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These first pictures show some of
the major component parts of the press. This is one of two pieces of 4 inch wide channel. They are
16 inches long and are used at the top and bottom of the press. They are useful for mounting
eye bolts and the blast shield as well as providing a space in the base for the large pressure
bearing nuts. I chose to drill the two holes where the 3/4 inch threaded rod goes through.
The task of drilling holes in a piece of channel is not nearly as daunting as drilling through 3/4
inch flat bar as shown below.
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This picture shows one of three pieces
of 4 inch wide flat bar. They are 3/4 inches thick and 14.5 inches long. A notch has been cut
in each end to accommodate a 3/4 inch threaded rod. As you can see, the cutting is very rough
because it was done with a simple cutting torch by the metal dealer. These three pieces cost me
$15 and the torch cutting cost another $5. You very well might do better if you try to find
this material from a scrap dealer.
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This is the six ton hydraulic piston jack.
I purchased it from an auto parts store for about $20. The force of this jack is sufficient
to bend the pieces of channel. This is why I needed to use the pieces of flat bar to reinforce the
channel pieces at the top and bottom.
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This is a piece of 1.25 inch thick plexiglass
that I used for the blast shield. I was very fortunate to receive this free from Donald
Haarman who apparently salvaged it from a dumpster. Thanks again, Donald!! Part of the fun of these
projects is the "scrounge" phase. Whatever is used for the blast shield, it's very
important to include it. I certainly feel a whole lot safer with 1.25 inches of plexiglass between
the press and my face.
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This close-up view of the top shows the channel
placed on top of the flat bar. The threaded rods hold them both in place with a nut
and washer on each side. The blast shield is bolted to the channel through a wood offset block. This
gives me a little more working room around the middle pressing deck.
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The base of the press is assembled identically
to the top. The retraction springs are attached to eye bolts which are mounted through
the base channel.
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This picture shows the attachment of the blast
shield to the base channel. You can also see the bolt which secures the base of the
hydraulic jack to the base of the press frame.
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This view from the opposite side of the blast
shield illustrates the attachment and placement of the retraction springs. The springs
add stability to the middle pressing deck and conveniently retract it when the release valve of the
jack is opened. These springs are fairly expensive at $2.85 apiece, but are well worth
the contributions they make to the design.
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Finally, the finished product is shown. This
press design was partially inspired by a similar plan sold by Firefox Enterprises. The
major difference is that the Firefox design places the hydraulic jack on top of the pressing deck
and the object to be pressed is placed on the base of the pressing frame. This way, the
pressing surface comes down from above, whereas the design shown here causes the pressing surface
to push up. If you are interested in the Firefox design, it only costs $4.00.
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This improvement was made after a suggestion from Rich Weaver. The concept is
to add protective sleeves around the threaded rods to prevent the press deck from
scraping against them as the deck is raised and lowered. I made the sleeves from 3 inch lengths of 3/4 inch
PVC conduit pipe. I glued a coupler on one end and then cut the coupler right down
the middle. The PVC tubes had to be notched a little to allow them to fit into the slots of the press
deck.
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The sleeves are installed by using the
coupler rings that were cut off in the step above. The rings are glued and slid
over tubes to lock them into place in the slots of the press deck as shown. The
tubes now act as guides that give the deck a little more stability and keep it from binding or scraping
against the threaded rods.
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