[TheForge] Upside down press - followup

[smith at blacksmithing.org]

I appreciate the comments -- the major points were the essential nature of 
the beast, i.e., upside down, and the narrownest of the system.  There were 
also comments about Jim Batson's book (which I own).  --and I did mess up 
the directions of the slashes in the URL 
(http://www.ironflower.com/plans/press.htm).  That had nothing to do with 
the direction of the horn on my anvil, since I have one of Chuck's 
knife-makers units which is hornless <grin>. 

Part of the story which I neglected to post, was I already own the 
hydraulics (a 5" cylinder of the dimensions in the plan), a 5HP motor, a 
control value set, filter, pressure guage, reservoir, and hoses I wouldn't 
trust (when the rubber flakes off in your hands...) - all of which set me 
$200.  I figure if I can weld up a frame from what I have lying around (the 
I-beams,etc), then have new hoses made, I'll have a "learner" press for 
relatively few bucks.  I intend to use it for Damascus production and give 
my 50lb Little Giant a break (before it breaks!).  I like the idea of the 
upside-down nature since it drops the center of gravity, shortens hose 
lengths, and makes an overall unit more compact and more "portable". 
However, since I've never used a press, I have no real idea if the 
lift-to-crush aspect is a problem (it does seem wierd given the years I've 
spent in front of the power hammer, but maybe someone can address this issue 
if they have actually used an upside-down press).  Eventually, I'll move to 
a two-speed press, made by someone who knows what they're doing, but in the 
meantime, I may be able to defray the costs of that press with this one. 

In any event, I do appreciate the feedback and will post whatever happens 
down the road. 

Steve Bloom