Hi everyone, I've been making bats for a few years now and have always relied on having my clefts pressed by various people and i think this needs to change. Building my own press is something I've been toying with over the last year or so and think i need to take the plunge. Why make one rather than buy one i hear you say?? Well I'm weird and enjoy this kind of stuff, not knowing exactly how it will finish. Just the challenge compells me to succeed.
A couple of minor issues, i haven't a clue how to weld. Its not something that I've ever tried before and the other issue is the engineering side of it. What size steel will take the force of 2 or 3 ton of pressure without collapsing. i suppose that part will be trial and error and all part of the fun.
So first up the design brief;
Full steel frame, unsure on overall height and length
Capacitor start/ stop motor (not sure on the HP just yet)
Gearing mechanism to move the sled (maybe gears and chain system)
Roller (flat and concaved)
Roller mounting, does it need to be mounted on bearings?
Mechanism to increase pressure, maybe use a traditional manual screw or a more complex pneumatic with pressure gauge system
I think that's the main points. Feel free to add anything else.
Any thoughts or help would be appreciated?