Last edited by Rob Garner; 01-28-2007 at 06:11 PM.Darwinian evolution used to fix stupid. Now that humans have mostly removed themselves from the process of natural selection the survival rate of idiots has skyrocketed.
Reply:Nice job Rob!   Did you bend the 1/2" X 2 stock to 90* ?  I would have thought it would take more tonage to do those bends. Can you get true 90 deg bends using angle as the press die ?  I would think you would get a little spring back, so you would need more than a 90 deg die to make a 90 deg bend, particularly in heavy stock. I love you press !  Really nice work !Not a beginner, not a pro !
Reply:Nice!I've heated thicker parts first then put in press and they bend alot easier.