Shop press build

[BXHoosier]

Lil Foot, I wonder if the guy might have had the press tip over and he bolted it to the wall to keep that from happening again.

 

[bird dogger]

Started making some tooling. I bought a hollow ram cylinder thinking I would be able to make the tooling simply slip into the center bore with maybe an o-ring to provide a snug fit to retain the tools. Once I received the cylinder, I realized that the center bore is a sleeve that runs the length of the cylinder and it is stationary. The ram fits around the sleeve. That meant my tooling would need to be clamped around the outer diameter of the ram. I turned up a sleeve that slips over the ram and it’s held on with a couple set screws. The tooling slips into the sleeve against the end of the ram. So far, I’ve made a flat tool that’s 2” dia on one end and 1” dia on the other. I added some grooves to them for grip. My next pieces will have different smaller diameters around 2” long. A tool with a 120 deg V along with a pair of V blocks will be handy for straightening shafts. View attachment 59714 View attachment 59715

Very NICE! I had been looking at the spec drawings for that cylinder and couldn't quite figure out that hollow center and how the ram worked. Was just going to ask you about how you were going to make your tooling and attachments when "Voila", .........you're next post answered my question. At the very worst did you maybe lose about 1/2 inch of stroke by the added sleeve around the outside of the moveable ram?

I've had some heavy channels already scrounged for a future press and your hydraulic ram looks like a great prospect for the build. Thanks for posting your great build!

When you mention "straightening", do you plan to mount a pressure gauge for help in keeping track of incremental pressure increases applied or repetitive bending, etc.? A gauge can be very helpful for many different press procedures.

Watching your press being built makes me think I need to move my press build higher up the priority list!!

Regards,
David

 

[Magicman]

Watching this press build has me scratching in places that I don't even itch......yet.

 

[Lil Foot]

Lil Foot, I wonder if the guy might have had the press tip over and he bolted it to the wall to keep that from happening again.

I had this same thought, butI then wondered why he mounted it two feet off the floor; why not just anchor it to the wall where it stood? Odd.

 

[BXHoosier]

Very NICE! I had been looking at the spec drawings for that cylinder and couldn't quite figure out that hollow center and how the ram worked. Was just going to ask you about how you were going to make your tooling and attachments when "Voila", .........you're next post answered my question. At the very worst did you maybe lose about 1/2 inch of stroke by the added sleeve around the outside of the moveable ram?

I've had some heavy channels already scrounged for a future press and your hydraulic ram looks like a great prospect for the build. Thanks for posting your great build!

When you mention "straightening", do you plan to mount a pressure gauge for help in keeping track of incremental pressure increases applied or repetitive bending, etc.? A gauge can be very helpful for many different press procedures.

Watching your press being built makes me think I need to move my press build higher up the priority list!!

Regards,
David

Thanks David

I didn’t lose any stroke because the ram protrudes from the body about 0.40” and the sleeve slips over the ram 0.38”.

I may add a gauge to know how much force the press is applying. A dial indicator and a mag base are what I use whenever I straighten something in a press. Zero the indicator under the part below the ram, lower the press to a distance, return the press, check springback, repeat that process lowering a little more each time until the part is straight.

 

[bird dogger]

Thanks David

I didn’t lose any stroke because the ram protrudes from the body about 0.40” and the sleeve slips over the ram 0.38”.

I may add a gauge to know how much force the press is applying. A dial indicator and a mag base are what I use whenever I straighten something in a press. Zero the indicator under the part below the ram, lower the press to a distance, return the press, check springback, repeat that process lowering a little more each time until the part is straight.

That ram is looking more impressive the more we look at it. There's some youtube videos of the ram using its "through hole" to pull stuck bushings/pins out of equipment. That use could also come in handy at times! Since your mounting isn't permanent, it would be easy to remove it and use it for that or in other ways. Yup, gonna have to create some more floor space in my shop this coming winter.

Thanks, BXH

 

[chim]

I was at a "man cave" estate sale, and saw an apparently factory made (not homebuilt) hydraulic press mounted to the wall. (concrete block wall) It was a 20 ton, top was about 7ft from the ground, bottom was maybe 2ft from the ground, and about 15" from the wall. It was about the same size, strength, & design of other similar capacity presses, but did not reach the floor. No one there could explain why, as the old boy who owned the shop had passed. Speculation was it saved floor space. (not much) Didn't think to get a pic until much later, after the sale.
Strange.

Could it have been mounted like that to make it a nice working height? If the top was 7' off the floor and the bottom was 2' off the floor, the press would stand 5' high to the top if sitting on the floor. The guy would have needed to be bent over most of the time to use it.

 

[mcmxi]

Thanks!

The bed adjusts from 8”-52” below the top channel in 4” increments.

The press is coming along nicely but I have to ask, what the heck would you wrestle into the press that would require so much clearance? Are you planning on pressing liners out of engine blocks? Not trying to be funny, just genuinely interested.

 

[BXHoosier]

The press is coming along nicely but I have to ask, what the heck would you wrestle into the press that would require so much clearance? Are you planning on pressing liners out of engine blocks? Not trying to be funny, just genuinely interested.

Better to have it too big than too small. I built it as tall as the free steel would allow. With the ram installed, there’s now 41.25” between the ram and bed.

 

[dlsmith]

The press is coming along nicely but I have to ask, what the heck would you wrestle into the press that would require so much clearance? Are you planning on pressing liners out of engine blocks? Not trying to be funny, just genuinely interested.

If you have ever had to press a bearing off a Ford type rear axle, you would want a lot of room to work with. My press will give me almost 48" between ram and bed, and I once had a through-shaft out of a truck differential that had the output yoke rusted to the spline, and I just barely had enough room to get it pressed off.
Bigger than you could ever need is better than not big enough just once.

BXHoosier, great build project.

 

[BXHoosier]

BXHoosier, great build project.

Thanks!
Working on more tooling. Made a few cylinder inserts with different size dowel pins. Just need to add set screws to hold in the pins. Sizes are 5/16”,3/8,1/2”,5/8” & 3/4”.

 

[BXHoosier]

Sprayed paint today. Thought about painting it Kubota orange, but I had some leftover IH red and hardener.

 

[bird dogger]

That's looking GREAT!!

 

[mcmxi]

If you have ever had to press a bearing off a Ford type rear axle, you would want a lot of room to work with. My press will give me almost 48" between ram and bed, and I once had a through-shaft out of a truck differential that had the output yoke rusted to the spline, and I just barely had enough room to get it pressed off.
Bigger than you could ever need is better than not big enough just once.

BXHoosier, great build project.

Interesting. I installed 4.56 r&ps in my TJ many years ago but with Dana 35 and Dana 30 it was an easy job. I have the Sterling 10.5" rear end in my F250 7.3L and might want to swap the 3.73 to 4.10 at some point and would build a stand/adapter for the Dake 10 ton if needed.

@BXHoosier, that's looking awesome and so much better than some Chinese Harbor Freight special even if it is in China's favorite color! I would have gone with Kubota orange but it still looks great.

 

[BXHoosier]

@BXHoosier, that's looking awesome and so much better than some Chinese Harbor Freight special even if it is in China's favorite color! I would have gone with Kubota orange but it still looks great.

Thanks!

The press is back together and operational. Had to do a little work on the winch to get the bed to raise evenly. As the cable overlapped on the winch, one side would raise faster than the other. Tried out a set of dimple dies on a piece of 1/4” aluminum. The press, and my nerves, survived. Realized pretty quickly that I should have put some pressure on the press before I tightened the bolts between the top and side channels. A couple of loud pops got my attention.

 

[dlsmith]

Looks really good. Always nice to finish up a project like that. The casters will make it easy to move it where ever you want to use it, or store it out of the way.
Any reason you bolted it instead of welding?