anyone made a cheap hydraulic press using a bottle jack?
(it would only be used for light weight jobs)
ideally I'd want to use a decent piece of metal with threaded rods keeping the top and bottom attached, but I see people just sticking thin angle iron on either side of a couple boards
how much pressure do you think those could take?
I already have some 4x4s; would it be better to attach some 2x4s on face instead?
some good examples:
http://www.van-vliet.org/dempseywoodworking/appleciderpress.shtml
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/60368
>>985725
use some of those square tubes they use to make sign posts out of
or use 4 threaded rods and some steel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_LSPX8cNaE
>>985732
I've seen that before. Cheap and simple but it seems like a pain
He ended up killing it later by pushing it too hard
>>985747
pain to use I mean
also the video is pretty amusing
>here are the steel slugs. I keep these. I think I used one in '86, so, you never know
>>985725
I would try to avoid wood as it will compress and dent and throw off any precision you may be looking for. I like bottle jack presses instead of the threaded screw ones because it applies force evenly. You don't want a bushing to end up cocked slightly making you work harder to drive it out.
For light work I'd go with the square tubes anon suggested. Easy to find and work with and plenty strong enough.
Here's mine. Before I upgraded to real printing press.
Honestly the top 2x4s failed before the angle iron or bolts did. But I was only using it to print from relief blocks. So yeah....
>>985725
I have a harbor freight 12 ton press. It was right at 100$ with the coupon on sale.
Option C.
>>985731
not a bad idea, the largest size I saw was about 1 1/2"....I'll see what else they have in store
>>985732
however I'm not sure where to get steel that would be thick enough
>>985826
it's not necessarily going to need to be all that precise, but yeah, I can imagine it getting tore up pretty good
>>985845
how much pressure did it take to fail?
>>985917
yeah, I looked through the selection
the only thing is that I'd never get $100 worth of value from it (even with a 25% coupon)....I'd like to build it as "economically" as possible, while reducing the risk of having something snap and fly towards my head
>>985974
>the only thing is that I'd never get $100 worth of value from it
You are going to end up spending 50$ on parts to build it anyways.
Its one of those things that is really nice to have around on occasion, while it may not pay for itself you wont regret owning it. Especially after you fight with a half assed wooden one.
>>985974
>what pressure did it take to fail?
I dunno like 20-30 or so cranks after it started touching the 2xs
Enough to cut semi thick cotton paper. I tried to print some etchings off a sheet of acrylic. I forgot I needed to bevel the outside rim. So when I pressed it, the plate sheared the paper instead of embossing it.
I think it was a 20 ton jack, but I doubt it got that high.i only bought it cause I needed the height it could extend allowing me a decent enough space to work it when it was raised. Also had to drain a bunch of the fluid out of the jack to get to the right tension for the bungies to pull back the platen without have to pry it back up.
I definitely noticed that bungies will curl the end of your board if you leave them on all the time so unhook those bitches if that's something you care about.
>>985981
I'll get a price list the next time I'm out and see about what it would cost...I'd still like to use the scrap that isn't doing anything at the moment
therein lies the dilemma with a lot of tools; "do I buy just what I need to get by, or invest more in something better"
unless I can get a spectacular deal or know I will be using something on a regular basis, I opt for the cheaper option....I've bought numerous things from harbor freight just because I needed it for one project (leather punch, rivet gun, drill jig); I wasn't looking for the best, but they served their purpose and I am confident I got my money's worth (for what I paid: on sale, with a coupon, plus a freebie)
>>985989
hmm
I wasn't going to bother with the bungee cords...
>>985725
The way that thing will fail is the bolts split the end of those 2x4s.
It might help a little to let the 2x4s stick out a few inches past the bolts.
>>985747
But it's not like it'd be hard to make it strong. You would literally just need to add more metal.
I wonder if it would be better to flip it and have the jack on the bottom. No need for bungees because gravity will lower it.
