[TheForge] movable frame press

[Jerry Frost]

Nice write up Steve, thanks.

Pre-heating the dies is simply a matter of clamping 
them on a thick piece of hot iron. I haven't gotten all 
the way through your write up yet so I may be asking a 
redundant question but here goes. Are your valves 
detent centering or spring return?

Either has advantages. Detent centering has the 
advantage of keeping the ram where it is till you move 
the lever, either open, closed or with a particular 
amount of pressure. The disadvantage is you have to 
throw the control to open it. Spring return will 
automatically return the cylinder but it makes it 
really difficult to clamp or put a controlled squeeze 
on something.

As for ceramic dies, the quick answer is yes. The 
downside is the cost. A ceramic that will withstand 
both the pressure (no big thing) AND the differential 
thermal shock is EXPENSIVE. It might be a different 
matter if the hot steel contacted the entire die face. 
With the steel only contacting a smallish area there 
will be a transverse as well as a penetrating heat 
differential. Coupled with the pressure I THINK it 
would require a high end ceramic.

I'm not an expert on nor particularly up to date on 
ceramics though so it might be worth looking into. Most 
of what I recall was from reading a few years ago. That 
little spike of interest was inspired by someone 
posting a couple pics of a ceramic hammer and small 
anvil made from a zirconia ceramic worth several k$ per 
lb. not counting the expensive process used to make the 
things.

Frosty
-------------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <smith at blacksmithing.org>
To: <knife-list at kepler-eng.com>
Cc: <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 11:55 AM
Subject: [TheForge] movable frame press


> Greetings all -- 
>
> re: movable frame press 
> (http://www.ironflower.com/tips/Press-article.pdf)
> Lynn asked about heat sink aspect -- it's going to be 
> a problem (like all presses). Material cools off 
> fast. Narrow dies ought to help. Given the removable 
> die blocks on this press, I can experiment (and 
> will).
> Bruce commented on crediting his idea -- without the 
> basic idea, the press wouldn't have taken this 
> shape - so maybe it's Bruce's fault <grin>.
> I'm looking forward to san-mai construction on it and 
> will keep the list(s) posted as I experiment. I need 
> to run a more-or-less side-by-side comparison of 
> Damascus production on the press vs my 50lb Little 
> Giant. Ought to be interesting.
> Steve Bloom
>
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