The Craftmans Shop > New from Old
Re-Birth of an EPCO 60 Ton Garage Press
awemawson:
How flat do you want them :lol:
So - how did it do this time? Well I had some teething problems, not realising quite how the Enerpac worked - details here:
http://madmodder.net/index.php/topic,11434.msg133905.html#msg133905
But the new (new) piston seals are now NOT letting by, and it seems to be working as it should. Tell you more after a few weeks of use :med:
awemawson:
I finally got to the bottom of why the cylinder 'end cap' was weeping. This seal is basically an 'O' ring in a groove on the outer of the male thread that screws into the bottom end of the cylinder.
When I dismantled the cylinder originally, in it's fire damaged state, the O ring was charred to hard carbon that crumbled as you handled it - as near as I could measure it in that state it was made from 1/4" cord. So I ordered up a "five inch bore by 1/4" O ring" Well it seems that what I was supplied with was a 125mm x 6mm one - close but not the same :bang: Talking to various hydraulic companies I was advised that from the vintage of the equipment and the fact that all other measurements check out as Imperial it was most likely supposed to be a "BS429" O ring which is 5" bore and 0.275" cord. Now 0.275" is entirely in line with me assuming 1/4" from the charred remains, but is essentially 7 mm so 1 mm fatter than the one supplied and fitted.
That thumping great spanner that I made came into use again and I fitted the fatter O ring. Lo and behold - no leaks :clap:
As you can see in the photographs they don't look very different.
awemawson:
So buoyed up by that success I decided to tackle another nagging issue. The four 1.5" acme screws that the platten is suspended from are not entirely straight - probably distorted in the fire - but they work. However when the platten is fairly high, so a long length of the screws dangles below, they tend to thrash about as they rotate. Maybe the rotation speed is a bit too high, but its a synchronous 3 phase motor so it is what it is!.
I had intended to cut oak blocks with a hole bored out to sit the base of the screws in just to stop them thrashing, but when I was clearing out a cupboard, I came across a pair of 1.5" self aligning pillow blocks that I must have had for decades - brand new in their boxes. Now if I could find another pair I'd be sorted ....... well eBay provided at a very modest price, so they got installed as per the pictures below.
A slight complication is that (as referred to in a posting 'up the page' ) when load comes on the platten, initially the platten and screws descend about 1/4" as the spring mounted thrust bearings have the load transferred from them to the main framework. This means that the screws cannot be fixed in the pillow blocks but must be able to slide a bit.
awemawson:
Now of course, if I had a press I could straighten the screws, but if I take the screws out I don't have a press :bang: One day I will make up a dummy screw from solid rod, and take them out one by one and straighten them - but it's a major dismantling job to get them out.
So another thing that I wanted to sort out was a calibration on the pressure gauge in 'applied tons' rather than just PSI. But as this sort of gauge (10,000 psi don't forget) is sealed and oil filled, it isn't just a case of opening it up and fitting a different dial. So I decided to make a suitable chart and fix it close to the gauge.
I went though various materials to engrave, and they all were unsatisfactory in one way or another having either a slightly rough finish or were too soft until I hit on 'Rear engraved PetG'
Clear PetG plastic is what I had bought to make a new bezel for the gauges on my JCB 803 excavator so I had some in stock. I wanted a black background with lines & lettering that were easily readable so this is what I did:
A: I spray painted a square of PetG with Matt Black paint
B: Then when it was dry I laser engraved a mirror image of my chart through the paint into the plastic.
C: Then I sprayed the engraving all over with my line colour - orange as I had a can left over from making some boxes for the Traub rebuild
D: Then as the graph was being fixed onto a previously painted surface I covered it in talc to hopefully stop the two paints sticking together over time
And this is the result - I am really pleased with it and will definitely use this technique in the future.
(Shiny black objects are confoundedly difficult to photograph!)
RobWilson:
Very professional looking chart Andrew :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Rob
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version