Log-Splitter Press / Cape Cod

[Ken H>]

You're most likely correct that it's the rod measurement. 1" seems VERY small for the cylinder. The cylinder OD is what I asked for.

 

[Not Steve]

Hopefully, 30mm is the shaft size, not the cylinder size. The ram piston is larger than the shaft.
If it was the actual cylinder size, that press can only deliver 1.7 tons of force. The cylinder should have the size on it somewhere. To get a guess, measure the OD of the entire cylinder and subtract about .25 inch. If it measures 2.25"/58mm OD the cylinder ID is around 2.00"/50mm, which is a 1" radius, which is 3.5 sq.in.. This would make the press just a tad over 5 tons.

That's me. Always a rod. Never a cylinder.

 

[Not Steve]

Actually if the pressure actually is 2900 psi, and the cylinder is 3.75" OD, making it a 3.5" ram size, that would give around 14 ton. Since you mentioned measuring the OD at 30mm or 1.181", that would give the ID of the cylinder a tad less than 1" diameter, which at 2900 psi would be right at 1 ton (2,000 psi).

Stacy is right that usually a 12 to 15 GPM at 3600 rpm 2 stage pump is used. If the pump is driven by an 1800 rpm motor the flow is half that. Remember, the 2 stage pump is spec'd at low pressure (usually <600 psi) for full flow, then as pressure rises above the set point the flow drops to around 2 or 3 GPM at high pressure. This allows the press (or log splitter) to move faster while closing, then as the pressure increases the flow rate drops make the ram travel much slower, which is ok since it's only moving a small amount while squishing the billet (or splitting log).

Take a look at this site: https://coaliron.com/collections/hydraulic-forging-presses for look at the 12 ton press (actually only a 9 ton press with a 3" cylinder, false advertising?)

If you're planning to build a press, take a look at their presses, and I would focus on the 12 ton "H" frame. While the "C" frame is nice, it's more expensive and had to be built MUCH stronger to handle the stress. I can provide links to a 4" cylinder for $133 shipped, and a few other ideas. I'd look for a 3hp 3600 rpm motor, but a 2hp 1800 rpm motor works pretty good. For hobby use I think a 5 gal oil tank would work just fine.

I doubt there is anything you'll be able to use from the log splitter to build a press.

I forgot to add these links before. To calculate tons, :https://www.baumhydraulics.com/images/calculators/cyl_calc.htm

Here's a link to play around with for calculating ram speed to size the pump: https://www.baumhydraulics.com/images/calculators/cyl_speed.htm

Anything over 1.5" IPS ram speed will work pretty good. The cycle time and full stroke time isn't as important because when you're working a billet the ram is retracted only an inch or so to move billet and back down. Even 1 IPS ram travel speed is only 2 seconds cycle time.

Cool - thank you. We did get a "12-ton" H-frame press, and were seeing what lessons we learned from the woodchipper before going bigger.

The specifics from Stacy and you are very helpful - cheers.