Couple of shop press ??'s and opinions wanted

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I have really been wanting to build a 20 ton "H" frame style hydraulic shop press. I have some 1/4'' wall 4" 'C" channel, If I used this for the sides and doubled two sections to form a "I" beam for the upper cross bar and used 2 sections of 1/4'' wall 4'' square for the table area. The main question is would the "C" channel be sufficient for a 20 ton shop press?? How wide could I safely make the machine?? I would also like to build a "break"... How capable is a 20 ton press break??  As far as opinions... What do you guys like or dislike about your press??How "usable" is 20 tons in your opinion?? Too much/little??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:In my opinion, you need heavier material.  My 20 ton press is made out of 6" channel.  It's roughly 24" between uprights.  When I push it hard I can see the table deflect.  I don't think I have permanently deformed it yet, but I wouldn't rule it out.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Do you have a Harbor Freight or Northern Tools near you?  You could look at the sizes of material they're using for ideas on how to build yours.  There have been some shop press builds here in the past - you might also use the search engine here.As far as 4" square tubing, I'm not sure how you plan to use it but it's probably not the best material to use as the bed.  It will be pretty easy to dimple and heavy relative to it's strength.  The strength of your bed material is going to be found in the vertical sections - if you have to use box sections, something like 2" x 6" is the same weight as your 4" x 4" but much stronger when being loaded along the 6" section.20 tons is a decent size for a small home press.  My shop press is a 50T, but I lucked out finding it.  I was hoping for a 30T at the time.  One thing I like about mine (Enerpac) is the cable system to raise and lower the bed - it really saves my back.Can't help you with engineering sizes and strengths, sorry.  Hopefully someone else can set you up with some good formulas or charts.  I expect the reduction in strength as the press gets wider and keeps the same framing material is at least linear, if not exponential.  A narrower press will be better, IOW.Hope this helps some.
Reply:4 by 3/8 wall  square tube Would be quite nice for the verticals on a 20 ton.  You should be able to get by with 3 ft between columns.  If you drill the verticals you should go for at least 1 and 1/4 pins because all the pressure will be on the small area where the pin touches the vertical.  I would go for at least two two by six by 3/8 cross bars for the table bridged a couple places to hold them vertical. You need at least the same for the cross beam and maybe a little bit more.  Ive built a bunch of presses and I always over build so that I don't have something going bang. I just finished a small one last week for my son for Christmas. It should handle 50 ton but it only has a 6 wide capacity.  I built it to compliment the Iron worker I bought a couple months ago .  now we can shear and bend 3/8 by 6 flat bar on the same machine.  If I was you I'd buy one from harbor fright.  You can't by the steel for the price of theirs . and it is engineered somewhat.   Mac
Reply:Here's mine I build about twenty five years ago. I have not seen one I would trade it for in the 20-30 ton range. This is a 20 ton, but I'm sure it would handle a 30 ton with no problem. the uprights are 4" channel, the header is 6' channel and the table is 7' channel. But the beauty is in the jack mount. The way it is made does not allow any side movement at all, making it very stable. The ram comes down through two pieces of plate and is bolted to the top plate that the jack is sitting on. It just works like a charm. I hope you can get some ideas from this. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by DemonSpeederI would also like to build a "break"... How capable is a 20 ton press break??
Reply:Trapperjohn, not to hijack this thread but what are you using for the pins to hold up the bottom table? I have one I built this fall (20 ton) and am having trouble finding hardened pins long enough. I think I need a minimum of 8" either 3/4" or I can open up the holes to 1" if necessary.Deemon Speeder, the best part about my press, at least to me, is the brake I made for it. I like to fab up most anything and find I use the brake the most. I made my press 24" wide and the brake is 21". As posted earlier, the width of the piece you can bend is in proportion to the thickness and degree of bend.thanks,dave
Reply:i have a 20 ton H type  press(habour frgt) ,ibuilt a press brake simlar to one no this website. my bottom die is right on 90 degress press bar is beveled appx' 60degress. my bended material ends up @about 92 degress not a perfect rt. angle. is this due to spring back of metal? should  i have  made bottom die  less than 90 degress? used 2 pcs of 1/2 x2 steel together  to form 90 degree trough.thanks for your input.
Reply:[QUOTE=dave_dj1;722811]Trapperjohn, not to hijack this thread but what are you using for the pins to hold up the bottom table? I have one I built this fall (20 ton) and am having trouble finding hardened pins long enough. I think I need a minimum of 8" either 3/4" or I can open up the holes to 1" if necessary.Dave,  My pins are 3/4" X 9" and they are not hardened. I have taken it to the max. quite a few times and pins are as straight as the day I put them in. I guess its because my table is very close to the uprights that it would sooner shear the pins then bend them. Also, I forgot to mention the inside width is 26".
Reply:Originally Posted by dave_dj1am having trouble finding hardened pins long enough. I think I need a minimum of 8" either 3/4" or I can open up the holes to 1" if necessary.
Reply:Thanks for the feedback guy's.... I decided in the meentime to build a small 10 ton press while I scrounge up metal for a larger press,  here's some pick's....All tig'd..two passes on each joint, internal gussets in the 4'' square, made out of 1/4' wall 4' square tube, 2 x1/2'' x4'' flat bar and 1/4'' x3'' channel... Attached ImagesLincoln 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:Looks h*ll for stout to me.  Nice job.(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:Here's the press and brake I built....It's made with a 30 ton bottle and 5" channel.....Here's a piece of 3/16th 24 inches wide that I bent.....