|
The problem with making one is getting the steel (it too has skyrocketed like gasoline) and if you get some used or scrap, thats OK, but you want the bed to go up and down for different size things, so you either need holes in the frame for pins, or something to retain the bed and support the tonnage. Drilling 3/4 or so holes in the frame, perfectly square from one side to the other, evenly spaced, is not easy. You would have to do it in a huge drill press and have stands to support the work. I bought a Dake 25 ton on Ebay in April. I got lucky, I paid less than $200 and then spent another $250 to drive the 1900 miles to go and pick it up. I saw one of these same press, highly modified (and probably useless for general work) sell for over $600 the other day. I saw a real nice looking Dake 75 ton H frame just a couple of hundred miles away sell for about $1500 just a couple of weeks ago, someone got a bargain. I really would not try to build one unless you have lots of time and money. They look real easy, but I suspect they are not nearly that easy. Do a search on Ebay for *hydraulic press* (no stars) and look thru them. Several of the sellers have Ebay stores that they sell parts and pieces for presses, in addition to the whole thing. Everyone at work wondered why I "needed" a press. I am starting to find uses for it, straightening metal that I otherwise could not, and other odd uses in the shop. Its nice to have it there when I need it. Charles
|
