Presses -- What Are They Good For?

Truelove

Truelove

Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
149
I have the opportunity to buy a nice 12 ton shop press but -- and this is unusual for me -- I was wondering what I would do with it BEFORE:)eek:) I shelled out the $$$.

I've seen some vids of people making Damascus with them, but how practical is this, really?

Any other uses I've not thought of?

As always thank you, in advance, for saving me from myself.
 
A good forging press is like magic, I'm still working on building one.

That press, probably not for you.
Forget hand pumped presses.

1
12 ton is too small, 20 is probably the minimum you want

2
It's going to be too slow.


by the time you change the pump/motor/controls to speed it up, you could have done a scratch build for less.
You likely want 1 to 2 inches per second of ram speed.

3
You want a double acting cylinder, power in both directions.
Most shop presses don't do that.



Let's see a photo or specs
how much $?
 
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Depends on how cheap you can get it for. Seems to me, a slow 12 ton press would be better than trying to make damascus by hand with a hammer. Now, I probably wouldn't be willing to stick a bunch of money into it, but if it's cheap enough...
 
16 ton is what I would consider minimum for a forging press. And 1.5-2 inches per second on the speed. Hand pump presses are not very effective. my press runs 50 tons and somewhere in the 1.5-2"/second. I can squish a lot of material and actually can squish too far if I am not careful. I have grown to like the slower speeds as it gives me tremendous control. Great for reducing stock, squaring up billets, making a controlled mosaic, and much more. They are not to end all though. I would not give up my hammer either. If I had a choice between only one then it would have to be the press. But it would have to be to the minimums I mentioned earlier.
 
If it isn't designed as a knife making press, it may be too slow and under-powered to do much in making knives.
16-20 tons force and 1-2 IPS ram speed is what is needed.

Also, be aware that most low price presses are rated like shop vac motors. It might say 12 tons, but actually develop a fraction of that. Or, it may develop 12 tons, but take a minute to get there. The motor size and current draw is often a good indicator of what the press can deliver.
 
It would work fine for stamping your logo. You didn't mention what type it is, but I'm thinking Harbor freight 12-ton for $129.99 new. You could replace the hand pump jack with a 20-ton air-over-hydraulic and use it for forging and damascus. It's a useless for forging, according to several older posts I've found on here. However, you can find a few youtube videos showing people using them for damascus. Just another case of "It shouldn't work, but it does".
[youtube]o6hLzbsC9Vs[/youtube]
[youtube]zYvX6h2AIyU[/youtube]
 
I suggest getting a press from Uncle Al at Riverside Machine. You can see a video with a press basically like that one if you go to Youtube and watch a video of Jesus Hernandez, "Working the Bloom."

I only have this model press (no hammer), and I am able to do a great deal of stuff.

Kevin
 
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