Made a shop press

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whateg0
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by whateg0 »

I work in a technical field and I know exactly what you mean about translations. We use a translation service for much of our documentation and sometimes what we get back is pretty funny to read.
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liveaboard
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by liveaboard »

Then there's pronunciation...
Other languages often use the same letters we do, but the sounds they represent are different.
I met an oceanographer who told me he was corresponding with a scientist in Oh-ee-Oh
I told him I have no idea where that is.
"In your country, Oh-ee-Oh" he insisted, then spelled it; OHIO.
When I told him how it's pronounced, he looked at me suspiciously; "Are you sure?" he asked.

A Portuguese tractor salesman asked me if I needed a plog for my tractor. The UK spelling of plow is plough.

Of course, 99% of the time the joke is on me as I try to say things in languages I have no hope of speaking. Polite people try not to laugh, but I tell them to go ahead; what else have I got to offer?
spro
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by spro »

I remember a few instances when i tried to be more "in touch" with the languages. Eye roll and disasters. Aye! If they were selling something, it went quickly.
Please read above. A minor reply is not the essence of this communication.
spro
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by spro »

wth ; We are talking about your hand-built press. It is so neat and you can apply different ends on the ram for different work
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liveaboard
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by liveaboard »

The jack piston has a screw out center for adjustment, and that has a 25mm internal bore; so yes, I will be making various fittings for that.
Probably as and when they're needed.
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Steggy
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by Steggy »

So far, how many dollars and cents have been expended on this project?

I've periodically entertained thoughts of designing and building a press, but then I see the Chinese contraptions and think to myself, "Can I build one that is better, but no more expensive?" So far the answer seems to be "no." I can definitely design one that is better—one that won't twist and distort under maximum load and is easy to use—but not at the Chinese price point. They must get their steel for 25 cents per pound. :shock:
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liveaboard
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by liveaboard »

I've spent very little; I pay $1.00 per kilo, 44 US cents per pound for new steel, with tax, delivered. And all the steel I used on the press was leftover, although it's still new steel and I value it the same. Call it $50.

The jack I got at auction long ago for $17, it turned out to be junk, so the value of the jack was really zero.
Needed a new seal, $10 with postage.
The pump was a flea market score and came with some other stuff, call it $10 [it had a long tube reservoir that I cut short]
Orings $5
Paint $5
Pressure gauge $10
welding rods $5
Hydraulic fittings $10

$117

Chinese one would cost me $250, $300 for one with a gauge.

I had all the expensive parts, yet the cheap ones [gauge, paint, seals] really added up.
And I still need to solve the bendy rod problem; I wish I'd just drilled bigger holes, like 30mm.
pump and resivoir.jpg
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by warmstrong1955 »

I got ya beat on price!

The H-beam and channel I used was from some platforms we built for bolting a few raises. Normally, we just leave stuff like that with the client, but they wanted it gone. (their loss.....also how I got a couple steel benches) Wasn't worth shipping back to Canada, and the job was close, so I brought it all home.
Other materials....including the 1045 pins etc, leftovers from jobs I had done for people, so all was already paid for.
I found the jack in a scrap iron dumpster, still new & shiny at the time. Worked manually, but not on air. I replaced the o-ring on the air cylinder, and it worked fine. I used it on jobs for 10 years, before I built the press. Still works fine.....and someone tossed.....go figure.

I did finally paint it.....so I did buy two cans of Rustoleum.
And the welding wire & rod wasn't free.
So, I'm into it maybe 20 bucks total.

I can understand Dino's take though, because if I wouldn't have had all that stuff for nothing, or had to buy it, I'd have been heading to Horror Freight.

:)
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whateg0
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by whateg0 »

BigDumbDinosaur wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 11:55 am...I can definitely design one that is better—one that won't twist and distort under maximum load and is easy to use—but not at the Chinese price point. They must get their steel for 25 cents per pound. :shock:
That, IMHO, is worth the price of admission. If I can apply force to something and not worry about the ram wanting to cant and cause massive destruction or injury, even for some amount more than new chinese products, why wouldn't I want to do that? If you are satisfied with an inferior product, and again, MHO, this press is far superior to most cheap chinese presses, then just buy the inferior product. To buy a press with similar rigidity and a ram that won't wobble all over the place would put him in a different price bracket. IOW, comparing this press to cheap chinese isn't really apples-to-apples.

Dave
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liveaboard
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by liveaboard »

warmstrong1955 wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 2:33 pm I got ya beat on price!
WHAT???

You tightwad!
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by warmstrong1955 »

liveaboard wrote: Sat Nov 09, 2019 7:15 pm
warmstrong1955 wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 2:33 pm I got ya beat on price!
WHAT???

You tightwad!
Call me lucky!
(And maybe a borderline hoarder)

;)
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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neanderman
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Re: Made a shop press

Post by neanderman »

Very nice job.
Ed

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