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Flypresses, don't we just love them!
A few months back I met Grant over on IFI and was kinda flattered when he asked me to write a "column". Sorta think he was getting a bit mixed up with the North West and Blacksmith things. Me? I live in Manchester ..... North West England. I've got a few forges and power hammers but don't consider myself a blacksmith. Hey ho!
What's more, I'm none too sure that I'm particularly "qualified" to write a column so maybe's it's it's best if I introduce myself. I'm someone who tries to earn a living by making vaguely "creative metalwork" ..... www.verdigrismetals.co.uk ....though often the creativity gets stiffled by my customers budgets. I was a maths and physics teacher for a few years before; a job I came to despise with a passion nearly as much as my love for messing around with tools and metals. I always mumble around about said metals and tools when asked "what I do for a living", but essentially I play around with a glorified Meccano set and use my business as a means to keep buying lots of interesting toys. I'm certainly not hung up about being Ye Olde Blacksmythe and will quite happily use ANY tool that gets the job done faster, better or more cost effectively.
Talking of tools (which is just about all I seem to do these days) here's an interesting flypress some people may not be aware of. I only discovered them a few years back
It's pretty much a normal number 5 Norton Flypress ...... 'cept it's got no base. So what goods that you're probably asking. Well, what it has got is a 75mm square hole running through it's body. You can insert a bar or other arbors/mandrals (never sure of the right term) into. The above photo shows a useful dogleg I got profiled from 3" ... oops ....75mm plate.
What it means is you can get at work you just couldn't get to on a normal flypress. The pictures below show some examples. I find it very useful when working on curvilinear flowing work
It won't replace a normal flypress but it sure gives you options. My other flypress is a deep throat Norton #6 and I'm looking around for a tall style #5 ... t'will be quite a useful combination.
If you look closely you'll see there are screws on the side of the mounting hole. I simply use these for lateral adjustment. I machine a slight taper on the top of the mandrels and drive a wedge in from behind to secure the arbor.
I've heard these referred to as "bar" presses but Grant calls them "horn" presses. I'm pretty sure they're still made .... I seem to recall seeing them listed on some or other website. Probably not cheap new but if you get chance to get a cheap (ish) secondhand one ..... buy it!!! ..... Over here in England, flypress presses seem cheap and readily available, typically £50 to £300 on ebay but I've only ever seen one of this style listed.
.... next time punching with a hydraulic press ..... here's a flavour.
By the way, that bar is 40x60mm, the holes are 80x12mm ... punched the long way. Kinda makes hammer eyes almost trivial to to do.
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