horizontal hammerform press

[merlinsautobody]

I have had this on hold for at least a year and a half. I have been collecting all the supplies I needed and I have had an old porta power just sitting around for the last 25 years. It is an old blackhawk screw together type unit and I've always kept it as a backup and actually used it a few times but not often so it was a good canidate for this project. I built this press with a ten ton unit in mind in case the four ton unit was'nt enough but the little unit seems to be doing just fine. I finally have a project that is going to need this type of press so I took the time to build it. I worked on it for about three days and another day of fine tuning I still have a couple of miner issues but overall I'm real happy with the way it works, it does everything I have asked it to do and it's a lot easier than the way I was doing this, a vice and clamps. the pieces I have to make are going to be almost four ft long so I'll still have to make them in sections but this has an area that is 23" in the center that is free of any obstructions so I can make some farily large hammerforms here is the unit.








It is made of a lot of 1/2 x2 flatbar they are welded into a "t" for the two that do the work and the lower that the ram pushes against I also added a piece of 3" channel for the pushing faces so it has more surface area to hold my wood forms. I use a lot of junk wood I keep a pile of 1/2 and 3/4 stuff on hand I also built the press to accomodate a 2X6. first I cut my desires shape in wood for the first test I just pulled a pair of hammerforms on hand I rarily throw them out untioll there so beat up i cant use them a lot of times I'll find a curvature that is just right for a current project that is why I keep them sometimes it really saves me time, but then there are speciality ones that I'll probably never use so they get cut up and made into new ones as I need them. I just stuc a piece of scrap metal in this set to show how they work.






the two x twos are just there for filler, if you use them with actual work it takes more pressure because the give a little.but here is my test piece I put back in for the picture.







I like using my tom lipton hammer on these because it leaves a softer edge, you have to start the bend with a steel hammer though or else it tears up the face of the bossing hammer
here is a piece of 16ga that I did with a 2x4 for the form






that edege is a little over two inches wide and the hammerform held it in place so it could shrink i little rough but nothing that can't be planished out there was a lot more things I did to this piece of metal and finally ended up throwing it out and starting over doing it differently but more on that in a post to come.So thats what I did most of last week, this week I have been using it quite a bit on my current project. I have plans fore some finishing touches[like a cover for the ram] but I need to get back to work that pays so it'll do for now.

[Pedalcar]

Hi Gale,

you just solved a problem for a lot of us .

Thank you for sharing.

Ben

[Dawai]

Hi.. Should be in the "free tool plans" as it is a very good idea. THE same "die idea" type will work in my C-press too.. and make it that much more handy.

I think if I build one it has to break down and store in the ceiling as I have very little room left for tools. Where to put all the jigs and forms? the wood ones at least you could "heat your shop" when you are done with them?

Thanks... Hang in there bud..

[Bill Gibson]

Great Idea...!!!! thanks for sharing, I'm sure I will put that to use...