How to Make a Hydraulic Press for Jewelry

Discover new technologies involving a hydraulic press that save time and tooling costs when producing jewelry. These methods range from sheet metal forming at low pressures, conforming dies for greater detail at medium pressures, coining metal at relatively higher pressures as well as coining at higher pressures.

Melissa also shows you how to create attractive pierced pendant forms with silhouette dies and form bracelet blanks, as well as press fold form blanks for pieces that stand out.

Make a frame

To build a hydraulic press for jewelry, first you need to create the frame. Depending on your needs and skill level, this may involve welding together parts or creating a bolt together model; either option should be easy to assemble. Bolt together models are especially popular since they cost less and transport easier.

Make a frame from scrap or junk steel using hardware store items. To do so, you will require four pieces of threaded stock, each approximately 2 feet long (available at most hardware stores) along with washers, nuts and pipe.

Bonny Doon offers a 20 ton hydraulic press designed to meet safety, durability and ease-of-use standards - it is the safest press available! This system allows users to emboss, texture, bend thick metal precisely and form jewelry into 3D shapes quickly. Plus, with its built-in 10,000 PSI pressure gauge they can even create repeat patterns!

Make a ram

Hydraulic presses offer many uses in metalworking, from forming metal sheets to crimping and molding them, cutting, punching and straightening metal sheets. While different from pneumatic presses in terms of how they operate and their pounds-per-square-inch capacity is higher. They're also designed to be more versatile and long-term reliable than other forms of metalworking machinery.

Consider these features when searching for a hydraulic press:

Frame: Evaluate the frame construction, bolster thickness and capacity as well as compare cylinder size and maximum system pressure.

Hydraulic Circuit: When performing long stroke applications such as deep drawing, dual pump circuits with regeneration are commonly employed to minimize "valve shifts" and increase cycle times.

Blank holders: An adjustable force that secures blank edges during deep drawing or stripping finished parts from dies or punches.

Make a pressure gauge

Many metal forming tasks, including raising, chasing and masonite die-forming require considerable force. A hydraulic press can produce this force using its hydraulic ram. A hydraulic press consists of a frame into which a hydraulic ram is installed; it generates up to 3 million lbs of pressure while also cutting repeatable shapes with repeatability - much like industrial manufacturing presses but more expensive as separate equipment must be purchased separately.

In this course, you'll discover how to create your own hydraulic press designed specifically for use in jewelry studios. With its 20-ton standard hydraulic ram, this press can safely emboss, texturize and bend thin or thick metal precisely into 3D shapes easily - ideal for making anticlastic and synclastic bracelets! Additionally, its kit includes a frame, hydraulic jack gauge hose as well as bolted together urethane pieces.

Make a platen

A platen is one of the key elements in any hydraulic press, providing an even surface to lay your work and making multiple impressions quickly. Furthermore, its increased pressure gauge provides you with more precise feedback of what pressure is being applied.

It is simple and quick to set up, making it suitable for many different kinds of tools. Additionally, its built-in overload protection will automatically shut off the hydraulic pump when its preset limit has been reached; plus it comes complete with convenient features like hose, jack and pressure gauge for additional convenience.

This hydraulic press makes metal forming and embossing much simpler than using drop hammers or mechanical presses, and more precise than chasing or raising techniques - an invaluable asset for mass production! Discover how to create various forms, such as embossed silhouette shapes, T-fold bracelet blanks and domed pendants - Melissa will demonstrate various techniques for using them ranging from embossing textures to piercing multilayered pieces.