I Made a Hydraulic Press...With a Twist 

This came up in my feed because I watched a few of your intro tutorials on how to stick weld. Nice video and cool setup for a DIY press. That welding table looks amazing. Not that I need one and tbh I doubt that I would even need to make dimples, but very cool to watch. 👍

Hi Tim, your videos are great!! Inspirational, authentically teaching with a humble care of yourself and others. I really enjoy them as Im putting into practice your advice in my stick welding and steel fab.. Stewart Australia.

A suggestion I've seen elsewhere in regards to services like send-cut-send is to add alignment tabs to your designs to help with the assembly, since their cuts are quite accurate.

Your on-screen presence is a lot more on this project that you're clearly pleased with. 👍

Really cool design, I like it, here are some ideas to improve it: put the first feet fordard, at least 20mm in front of the bottle jack’s center The shoulder screws are cool, but you need to have much tighter tolerances, the slot width should be max 0.5mm larger than the diameter of the screw shoulder, or you could use some brass rings, I would recommend at least 1.5mm in wall thickness, and around 0.1-0.5mm gaps Most laser cutter places offer laser engraving, when I can, I usually engrave the outline of every connecting part, so in the assembly, you don’t have to measure or eyeball anything, just put in the outline and weld it I hope I help for your future designs, have a great weekend 🫡

Very nice upgraded bottle jack, thankyou for the video. And don't worry about scribing lines with the calipers, everybody does that, even machinists.

I love this small press. I can definitely see a lot of other uses for it. Similar to a arbor press. One thing I would definitely add to this setup is some method to attach the bottom and top dies to the press. That way, when you release the jack, they stay in place and yoy can shift the plate to the next hole. But overall a neat design.

So glad you're doing projects, I've loved all of them so far, this is great, thanks! Ps can't wait to see the second gokart :)

Really liked going through the thought process

You are the Bob Ross of welding 👍 your voice is so calm and relaxing lol

Nice project, Tim. Thanks for taking us along. I might suggest a set of roller skate bearings on your shoulder bolts, tracking inside a guide bracket, to keep the moveable carriage better aligned.

Nice little press. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎

Dont you just love your fab table! saves so much time in making things square and flat!!! i started out with a certiflat weld table before making the plunge in upgrading to a buildpro

I would’ve just added a plate for a small spacer to clear the weld rather than grind a chamfer but just my 2¢ awesome project !!

Wow very nice simple method but worth ful for sheet metal job . Thank you sir 👌👍😊💐

I had agreed with everything you said in that video. I don’t know how old this video is but possibly using dual plates on either side and then some bushings and washers would keep your guides within a certain amount of play as well as strengthening the press itself. Don’t misinterpret me. You’re awesome.

Thanks for leaving your problems and struggles in the final edit. So many YT types edit everything to the point that homegamers like myself start to think "perfect on the first try" is normal. Most people, even industry professionals don't get it right the first time. Having said that I think a Rev 2 would make a great video and then you could sell plans.

As you were showing the slop issue it reminded me of a video I watched by flawed offroad where he used some nylon shims to take the slop out of a harbor freight press. Maybe useful, maybe not

Awesome build! Looks like it's the little cousin of the Rougue Fab tube bender!

That is awesome!! You should patent that bad boy..you could sale minus the jack..good job!

good concept for a small portable press thanks

This was a very cool project, and one I have thought about as well, except that I want to make a broaching press, but I digress. A few notes if I may, as I could see you selling this as a kit (which I would totally buy) or as plans that could be sent to send/cut/send. Some of these have been mentioned by others, but are worthy of repeating: 1. Tab the stiffeners for precise alignment. 2. Add a third rib in the center for strength... no need to go thicker on the plates. The center rib could terminate behind the upper jack cross plate so that it doesn't interfere. Should be crazy stiff. 3. Chamfer the thicker plates so you don't have to use an arc welder (though yours turned out very nice). 4. Open the guide slots enough to insert a slotted teflon or delrin bar for the bolts to ride in. Should make it very smooth, and send/cut/send can do plastics too. 5. If speed is needed, say for hundreds of dimples, a link/lever will give you more than enough force to drive the dies. Would require a little engineering, but would make the overall tool fast and cheaper. 6. figure out how to make the dies captive so they pull out of the dimpled holes when the jack retracts. To be honest though, I would buy your plans right now if they were available. Or maybe partner with S/C/S so that folks could just call in an order for the "Tim Welds Dimple Press Kit". This would be a super fun item to build with my kids as a weld-it-yourself project. Great job sir!

Great idea and nice that you shared improvement ideas. You might consider incorporating your existing porta-power ram. Much cleaner than that jack and even easier to use.

Good video. Especially I like the criticism and improvement notes. Would like to see you cutting all details by yourself though.

You should get the dies that cut the hole also. They use a 1/2" guide pin to align the top & bottom dies. Therefore a small hole must be drilled to locate the dimple on the work piece. (1/2")

Looks great Tim. 👍

Add shim washers under the shoulder screw heads to eliminate carriage slop.

Man, I like that. I wonder if a heavier version would also act as a punch press, even with electrical knock outs and air over hydraulic Jack

Add doublers with lightning holes to the side plates to stiffen it. Use the lightning holes as rossetts to weld the center areas of the doublers.

great job Tim

For the jack filled problem. Just insert a 1/4" plate to fit in there. Stitch Weld front and rear.

Nice design, I look forward to building my own.

Slick build! 👍👍👍

Love this, my only quibble is.... with your example with the cardboard I can only understand how those pieces would strengthen the side plates if they were being put under compression. In this design the pressing motion puts those plates under tension instead of compression, it seems as if the heat from welding all the pieces between those side plates is more likely to create a weakness than give it strength.

Hey Tim that's pretty cool! That makes a press portal.

The front feet should be in front of the assembly to prevent it tipping every time you use some force on the lever. Can also give it a 5th leg in the middle there extending out a little. Also you can make it so the release knob is a small 2 or 3cm lever that points to the 2 a clock position when closed, it only takes a little turn to release it. Also you can weld on strengthening bars on the outer frame at a 45° angle in the corners where it is most in tension. Don't need to go for thicker material, you can also have a same size plate extra on both sides but have it just 1cm smaller towards the edge and weld it so you double it up. Often cost much more for double thickness plate than just two smaller ones

Really like the press! Some feet extensions closer to the front might help with the tipping when you are jacking.

Awesome looking tool!!!

You can also also add a 3/16 gap on each side and change your settings to run your fillet flat by changing your settings.

Awesome build!

Thanks 🍺 , a cool AND funcional project.

Great project!

Tim, your talents are amazing! I wished you lived closer to me….. lol

could probably punch the holes as well. Wonder if it could be designed in such that you could just bolt it together. be able to get it as a flat pack. be able to store it as well when not needed

Great video! Some thoughts design wise: Use washer with your shoulder bolts, thinking g that will take up some of the gap and correct the movement before it gets in a pinch. Also, a third 1/2" rib would probably solve the deflection problem, but it's going to be quite heavy.

Try some cam following bearings that will screw to your ram slide. You may need to open up the frame slots, but they come in several different sizes.

Great video, from start to finish. Just one question, couldn't you have use a Arbor press instead?

Hi sir, I'm Niiatt from Ghana. I have learned a lot from you and I love what you do, keep on the good work. Please I will be happy if you teach us how to build a welding machine from microwave transformers and it's safety precautions

Thank for your very good job.

Love those stick welding the best.

To make the press stiffer, add more material to it by enclosing the profile. By that I mean instead of having plates that run the perimeter of the fabrication, join all those plates together

Great build, do you have any concerns that the piston of the jack is not centered in the body of the press?

I think some quick fixes could be some washers on the shoulder bolts to take up the gap and the knob you were speaking of.

Could add a narrow plate under the jack to bridge the filet welds.

A very nice project👌👌👌

Tim You do nice work ... what I tell my boss and the engineers. I work with is plan it in to the job so I can make one for you guys to look at first. Then we know what changes to make before I make X amount of them . My point it is very hard to make one of anything perfect.the first time . the first time is the learning curve...

Excellent, I would like to know if you could share the drawings to make the hydraulic press ?

I love this Pls can I just ask what type of welding machine you used for this project?

I'd use a large piston pneumatic ram. The reason is simply because I can achieve the same for but with very high reset times. Say you were to dimple 10 holes, you'd need 30 seconds to a minute with air. In hydraulics you can achieve the same using accumulators however the cost goes up dramatically.

Those jacks can be disassembled and modified to work inverted too, so you wouldn't have to have something moving along the frame.

You have a link for those 5/8 fasteners you used to secure the press to your table?

A piece of 1/4"packing plate under the ram would have been my solution rather than grinding the ram base... but your solution worked so 👏 😎👍☘️🍺

That's a nice little press!

If speed of operation is the objective, I think a fly press is what you're looking for.

Inspiring! 😃 I’m not a welder I’m just a mechanical engineer so feel free to advise me if you have documented knowledge proving me wrong. This thread would benefit from that. …You see my direct and spontaneous reaction to your dilemma with the footplate of the jack not having enough room was - just grind bevels on the side walls and weld. Gives enough penetration and weld cross section to withstand the forces. Fill up the weld (and if necessary grind back to a 90 degree joint). Kind regards Anders Sweden

Great vid...where are the plans?

Awesome job ! 👍

I have welding table envy.

That's damn good weld you did with that stick

make those slots bigger and put skateboard bearings on the bolts and just brace it with a few peices of metal , make sure you weld it loaded so itll have less deflection

Hey Tim! My welding class hasn't gone over reading welding blueprints or how to understand symbols in the 2years I've been there, and it's really giving me a disadvantage in competitions! Any chance you can make a video explaining some of this confusing stuff?

You could probably get some shims to take up the slop or just grind down some washers but that's hard when they get thin

instead of grinding on the bottom of the jack ,why not just add 1/4 or3/8 thickness plate to raise the jack past the filet of the welds.

That is super nice!

I like this a lot I wish I had thought of this when I built mine, I went with the original; box type idea but it completely limits what I can do with the press

Well done. My first impression was the sides could be thicker but then again, is that flex an issue for your particular usage? It is light-duty work after all.

Excellent project - great video ... how much did the send cut send parts cost you?

Hi Tim. I have been messing with the Titanium Flux 125 and have really been enjoying it. I am going to be welding some 1/4” down the road and was thinking of picking up a Titanium Mig 170 to flux-core weld on 220v. My question is will flux-core on 220v be enough to effectively weld 1/4” or thicker steel? Thank you for your time.

In regards to the four shoulders screws traveling easier, introducing a washer to each shoulder screw/bolt might improve the travel? ... As for the idea, congratulations! It worked, and, it saves you time, effort, and you get better results. 👍

Do you have plans or a cut sheet available?

Nice build. Might be nice to attach the die to the lower part of press. Well, there's always little things that could be added. Maybe it's better to start simple and use it for a year before considering refinements

Hey Tim, do u have the drawing for this project for sale anywhere? love you work!!

What about adding a stop bolt to it so you can set the retract distance when open. This will mean less pumps on the jack for the next hole and increase productivity by about 3 pumps each hole.

Springs and Ropes. Use a rope similar size to a recoil starter on a go-kart. Loop it around the hook, set it, and pull the rope out.

Good working

Would it be stron enough with 50mmx75mmx3mm rectangle or would it flex too much, it's just that's cheaper than 4mm flat steel, awesome press, could be useful for a lot of thing's, thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones

Biggest problem is where you have your feet relative to the jacking point. You have the jacking point in front of the front feet so it is always trying to lift up the back feet. Also instead of screwing the shoulder bolts directly into the threads. If you make a plate with two holes in it, you will probably find it will try and bind less (obviously need longer shoulder bolts).

I’ve considered making something like this to use with dies to bend tubing and brackets. It would need a bit more power, but this design with open sides could work.

you have the plans or cut list for sale?

Instead of a jack use a rack and pinion like an arbor press. That would make the speed of the projects go faster.

I think that the video part of the fabrication could have been speed up 2 times for a more dynamic video.

Fixing the carriage wobble with putting some copper shims under the shoulder bolts might work.

Any issues with jack being offcentre?

Very nice setup. HF 12 ton press worked out cheaper for me though.

Do you offer the file for sale so we can build our own?

Press on my Man ! :D

Watched the entire vid. Thought it was a cool project, you could definitely tell the efficient improvement vs that hand "hydraulic die press" that you had to thread. Anyways, you were talking about the "Play" in that "carriage" you built... you could probably get yourself some brass "Shim bushings" that fit over your bolts, to take up that space slack? A possible simple solution? Anyways thanks for doing this & sharing it!

Is there any chance you're going to release the files for this?

probably suggested by someone else, but make a knob for the pressure release so you don't have to remove the jack lever each time? Nice build

Hi, are You going to share files to build one?