[TheForge] Re: TheForge Digest, Vol 12, Issue 74

[Thomas A. Troszak]

On Jan 21, 2005, at 12:00 AM, theforge-request at mailman.qth.net wrote:

> why
> a *fly* press? To me they look like a little obsolete. . Can someone
> enlighten me?

Dear Justin,

I used to do forging with an arbor press, and it is a great way to 
destroy your arms, if you don't want to take my word for it, go ahead 
and try it. I made thousands of parts, but the jarring of the handle is 
injurious to the body over time. By the way, I see broken arbor presses 
in the scrapyard every couple of months.

A fly press has weights which provide momentum energy to do the nasty 
work of the forging, (instead of your arms) and they are designed for 
the work. They also have great feel without the sudden jolt at the end 
of the stroke, in other words, they rock!

By all means, by yourself a cheap chinese arbor press, break it and 
your wrists, and learn from the experience.

Tom Troszak