Hydraulic workshop press

[500e]

Had the second bottle Gold top good the 1/2 bottle of red may have helped , glad you got it up there, said it was substantial

 

[brewdexta]

Had the second bottle Gold top good the 1/2 bottle of red may have helped , glad you got it up there, said it was substantial

That was the Citra APA. Lots of hops in that one, also used a hop rocket (also called a randalizer) to extract more hoppy flavours.

I have a momentary lull in ensuite DIY while I wait for some silicon to go off, at least that's my excuse

So took a few pics of the business end of the press.

this is with the ram in situ

it screws in with a fine thread

its about 50mm bore and 200mm stroke.

Its single acting and I wanted double acting, and it needs new seals so I'll take a look for another,

It has to fit in here some how.

I quite like the idea of a double acting ram complete with flange, like this

They come in semi-standard sizes, you just have to specify the stoke

Double acting rams don't exert the same pressure as a single acting ram for the same bore as the rod gets in the way.

At 2 mins 50 secs on this Colin Furze video you can see how much fatter the double acting ram he is using to replace a single acting ram. He says its 10 tonne, so probably 100mm bore and elsewhere in the video he says he's running it at 160 bar but can tweak it up.

The space between the front and back plate on the press is 155mm. My thoughts are to shove the ram up from below so the flange is pushing against the plates. Probably need to modify the existing fitting somewhat, or replace it with another plate, with studs hanging down. I need to make sure I can still get to the fitting so will probably pipe the bottom fitting to the top of the ram with steel pipe as often seen on rams.

Capacity wise, I could fit a 125mm bore ram, but with 70mm rod at 150 bar it gives 28293 lbf, or approx 12 tonnes, or 15 tonne if I tweak the pump up to 200bar. This will be expensive and probably overkill

I think 100mm will come about £400, maybe a bit more with a 300mm stroke. I'll get a quote on an 80mm ram with 36mm rod, that gives 6 tons at 150 bar. Most standard rams go up to 200 or 210 bar and I can tweak the power pack up so could get 8 tons which will be plenty. I'm guessing £300, but I may be massively wrong.

 

[Cuthy246]

I do have a rather large double acting ram I bought about 5 years ago on ebay after too much pop in the local

I have a large single acting ram that would be ideal for a big press, can send some pics if interested

 

[brewdexta]

I have a large single acting ram that would be ideal for a big press, can send some pics if interested

I'm looking for a double acting ram so I can pull and push rather than use springs/weights to return the ram. But thanks for the offer!

 

[500e]

Have extra springs other than the one in the ram using 2 rods and plate at lower end and the rods coming through the 2 holes in mounting then hefty springs along side of the body of the ram,
that's what we did on that ram when we bought it new in the 70s

 

[Ton-up]

I used a big double acting ram and pump it down hydraulically but have compressed air on the bottom to push it up.

 

[brewdexta]

I managed to get 20 minutes in the workshop today, the nippers bathroom is nearly finished.

Ive heard nothjng from the supplier who was going to quote me for a double acring ram. So I've decided to go with the big double acting ram. Reasons are, I have it, its paid for, it will be fun and I can't see me using it for anything else.

I cleaned up the ram a bit and measured up for the plate I need to get it mounted on the frame. I've decided to weld a flange or two on the ram.

Before I order the plate, I need to make sure I can open it and take out the innards while welding. Looks like I need to make a pin spanner of sorts to open the ram. I've shoved a bit of ATF and acetone on the thread while I ponder. I have a feeling I have something knocking about that would modify easily.

 

[Shox Dr]

All that stroke begs for a bellcrank. Come on Andy its not modified enough yet

 

[brewdexta]

I've cleared off sufficient DIY jobs to warrant some workshop time so finished making a spanner with four pins. It's a very unwieldy shape to hold while giving it a wallop so stuck it in the vice.

It gave in quite quickly once I showed it the BFH.

It's a very long thread.

The shaft doesn't want to come out without a fight, I may need to assist it with a bit of air, in a controlled way. I'll try other methods first, tie one end to a pillar and use a winch etc. I also need to find somewhere clean to put the innards.

Once I know I can get it apart for welding, I'll get the flange plates ordered. I'm getting them laser cut to save time, I drew them up a while ago.

Enough fun for today, I have an MRI on my bonce tomorrow afternoon, hopefully a routine check up, so I should be able to try getting the shaft out in the morning (ooh er matron!)

Cheers
Andy

 

[brewdexta]

I was busy tidying the workshop, making a storage box for my paints and associated tackle from ply offcuts and generally fannying about but did get chance to get the ram out of the cylinder. My neighbour pointed out that it would be a lot easier if I took the protective plastic plugs out of the ports .

I'll keep it somewhere dust free while I get the flanges made.