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Windy Miller
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A stand for my fly press is one of my next projects so I'll be watching this with interest!
I need mine to be moveable so I've been musing over ideas to have some retractable castors.
I need mine to be moveable so I've been musing over ideas to have some retractable castors.
Screwdriver
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Stick it on a beer barrel. 
Windy Miller
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Wendelspanswick
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Don't you mean a repurposed pressurised liquid storage container!Stick it on a beer barrel.
brewdexta
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I'm making the height of the bottom rails just right for a pallet truck to go under. Put a strap around the base and pallet truck as the stand/press is bit top heavy and off you go.
I'm not going to paint this straight away, I have a feeling that once built I will make some mods when I start using it so the first version will be very simple. I've had a measure of the height when the handle is fully wound up so the ball doesn't catch on the ceiling so the table is going to be 850 tall. The base of the press is about 120mm so the working height will be around 970mm. Depth and width will be 1000 x 800, that fits nicely in the space and it so happens to be the size of the plate I have.
The plate is a bit on the thin side, probably more sheet than plate, but with a couple of bits of box underneath I think it will suffice, if not I shall get some road plate or similar.
Cheers
Andy
Screwdriver
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In all seriousness, the single most important consideration is that the table needs to be extremely stiff in resisting twist. That includes all the way to the very bottom where (one assumes) it is bolted firmly to the floor. Gravity alone is not enough. There is huge inertia in the weight arm and a spike of torque when the tool meets the workpiece. That first spike is what gives a flypress its maximum power and you don't want to waste it on flexing the legs or shifting the table.
Next on my list would be under table storage for any stupidly heavy tooling like bolsters or large V blocks. You don't want to be moving them too far and it's surprising how often you need to shift them in and out.
Next on my list would be under table storage for any stupidly heavy tooling like bolsters or large V blocks. You don't want to be moving them too far and it's surprising how often you need to shift them in and out.
brewdexta
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I got most of it welded up this morning, then parental duties took precedence. The pallet truck fits under it nicely, any longer at it would have fallen off the end of the forks.
Next task is to mark up were the two extra cross member go underneath the press. These need to line up with the single front and twin read bolt holes in the base of the press. So I lowered it down onto the table from the beam pulley then moved it into position with the pallet truck and checked that the arms including cast ball didn't hit the beams. It's now marked up but run out of time today to fit them. The welds are a bit high, I messed about with the settings but couldn't seem to get it just right.
Cheers
Andy
Next task is to mark up were the two extra cross member go underneath the press. These need to line up with the single front and twin read bolt holes in the base of the press. So I lowered it down onto the table from the beam pulley then moved it into position with the pallet truck and checked that the arms including cast ball didn't hit the beams. It's now marked up but run out of time today to fit them. The welds are a bit high, I messed about with the settings but couldn't seem to get it just right.
Cheers
Andy
Paul.
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Dont forget to put a hole in the table under the middle of the press bed, if you ever use it for punching you'll need somewhere for the blanks to fall through, not just that its surprising how much rubbish and odd small tools find there way down that hole.
Four tabs on the legs to nail it to the floor and the jobs a goodun.
Four tabs on the legs to nail it to the floor and the jobs a goodun.
Screwdriver
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Table looks a bit big to me. You may find yourself having to lean over a fair bit to see what you're doing. Don't need much more than an inch or so at the front and, trust me on this, nothing at the back.
Horizontal spaces in workshops are bad news. Horizontal spaces next to a flypress even worse. Mark my words, it will end in tears...
Horizontal spaces in workshops are bad news. Horizontal spaces next to a flypress even worse. Mark my words, it will end in tears...
Screwdriver
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There's a good 8 inches of depth there I reckon, plus a couple more if the anvil is raised all the way up (above the level of the throat). The table insert can be removed and a deeper insert fitted too but it won't take an Abom size broach I suppose.
brewdexta
The biggest tool in the box
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brewdexta
The biggest tool in the box
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I can't get the press any closer to the wall because of the spinning levers, so the rear space isn't a waste of floorspace.
I'm currently nursing a glass of wine but from memory I think there was about 8" of table in front of the press so I will just be able to reach to give myself a Prince Albert
I take your point on horizontal surfaces, I do fill them full of assorted crap!
Screwdriver
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I can't get the press any closer to the wall because of the spinning levers, so the rear space isn't a waste of floorspace.
I'm currently nursing a glass of wine but from memory I think there was about 8" of table in front of the press so I will just be able to reach to give myself a Prince Albert
I take your point on horizontal surfaces, I do fill them full of assorted crap!
Have a gap then or keep it as floor space. You really don't want a horizontal space at flypress level. At the very least, cordon off the area that gets swept by the handle. Oh well, I guess you've made it now so it is what it is. Is there going to be any more bracing under the table? I'd still move the flypress right to the front. You only need a couple of inches at the front (so I'm told).
With the flypress right at the front of the table, you get the added bonus of being able to see what you're doing, having the handle flying around in free space (which is where there's a walkway and operator space anyway) plus it moves it away from the dead zone behind which is currently half an acre of unusable table.
