[TheForge] hydraulics

[RIES NIEMI]

Time vs. money is always the issue, and a lot of people are in a position
where they have more of one than the other. When we built out hydraulic
press, I opted to buy a pump and cylinder from enerpac. More money, no
doubt, but it came with quick connect fasteners that snapped right together,
so there was no plumbing. The pump, motor, and fluid resevoir are all self
contained, compatible, and in one small 110 volt unit. We can disconnect it
from the press, and take it on job sites, or connect it to other hydraulic
machines. It also has a pretty high resale value, although I tend to
completely wear out tools, rather than sell em. Enerpac hydraulic pumps run
at a higher psi than a lot of the logsplitter stuff, which is both good and
bad. Bad, because it is pricier, and you need higher rated hoses, but good
because it can be smaller, lighter, and more compact. One nifty feature is
the pump itself runs fast until it encounters resistance, then slows down.
They make some air powered pumps as well- quieter and smaller yet. Their
pumps range in price from 500 bucks up to many thousands, depending on power
and features, mine was about 1500, but it will run any hydraulics I forsee
needing, and the portability is a big issue with me, as I need to field
squish a few hundred stainless steel rivets soon. It is also really easy to
build a nifty straightener jig for a small (10 ton or so) hydraulic
cylinder, which is mighty handy for job site adjustments. Kind of like a
powered strait-o-flex.
I like the range of cylinders and accessories available- the "jaws of life"
birds beak type attachment, which opens when you power it up, is something
we use all the time to tweak weldments.

Sometimes the hose money at it solution is better, other times the tinker
and scrounge till you get it right is the one to use- I had a paying job
that needed a press right now, so I went with buying a hydraulic setup.

Ries