How to Make Your Own Hydraulic Jewelry Press

Hydraulic presses are one of the most useful tools in any metalsmith's toolkit, as you can use one to coin, draw, punch and shape metal pieces with ease.

Richard shows how you can build one for far less cost and with ease.

Make the Frame

A hydraulic press is one of the most flexible metal forming tools available to jewelers, providing endless creative opportunities in 3D shaping silver into three-dimensional forms. However, before taking full advantage of your press's potential it must first have an appropriate frame in place to support it.

Hydraulic presses come in all sorts of varieties, but most use the same basic principles by employing a plunger and ram to apply pressure to sheet metal. A ram is typically comprised of a large cylindrical shell with an opening at its base; while its plunger fits inside. When the ram retracts, its different sizes allows its plunger to push out when retracting; this creates an empty space which then gets filled in by melting metal that is filled by filling melted spots with vacuum or negative space which then filled by shaping molten metal into desired forms.

Once completed, the form can be taken out and allowed to cool before being cut or pierced using a saw to complete its design. This process can be repeated multiple times to achieve intricate designs. When complete, any excess metal can be cut away using saws for cutting purposes if necessary to complete its piece.

Hydraulic presses can be used for many different tasks, one of the most popular being deep drawing. This involves placing the blank between a silhouette die and cushion of urethane foam before applying a controlled force that creates bulging effect above the die. This method also works well when creating complex silhouettes which would otherwise be difficult or impossible to create manually.

Hydraulic presses can also be used for pancake dies, forming, punching, stamping, piercing, staking, broaching and broaching applications. Hydraulic presses also play an integral part in powdered metal forming processes as well as bonding of abrasive wheels to wheels for bonding as well as compression of plastic and rubber materials.

Those looking to add a hydraulic press to their jewelry making kit should consider purchasing the Bonny Doon Classic 20-ton Press as it offers safe, durable, portable hydraulic press designed specifically for jewelers. Easily adjustable for various height settings and designed with longevity in mind, it makes an invaluable addition to any studio.

Make the Ram

Hydraulic presses are essential tools in any metal forming workshop, serving as versatile cutting, bending, forging, drawing, coining and punching machines that can also compress or elongate workpieces into specific shapes. Ranging in sizes from three tons up to 50 tons with multiple cylinders that generate compression force - they come equipped with everything needed for metalworking imaginable!

An essential hydraulic press features two interconnected cylinders connected by a pipe carrying hydraulic fluid, with one of these housing the ram and its piston pushing downward on the platen (see illustration). As the ram descends, its larger cylinder's piston creates pressure which transfers directly to die or anvil via pipes.

Since these systems do not rely on flywheel power to power their ram, these systems offer greater control than mechanical presses. You can adjust everything from speed, stroke length, pre-slowdown point and bottom of stroke position to throat clearance to determine how big parts can fit under them.

Hydraulic presses typically include features to keep oil cool, such as a heat exchanger circulating water or air, knockout devices for stripping finished parts off dies and punches, pressure reverse switch with dwell timer, as well as pressure reverse and dwell switches so the operator can set an exact length of pressure for each press cycle.

One of the key components of any press is its ram head, or "rammer head". A typical hydraulic press's rammer head consists of a cylindrical piece of hardened steel attached to its ram. However, some designs also utilize direct mounting of anvil or die rammers which decrease press cylinder diameter, thus decreasing likelihood of damaging anvil or die. No matter its form or design, all types must be constructed from durable materials that can withstand pressure exerted during pressing operations.

Make the One-Way Valve

Hydraulic presses can save time and labor when it comes to metalsmithing workshops, making them invaluable tools. Sometimes referred to as a 'puffing machine," these presses can be used to shape sheet metal into unique forms for earrings and bracelets.

There is a range of different hydraulic presses designed to meet specific needs. There are models for deep draws, shell reductions, urethane bulging, forming blanking piercing staking punching straightening assembly etc - which one you need depends on your workpiece size and complexity.

Hydraulic presses can be highly powerful machines, often reaching over 3,000,000 lbs per square inch of pressure. As this amount of force can tear or crack metal sheets, it is vital that users use appropriate pressure when operating these presses and have adequate safety precautions in place when operating these machines.

As with any piece of machinery, working safely with a hydraulic press requires understanding its fundamental principles. Presses use hydraulic oil to raise and lower their ram, pressing dies or flat metal against it. Oil from an oil pump flows up through one-way valve blocks into an integrated cartridge valve block in an oil head before continuing through one-way and relief valves in its hydraulic head head.

Once a hydraulic head reaches its set pressure, a relief valve opens to release any additional pressure accumulated within. This eliminates any worries of overloading or smashing dies during press operation and makes using hydraulic presses much simpler.

No matter your level of experience in metalsmithing, this course will show you how to get the most from your hydraulic press. Beginning with a primer on safety and basic pressing techniques, Melissa Muir guides you through an assortment of essential operations as you create sleek earrings using pancake dies, explore custom piercing options for custom shapes, learn different forms of metal forming techniques like anticlastic and synclastic metal formation techniques as well as roller printing and etching methods of creating texture metal designs.

Make the Hydraulic Head

A hydraulic press is an impressive piece of machinery capable of creating fascinating forms and textures in metal, yet many commercial and home hydraulic presses can be quite costly. To save some money you could create your own hydraulic press from basic materials.

Mechanical presses use flywheel and crank mechanisms to generate force; hydraulic presses use fluid pressure instead, creating smoother force applications and higher pressure levels than their mechanical counterparts.

This video from The Craftsman Blog covers the fundamentals of hydraulic presses and how you can construct one at home using similar principles as commercial or industrial machines. While you will require basic tools and some experience with metal work, the end results of your hard work are sure to make this effort worth your while!

Hydraulic presses consist of two cylinders that generate compressive force: one bearing the ram and the other carrying a plunger; they're linked by an empty space filled with hydraulic fluid that connects them, with each being supplied from their respective source through pumps or accumulators that can be controlled and measured for fluid level changes.

Once you've created your own hydraulic jewelry press, the fun begins! In the video below, Richard shows some of his techniques. Using old inner tube rubber inserts he presses against his silhouette die to create texture in his work; once complete he anneals it in order to harden and retain its form.

Richard also demonstrated how to use the press to add tasteful ridges in his work by pressing it against a piece of Plexiglas, and filing its edge so as to achieve a rounded, angular surface. Furthermore, he detailed using this same method with wooden blocks stacked atop one another to achieve texture in his artwork.

This hydraulic press is perfect for exploring different forms in metalwork. Use it to form circles and ovals in jewelry designs; emboss, silhouette, or create custom textures on vessels with it!