Fly or Screw Press, Anyone Know how to build One?

W

Will Leavitt

Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Messages
3,953
I really, really, really want a Screw or Fly press but don't have a Grand to drop on a used one... anyone know how to build one? I'd mainly use it for fullering tangs and stuff. I really hate hammering on tangs. Really, really hate it. Have I mentioned I hate hammering tangs and want a fly press to fuller them out? :D
 
Will,look out for some old link belt draglines[cranes]the screws that hold the tracks on the frame are 3 in screws and make good presses.Id help with a design if I could.These old cranes were also popular in the scrap yards.Hope this helps.Chad
 
There's a lot of engineering and stress balancing that go into a flypress, I use one in my shop, and I honestly wouldn't trust a home built one to put up with the stresses that would be placed on it unless it was way over engineered. That and you need a multi-thread screw, most forging fly presses are 4 lead, fast movement screws. You need the head to move fast for forging.

The only home made screw press that i've seen is on ron reil's page at http://www.abana.org/ronreil/flypress.shtml

a screw press and a fly press are a bit different , though the names are used interchangeably by most. A fly press uses a fly wheel / bar to store momentum and impact the work, a screw press is slow and many times ratchets as well.

my small flypress still weighs around 700lbs with the base included. And the base /needs/ to be bolted down, the thing slides around my shop when in use right now because it's not yet bolted down, and the force of the screw impacting creates a ton of torque in addition to the downward force used for forging / veining / etc.

flypress.jpg
 
What Justin said is right on...I've been studing this out cuz I want one in my shop too! I've thought alot about how to turn a 3 or 4 lead thread on my lathe and have just about decided that fourteen to fifteen hundred is cheap in comparison to the time I'd have in tryin to make one....
 
What about using a mechanics bench vise?

got to be some big ones cheap somewhere ?

make up a set of jaws / dies perpendicular to the originals
 
Anybody ever convert an OBI type stamp press for that kind of stuff?
 
Will, I had a chance to try Gene Chapman's screw press a few years ago. It was one that he bought. Gene uses it mainly for making trinkets. I tried using it to forge a blade and didn't care for it what so ever. Tangs are pretty simple to forge. I start all mine with Godzilla and then finish them off with a hammer. Maybe 10 minutes to do a 4" tang.
 
I'm with Raymond here. A $100 fullering jig (Smithin' Magician, Godzilla, etc.) will do tangs and drawing just fine. If you need more control, or bigger work, a hydraulic press is the way to go. If you can build a fly press, you can build a hydraulic press. If you want to stay on the cheaper side, convert a 20 ton log splitter into a hydraulic press. They can be picked up used for a couple hundred dollars, and converted for an additional $100-$200. It won't be a Big Blue, but it will fuller tangs and draw out billets like butter.
Stacy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top