made a new tool today...

gt40 · Mar 4, 2012

The wife mostly looks the other way on my tool purchases and with the recent rf45 mill addition, I thought I should return the favor at tad. She has a jewelry business and has wanted either a jewelry press or a rolling mill for a while. I made her a 50 ton press capable of coining. Jewelry presses are used for making bracelets, embossing, coining etc.

I still have to finish(cerakote!) but it is functional and handled flattening a 1"x1" diameter failed attempt at a heat sink to 1/8" without so much a creak. The jack is a china jack that is rated for 50 tons and around 75lbs.

Here are a few pics:

Temporary anvils. I have a piece of a2 steel 6"x 12" that i will heat treat and make into the
permanent ones:

shameless plug for the wife:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mccomseydesigns

thanks for looking!

PEU · Mar 5, 2012

very goog idea!

Did you thought about any safety measures? for example a curtain that moves along the handle to close the pressing space and prevents hands in there?

Pablo

wquiles · Mar 5, 2012

Cool project - even more cool that it was for your wife ;)

gt40 said:
... it is functional and handled flattening a 1"x1" diameter failed attempt at a heat sink to 1/8" without so much a creak

I would love to see a picture of that :devil:

gt40 · Mar 5, 2012

PEU said:
very goog idea!

Did you thought about any safety measures? for example a curtain that moves along the handle to close the pressing space and prevents hands in there?

Pablo

You don't really have to worry about getting your hand stuck as you have to crank it to move it and it moves slowly- not like a power hammer or such. The main risk is something in theory could shoot out from the anvils- 100,000lbs of force is a lot of stored energy. The second risk is if the frame wouldn't contain the pressure. I tried to keep the wife safe through design. There is only 1 critical joint - where the base meets the frame and it is welded the entire circumferance around the 1" thick base. The Top anvil is mechanically held and then welded on top. There is a 1" hole that will be in the top anvil so you can put tools in it too. The way the press is set up, you can stand on the side with a beam between you and the anvils as you crank and avoid putting your face in front of the anvils.

I tested it with a 3 foot lever and cranked it as hard as I could and it didn't even creak!

The bottom plate anvil will be self leveling with springs to hold it place and finally, the frame forms a cage around the jack. The main body was a piece of 6"x 12" structural beam that is 1/2" thick and really heavy. The anvils are 1" thick and the bottom plate is 1" thick. I have some temp ones in that are 1018 steel. Final anvil plates will be A2 tool steel properly hardened and tempered.

I will post some more pics once I put the finished anvils in and paint it. I will also find some decent things to squash for pics...

precisionworks · Mar 6, 2012

Nice job :)

There is only 1 critical joint - where the base meets the frame and it is welded the entire circumference around the 1" thick base.

It wouldn't hurt to calculate the square inches on material that touch at the base. The beams are .500" thick & about 8" long so 4 square inches to work with. Using a 70 ksi welding rod or wire means each side will withstand 280 ksi (560 ksi total). The jack is only rated at 50 ksi so the safety factor is 10:1.

Those calculations assume that the structural beam was 45° bevel prepped & the joint gap was at least 1/8" before welding started to assure a complete joint penetration groove weld.