RBM wrote:
I'm trying to determine the force in tons of a hydraulic cylinder. Being
mathematically challenged, even having a formula would be like reading
Chinese to me.
The cylinder has an outer diameter of 3.5", the shaft is 2", as best I can
figure from information derived from the net, the bore would be 3". It has a
stroke of 18". It will be fed from a pump delivering 8 GPM @ 2100 PSI.

Any help would be appreciated


The things that matter are the PSI and the diameter of the bore.
Figure the surface area of the internal diameter of the cylinder.
3.14 X half the bore X half the bore. Multiply that by the PSI.
I come up with 14,836#. That is, of course, under ideal circumstances.
I think the old hydraulic control valves used to have a pressure
relief set at 2000 psi.