Mini press aka-shoulder saver 3000

K

Kev

Well-Known Member
With my recently acquired obsession with forging came the need for a greater mechanical advantage than my shoulders can produce. Being that I am in the infancy of this deviation I thought it might be best to build something budget conscious, as well as being slow enough to allow me to progress at a reasonable speed. I can screw stuff up way faster than I can think.
Anyway. This is what I came up with.
CBECD5E3-19BB-4958-B283-1E234798BA32.jpeg
Like I said before it’s slow and from what I can tell under powered, But it allows me to forge longer and more productively than using a hammer alone.
This is my very first go at Damascus. I started with 6 layers each of 15n20 and 1084, 2” wide by 3” long. Took me about an hour to get to this.
6DFDC41A-964D-4014-A85D-5EB559CF3139.jpeg
 
What ton jack do you have there? that frame sure looks strong enough to handle quite a few tons of pressure. You've surely proved a hand jack can do Damascus - you did it!

I know what you mean about the "Baking Soda" (Arm 'n Hammer) type of forging Damascus - my first couple of billets where with a hammer. Too much pain in the shoulders for this old man.

Again - CONGRATS
 
Is that a pump only jack?? If you have an air compressor look into (depending on tonnage of your current Cylinder) the Harbor Freight air over 12T or 20T Cylinders while still not as fast as a true "HYD PRESS" it will go a lot faster than pumping by hand and increase your productivity per heats!
 
KenH said:
What ton jack do you have there? that frame sure looks strong enough to handle quite a few tons of pressure. You've surely proved a hand jack can do Damascus - you did it!

I know what you mean about the "Baking Soda" (Arm 'n Hammer) type of forging Damascus - my first couple of billets where with a hammer. Too much pain in the shoulders for this old man.

Again - CONGRATS
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It’s a 20 ton air over hydraulic from Harbor Freight. Eventually I’d like to upgrade, that’s why it’s a tad over built. The frame is all 2x2x.25 steel tube, that I happen to have on hand.

Both of my shoulders have been replaced, so swinging a hammer enough to get a decent forge welded pattern wasn’t going to happen.
 
Gliden07 said:
Is that a pump only jack?? If you have an air compressor look into (depending on tonnage of your current Cylinder) the Harbor Freight air over 12T or 20T Cylinders while still not as fast as a true "HYD PRESS" it will go a lot faster than pumping by hand and increase your productivity per heats!
Click to expand...
It’s a 20 ton air over hydraulic from Harbor Freight. I have 2 large stand up compressors, plumbed throughout my shop. It was super convenient to just plug it into the air hose on the wall. I had a spare foot activated valve that I’m using to control the up. I’m still looking for a good solution for the down that’s easier to operate.
 
Ok first of all, are you even old enough to be speaking of shoulder issues. For some reason I thought you were young. Like 30’s young? Second, that is a sick contraption you have built there. I love it. I so wanted to build something like that but I do not trust my welds enough. Well done!
 
Chris Railey said:
Ok first of all, are you even old enough to be speaking of shoulder issues. For some reason I thought you were young. Like 30’s young? Second, that is a sick contraption you have built there. I love it. I so wanted to build something like that but I do not trust my welds enough. Well done!
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I am 46, still too young, but what are you gonna do? I’ve got a fake hip and ankle as well. Don’t even have a good story to blame it on. Just plain old run of the mill arthritis.

I was a welder my entire career so welding wasn’t an issue. That said the way I’ve got it set up with a few mods you could bolt it together with some large bolts. That or a weld shop could bust something like it out quickly. I’d offer to make you one but I think shipping would be insane. It is a pretty simple design. If I were doing another one there are only a couple small changes I’d make. That said I’m working on a way to swap out the dies faster right now.
 
That is pretty much how the dies on my press attach. I would not bother building anything to hold the dies. Just do what I did and buy a cheap rechargeable ratchet from Home Depot. Use it to loosen the bolts which hold the die on. If your dies are slotted they will slide out and you slide new ones on. Takes seconds to change dies and no fabrication required.
 
Chris Railey said:
That is pretty much how the dies on my press attach. I would not bother building anything to hold the dies. Just do what I did and buy a cheap rechargeable ratchet from Home Depot. Use it to loosen the bolts which hold the die on. If your dies are slotted they will slide out and you slide new ones on. Takes seconds to change dies and no fabrication required.
Click to expand...
That’s what I had in mind. Just slot the bolt holes.
 
Kev said:
With my recently acquired obsession with forging came the need for a greater mechanical advantage than my shoulders can produce. Being that I am in the infancy of this deviation I thought it might be best to build something budget conscious, as well as being slow enough to allow me to progress at a reasonable speed. I can screw stuff up way faster than I can think.
Anyway. This is what I came up with.
View attachment 82641
Like I said before it’s slow and from what I can tell under powered, But it allows me to forge longer and more productively than using a hammer alone.
This is my very first go at Damascus. I started with 6 layers each of 15n20 and 1084, 2” wide by 3” long. Took me about an hour to get to this.
View attachment 82642
Click to expand...

You sparked some interest from me in maybe doing something similar on the cheap. You think you might be willing to post some video of you running it?
 
Bühlmann said:
You sparked some interest from me in maybe doing something similar on the cheap. You think you might be willing to post some video of you running it?
Click to expand...
I can certainly try.

I will tell you right out of the gate, it’s not a real hydraulic press, and it uses a ton of air. That said it squashes hot metal, and my shoulders don’t hurt even after forging for hours. I made a Damascus billet that turned out nice.
 
Kev said:
I can certainly try.

I will tell you right out of the gate, it’s not a real hydraulic press, and it uses a ton of air. That said it squashes hot metal, and my shoulders don’t hurt even after forging for hours. I made a Damascus billet that turned out nice.
Click to expand...

I get that. But for a hobbiest maker building for a couple hundred bucks & a few days vs. building for a couple thousand and several weeks, or buying outright for $4K it is an attractive option. I’m not making a living making damascus billets on the daily.
 
Thank you for that. I’ve watched a bunch. What I’m looking for is flex & deflection, if any, in his structural design because I like it.
 
Bühlmann said:
Thank you for that. I’ve watched a bunch. What I’m looking for is flex & deflection, if any, in his structural design because I like it.
Click to expand...
I'll look for the link. I built one and a member on here did a study on the deflection with graphs and everything!! LOL!!
 
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