Who Makes Hydraulic Presses for sale?

BossDog

BossDog

KnifeDogs.com & USAknifemaker.com Owner
Staff member
I have a had a few guys me where they can get a hydraulic press and I didn't know so let's start a list..

who makes hydraulic presses for knife makers?

thanks
t
 
Uncle Al's makes them. I've not used one, but Kevin the Professor has one from there, I believe. I scoped them out a little, and they look to fit the bill pretty well. I am very interested in the outcome of this thread...
 
Josh has covered all that I know about.
Ron's is the one that I am most familiar with and I like it. The top dies moves up and down with the hydraulic cylinder on top.
I have known people that have the type that Tommy makes and I seems well made. With Tommy's the bottom die moves up and down with the hydraulic cylinder on the bottom.
Uncle Al's has the hydraulic cylinder on the bottom but the upper die moves up and down.
I think that with the cylinder on the bottom the head room is less.

Jim Batson drew up plans for a press and some have been built by members of the Alabama Forge Counsel (www.alaforge.org). I checked and did not find the plans available there nor at www.ABANA.org. I will check and see if I can find out where the plans are available.
 
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Rio Grande sells an over-built bench top 20 ton small press. Very high quality. Trade name is Bonnie Boon. Sorry I don't have a link. ...Teddy
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I have one of Ron Claiborne's presses (The first One He sold actually) I have had it for almost 20 years with no complaints! Well designed and well built. Also Ron is a great guy and his customer service is 2nd to none.

God Bless
Mike
 
Now for the newbie question--What are the uses of a hydraulic press for knife making? ...Teddy
 
Most presses are used for making Damascus but they are also used for forging, especially when dies are involved or where a power hammer isn't welcome due to noise.
 
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I've used Uncle Al's and it works great for me. Ron's is bigger and I 've seen what it can do. I have been researching this topic for a couple of months and they are the ones worth looking at. IMHO

I also found this one at Carolina Knives. Don't have much info on them.

http://www.carolinaknives.com/press.html

They have two different sizes.
 
A friend of mine built a small bench top press. It worked great, was small enough to be portable and didn't take up a lot of space. The power unit was on wheels, and he used that for other equipment in his shop. Another friend of mine has a Ron Claiborne press and loves it. Mine is a knock-off of the Claiborne press and works well.
Maybe we need to show our presses and tooling. I'm always interested in the tooling other makers have.
 
I made my press out of junkyard found steel so I designed it around what I had. I made my dies slightly off center to allow me to straighten my steel on flat pieces beside my dies so I didn't have to change dies every time.

I installed brass on the slide where it touches the frame to reduce friction. That will increase the speed of your slide. I made a foot pedal to free up my hands to maintain more control over the billet.

I bought the book from Don Fogg that explains how to hook everything up. I am not a mechanical type of person and I figured it out.

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I have a 25 ton H press built by Ron Claiborne; its been in operation for 8 years without a hitch. I forge weld shape and make damascus with this fine press. Bowie is a good guy to work with.

Fred
 
Too bad the Imagination X-Press isn't still being made, that one is the closest too my closest too the favorite design, that is the one that Bruce Bump owns. Love that design! Not necessarily the X-Press, as much as it isthe way they are designed , using any "I" Beam frame, it would seem like that one could be mod too fit they.bench,.depending on how much capacity is needed.
Rex
 
With some work you can make your own too if you'd like.. I made one myself . I started by buying a 20 ton press from harbor freight . I then remodified it by installing an ele motor and a hydro pump. I replaced the piston with a 20 ton piston instead of the bottlr jack type, added a valve and did some welding.. You can take a look at it on my thread called " I made my first piece of damascus " I had a few mstakes that i need to corect . need to beef up a few spots , but other then that , it worked ok. Go to my page and click on that thread just to take a peek at it.
 
backtines said:
With some work you can make your own too if you'd like.. I made one myself . I started by buying a 20 ton press from harbor freight . I then remodified it by installing an ele motor and a hydro pump. I replaced the piston with a 20 ton piston instead of the bottlr jack type, added a valve and did some welding.. You can take a look at it on my thread called " I made my first piece of damascus " I had a few mstakes that i need to corect . need to beef up a few spots , but other then that , it worked ok. Go to my page and click on that thread just to take a peek at it.
Click to expand...

Mikey,

What page? Where? Did I miss something?

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
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