Hydraulic Shop Press Attaches To Punch Press

Hydraulic Shop Press Attaches To Punch Press FARM SHOP Tools 21-1-32 Charles Smart, Shellbrook, Sask.: Charles built a hydraulic shop press that attaches to a punch press so he could repair the housing on his 27 1/2-ft. 4153 Will Rich air seeder. "I've never seen a commercial hydraulic press that can be locked so precisely in place," he says. "I built a rigid frame out of 3 by 5-in. tubing and used 1/2 by 3-in. flat bar steel for uprights so there's absolutely no play in the columns. I mounted a Williams four-piston hydraulic pump off a grain truck hoist on top of the 8-ft. high upside down A-frame, which is trussed on top. I use a 1 1/2 hp electric motor to drive the pump, which connects to a hydraulic cylinder I made myself. The cylinder, which will accommodate punch sizes up to 1 1/4 in., can be adjusted from side to side with C-clamps. This way I can vary spacings of holes. I used 7-in. heavy wall channel iron to make the pressing bed. I made a 10 by 12-in. die plate out of 1-in. T #1 steel to adapt the press to punching steel. "The unit mounts on a two-wheel cart fitted with 400 by 8 in. lawn mower tires so I can push it around my shop or even use it as far outside as an extension cord will reach. "I haven't tested its full capacity, but I've punched 1 in. dia. holes in steel plate up to 1/4-in. thick with it. My guess is that this job required only about half of the pump's 3,500 psi capacity."

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