I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i

If it comes with useable dies, or at least the tooling is easy to make
for it, I think $100. is a steal, considering what even a small
Ironworker goes for.
JR
Dweller in te cellar

Ignoramus9581 wrote:

I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i


--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

Ignoramus9581 wrote:

I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i

Does it have tooling i.e. useful punches? If not do you have the means
to produce your own? Either way, at $100 it sounds like you could sell
it at the scrap iron place for nearly as much if you decide you don't
want it. I don't think many home shops have punch presses, they're a
little specialized for home use.

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 17:37:23 -0700, JR North wrote:
If it comes with useable dies, or at least the tooling is easy to make
for it, I think $100. is a steal, considering what even a small
Ironworker goes for.
JR
Dweller in te cellar

OK, thanks. I let them know that I am interested. This is about 67-70
year ld son of a 93 year machinist.



i

Ignoramus9581 wrote:

I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".

Pete Stanaitis
-----------------

Ignoramus9581 wrote:
I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i

Ignoramus9581 wrote:
I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i

the way I would see it is this.
If you want to make things,
wether for a hobby or your livelihood,
the 1st thing you need is space.
the 2nd thing you need are tools.
Now there are lots of different types of punch presses, those for
working primarily smiths work, and those for say blanking out parts for
anything you might want from say fishing reels to car to model parts.
then the next thing is whats the rated tonnage?
ie, what work will it do?
you say a big fly wheel
How big? dia? thickness? etc.
Whatsthe throat depth? and whats the hole size in the bed plate?

That determines howbig a piece youe blanked out or punched will fall
through into a bucket or tray. underneath.
There should also be some kind of clutch mechanism that causes the fly
wheel to engage with the crank? either continiously or single shot.

Any chance of a picture?
What ever it is its a steal @$100.00.
Whats also more interesting what else is there?

Let me tell you about my own steal in 1987.
Im a silversmith not a jeweller, making bigger stuff.
I had a call from a one armed fellow smith, to say, another s/smih was
retiring some 5o miles from me, all the modern stuff was gone, and all
that was left was all his old rubbish.(his words)
My friend thought I was the sort of idiot who would be interested in that.
I went to see this old chap, and what he had was as follows.
It was a complete drop stampers workshop dating from 1851, nothing
from that period was missing.
the drop stamp, the fly presses, the dies the bolsters the catalogues
the price lists all black and dirty.
Some 10 tons of it it eventually worked out. It had come originally
from the Birmingham jewelly quarter.
no one else wanted it down here .
It had been his family's livelyhood from his great grandfathers time and
he didnt have a son to follow on.
I Called him a few days later to say Id have it all, with the promise
id never scrap it but use it, . BUT all I could offer was scrap price
plus 10% and Id collect.
He called back a few days later to say yes and the rest is history.
This complete museum collection !! was the key to a complete range of
new products for me..
I design ,make, and market my own productsretail. Dont sell to the trade.
By 1989 I had made the drop hammer fully transportable so I could
mint a plaque or medal for an event AT the event.
The second time I took it out for real, I took $6000.00 over a 5 day
period off the hammer.
I was even invited to come from the UK to Chicago to the 100th
centenery of the Americaln numismatic assn.
the drop stamp stands 10 ft high, weighs some 2 tons and gives over 100
tons dynamic energy. Medium Hammer is 275lbs, andcanfall some 5 ft.
Nice tool!!.
Never had guards or nothin,
the old smith taught me how to use it and how not to get ones hands or
antyhing else in the way.
the sad bit was he never got to see what I made from his rubbish.
He died 6 months after I bought it off him.
See your press as a step up in the do it yourself game.
As others have said, there will probably be lots of tooling about, but
youll need help to identify what your looking for.
If yoyur not going to use it, make sure it goes to someone who can. It
aught not to be scrapped.
Modern tooling can be very expensive if you dont know how to make your own.

Lets have pictures ond keep us all informed how you get on.

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:29:19 -0500, Ignoramus9581
wrote:

I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i

Yes. Watch your fingers and make sure the dog clutch is well greased

Gunner, who services such.

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:29:19 -0500, Ignoramus9581
wrote:

I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i

It's probably worth a hundred bux...........BUT..........

That said, old machines can have dangerous operating features. Faulty
wiring, worn out switches or electrical contacts, mechanical problems
that are not completely obvious.

This is a small press so ram stroke will be very quick.....TOO QUICK
for you to get your body parts out of the way if it double trips.
NEVER stick any hand, finger, or anything that would really hurt in
the die area when the flywheel is in motion. I.e., motion of any kind
AT ALL. Even if you have stopped the motor and the flywheel is
spinning down. Wait until it has completely stopped.

The recommendation is that you then BLOCK the ram before putting a
hand in the die area, if required (say to remove a mis-hit or tighten
a screw or something), once the machine has come to a full rest. A
section of sturdy I-beam may be ok for this but check into it further.
Danly may make something even better.

http://www.danly.com/

Feed parts with an appropriate set of tongs or something.......NO
FINGERS OR HANDS....EVER!! That press probably cycles in les then .5
seconds, so if it trips when you have a hand in there, goodbye hand.
Really!!

Be very very careful with that thing.
Dave

"spaco" wrote in message
.. .
A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get
you".

Pete Stanaitis

Phantom digits are a real problem !!!!!

Best Regards
Tom.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:06:28 GMT, dav1936531
wrote:

That press probably cycles in les then .5
seconds, so if it trips when you have a hand in there, goodbye hand.
Really!!

Be very very careful with that thing.
Dave


It probably cycles in about .2 second.

The little ones arent fast...they are sudden.

Gunner

spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".


One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:25:26 -0400, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".


One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.

Mike, how sad. Did they recover the hand in any way?

i

Ignoramus3778 wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:25:26 -0400, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".


One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.

Mike, how sad. Did they recover the hand in any way?

i

Recover what Iggy, a blob of goo to keep in a jar of formaldehyde???
That's the difference between a punch press accident and say a table saw
accident, the lack of anything to recover and reattach. Gotta be
*REALLY* careful...

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:13:27 GMT, Pete C. wrote:
Ignoramus3778 wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:25:26 -0400, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".


One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.

Mike, how sad. Did they recover the hand in any way?

i

Recover what Iggy, a blob of goo to keep in a jar of formaldehyde???
That's the difference between a punch press accident and say a table saw
accident, the lack of anything to recover and reattach. Gotta be
*REALLY* careful...


Well, maybe the punch punched a small hole etc

i

Ignoramus3778 wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:13:27 GMT, Pete C. wrote:
Ignoramus3778 wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:25:26 -0400, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".


One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.

Mike, how sad. Did they recover the hand in any way?

i

Recover what Iggy, a blob of goo to keep in a jar of formaldehyde???
That's the difference between a punch press accident and say a table saw
accident, the lack of anything to recover and reattach. Gotta be
*REALLY* careful...

Well, maybe the punch punched a small hole etc

i

Don't the punches normally have a fairly large clamp / stripper section
around them? If it's just a straight punch the surrounding material will
get deformed and stuck around the punch.

After a Computer crash and the demise of civilization, it was learned
Gunner Asch wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007
03:51:02 -0700 in rec.crafts.metalworking :
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:06:28 GMT, dav1936531
wrote:

That press probably cycles in les then .5
seconds, so if it trips when you have a hand in there, goodbye hand.
Really!!

Be very very careful with that thing.
Dave


It probably cycles in about .2 second.

The little ones arent fast...they are sudden.

Use two buttons to cycle the punch. That way you have a better
than even chance of having your fingers out of the way when it cycles.
--
pyotr filipivich
"Quemadmoeum gladuis neminem occidit, occidentis telum est. "
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, circa 45 AD
(A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killer's hands.)

On Sep 23, 5:29 pm, Ignoramus9581
wrote:
I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.

i

As long as the frame, crankshaft, bearing caps, etc. are in good
operating condition this is a great deal.

I and some friends once had access to a small machine like this
and we thought we might make our fortunes by knocking out
spoons (fishing lures), until we started to price dies.

Follow the strictist safety rules, as others have mentioned.

dennis
in nca

On Sep 24, 6:25 am, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:
spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".

One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Actually this brings up an important point.

Even if you are super careful...how about the next guy who uses it and
is injured?

Will you be paying his bills?

A punch press is a financial liability...especially an old one. When
you own it, you are on the hook when something goes wrong.

Unless you have a definite need for it, I would pass.

TMT

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:44:24 -0700, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

After a Computer crash and the demise of civilization, it was learned
Gunner Asch wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007
03:51:02 -0700 in rec.crafts.metalworking :
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:06:28 GMT, dav1936531
wrote:

That press probably cycles in les then .5
seconds, so if it trips when you have a hand in there, goodbye hand.
Really!!

Be very very careful with that thing.
Dave


It probably cycles in about .2 second.

The little ones arent fast...they are sudden.

Use two buttons to cycle the punch. That way you have a better
than even chance of having your fingers out of the way when it cycles.


Most of the little ones have a foot pedals with mechanical linkages.

Foot pedals and music do NOT go well together.

Gunner

Too_Many_Tools wrote:

On Sep 24, 6:25 am, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:
spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".

One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Actually this brings up an important point.

Even if you are super careful...how about the next guy who uses it and
is injured?

Will you be paying his bills?

A punch press is a financial liability...especially an old one. When
you own it, you are on the hook when something goes wrong.

Unless you have a definite need for it, I would pass.

TMT

I don't recall my liability insurance company asking if I had a punch
press in my home shop, nor do I see such an exclusion in the policy...

Gunner Asch wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:44:24 -0700, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

After a Computer crash and the demise of civilization, it was learned
Gunner Asch wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007
03:51:02 -0700 in rec.crafts.metalworking :
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:06:28 GMT, dav1936531
wrote:

That press probably cycles in les then .5
seconds, so if it trips when you have a hand in there, goodbye hand.
Really!!

Be very very careful with that thing.
Dave


It probably cycles in about .2 second.

The little ones arent fast...they are sudden.

Use two buttons to cycle the punch. That way you have a better
than even chance of having your fingers out of the way when it cycles.

Most of the little ones have a foot pedals with mechanical linkages.

Foot pedals and music do NOT go well together.

Gunner

Ooh, foot pedals... to insure you can get both of your hands in the
machine and then cycle it... how evil...

Pete C. wrote:
Ignoramus3778 wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:13:27 GMT, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus3778 wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:25:26 -0400, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".


One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.

Mike, how sad. Did they recover the hand in any way?

i

Recover what Iggy, a blob of goo to keep in a jar of formaldehyde???
That's the difference between a punch press accident and say a table saw
accident, the lack of anything to recover and reattach. Gotta be
*REALLY* careful...

Well, maybe the punch punched a small hole etc

i


Don't the punches normally have a fairly large clamp / stripper section
around them? If it's just a straight punch the surrounding material will
get deformed and stuck around the punch.

Not if you set it up properly.

Some have a stripper arm, some dont.

In the absence of pictures were all guessing what this press is all about.

I have a 25ton power press and this uses a 3hp motor. so a 1/2 hp motor
will drive a 4 ton press, or thereabouts.
Now theres a lot to learn all about press work. apart from the safety
angle.

you need to know what the punch clearances are for various thicknesses
of material, also what depth through the die the punch goes.
this has to be adjustable to suit the material.
also theres a nack in using these machines by hand.
were not talking about automated strip fed power presses with
sequential tool and die sets.

this sounds like a simple foot pedal operated one shot press for small
components. You need to be taught how to use it so that your safe and
can produce consistent blanks from sheet thats hand fed.
This latter task needs planning so that each blank is close to the
previous one so you can strip the sheet off the punch with a small
twisting action.
I do it all the time with the 6 ton press I have as well.
the same principles apply if your blanking with a fly press.
you only need guards if you employ someone. officially.
I wouldn let any one else use it anyway.

hope this helps you decide wether you want to learn some new skills.




..

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:44:24 -0700, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

After a Computer crash and the demise of civilization, it was learned
Gunner Asch wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007
03:51:02 -0700 in rec.crafts.metalworking :
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:06:28 GMT, dav1936531
wrote:

That press probably cycles in les then .5
seconds, so if it trips when you have a hand in there, goodbye hand.
Really!!

Be very very careful with that thing.
Dave


It probably cycles in about .2 second.

The little ones arent fast...they are sudden.

Use two buttons to cycle the punch. That way you have a better
than even chance of having your fingers out of the way when it cycles.

But you STILL shut off the motor and/or block the punch with a big
chunk of timber or steel when putting your hands in there. And use
tongs or a stick to change the blanks with the power on. Old control
systems often have failure modes that can cause it to cycle.

You have to treat it as if it's out to get you.

Even with a proper two-hand-no-block safety system on the cycle
trigger switch you still don't let ANYONE operate it who does not
respect the safety concerns. Or you'll get your ass sued off when an
employee loses a body part.

And the best idiots get help in breaking all the rules - they'll
stick a hand in to hold the die in position (with a stick that in
retrospect was about an inch too short) and have someone else two-hand
cycle the punch...

This is why you don't see many antique machines in modern production
shops - safety issues that can't easily be retrofitted away.

This is why I was so **** poor slow doing old fashioned Letterpress
Printing (where you change the paper by hand) - I wouldn't try feeding
the press fast enough to let it go into continuous feed unless I had
the speed turned way down. And having the speed fast, tripping it by
pedal once the paper was in position, and waiting after the cycle to
make sure it didn't double-trip was no better.

But I can still count to ten without blank spots. This is good. ;-)

-- Bruce --

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 03:51:02 -0700, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:06:28 GMT, dav1936531
wrote:
That press probably cycles in les then .5
seconds, so if it trips when you have a hand in there, goodbye hand.
Really!!

Be very very careful with that thing.
Dave

It probably cycles in about .2 second.
The little ones arent fast...they are sudden.
Gunner

Yeah......."sudden" is an even better discription of little presses.
That speed makes them far more dangerous then larger presses with
longer cycle times.....which are still plenty dangerous if you don't
follow safety protocols at ALL TIMES.
Dave

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:39:57 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:

Gunner Asch wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:44:24 -0700, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

After a Computer crash and the demise of civilization, it was learned
Gunner Asch wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007
03:51:02 -0700 in rec.crafts.metalworking :
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:06:28 GMT, dav1936531
wrote:

That press probably cycles in les then .5
seconds, so if it trips when you have a hand in there, goodbye hand.
Really!!

Be very very careful with that thing.
Dave


It probably cycles in about .2 second.

The little ones arent fast...they are sudden.

Use two buttons to cycle the punch. That way you have a better
than even chance of having your fingers out of the way when it cycles.

Most of the little ones have a foot pedals with mechanical linkages.

Foot pedals and music do NOT go well together.

Gunner

Ooh, foot pedals... to insure you can get both of your hands in the
machine and then cycle it... how evil...


Ayup. Lots of old punch operators called Lefty...

Interesting discussion.

So, a good start would be a safety conversion from pedal to two switch
operation, right?

i
still ambidextrous

Ignoramus3778 wrote:

Interesting discussion.

So, a good start would be a safety conversion from pedal to two switch
operation, right?

i
still ambidextrous

Two key switches 10' apart ala missile silo...

On Sep 23, 8:29 pm, Ignoramus9581
wrote:
I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.


If it helps to hear another voice say the same thing..

Find a certified, experienced and trustworthy tool and die maker to
SHOW you how to operate your press correctly. After four thousand
hours working on mechanical and hydraulic presses up to 2500 tons
capacity, I was still very careful EVERY time.

With mechanical presses (yours), you get to jam it precisely ONCE.
When you do, something WILL break. People have been crushed by massive
flywheels and gears coming off the presses due to a smash. Don't be
fooled by the size of your machine. Find the formulas and calculate
the amount of energy that flywheel has stored. Your mushy body doesn't
stand a chance. That press will be *the* most dangerous tool in your
shop.

Regards,

Robin

Thanks to all. I brought the press home (rather, it is in my
trailer).

Some notes:

- It was VERY painful to maneuver my trailer in almost total darkness
(no streetlights on that street), into a narrow driveway at the dead
end of a street.

The flashing light that I made for it, saved my ass:

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Home...Backing-Guide/

- The press was made by BLISS (no idea if it is good or bad).

- I want to clean it up and get into nice shape, maybe even change a
motor since I have a few spare motors.

- I want to try it out carefully (ie, keep hands in my pocket while
operating the foot pedal).

- I have not yet decided whether the press is worth the space that it
would take. My guess is that the answer is no.

- To my uneducated mind, it seems that most proper uses of this press
revolve around leather, not metal.

i

Robin S. wrote:
On Sep 23, 8:29 pm, Ignoramus9581
wrote:

I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.



If it helps to hear another voice say the same thing..

Find a certified, experienced and trustworthy tool and die maker to
SHOW you how to operate your press correctly. After four thousand
hours working on mechanical and hydraulic presses up to 2500 tons
capacity, I was still very careful EVERY time.

With mechanical presses (yours), you get to jam it precisely ONCE.
When you do, something WILL break. People have been crushed by massive
flywheels and gears coming off the presses due to a smash. Don't be
fooled by the size of your machine. Find the formulas and calculate
the amount of energy that flywheel has stored. Your mushy body doesn't
stand a chance. That press will be *the* most dangerous tool in your
shop.

Regards,

Robin

I fully agree. these presses are like any moving machinery, they will
catch you out if you dont respect them.
I guess im probably the only self emplyed drop stamp owner operator on
this newsgroup, and I made very sure the previous owner of of my 1880
drop hammer /mint showed me how to use it properly.
After I had rebuilt it asa fully working machine, the first thing I did
was to put some 4 by 2 in where the die went and drop it to splinters
till I had the hang of the lift/ drop/ rebound/park, control.
If you use them as they are meant to be , you should be allright.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:21:26 -0500, Ignoramus3778
wrote:

Interesting discussion.

So, a good start would be a safety conversion from pedal to two switch
operation, right?

i
still ambidextrous


Yes.


its simple enough to cobble up a pair of NO momentary switches and use
them to fire off a solenoid to trip the dog clutch.

And far far safer.

Though to be fair...I work on these a couple times a month and only
see a few women (usual operators) with missing fingers or divits. But
then..they often quit right after an accident.

An interesting side note about presses. Lots of the old mechanical
dog clutch ones still in operation and being bought and sold.

However..and this may give you something to consider...most are bought
and sold for cash, with no receipts/bills of sale tendered. And often
the buyer has to give the seller a signed statement that the press is
being bought as Scrap and will not be operated, only destroyed.

In our litigious society...this is about the only way one can protect
himself when selling a mechanical press. And Ive brokered 15-20 in
the last 5 yrs. ALL..ALL...ALL being cash sales between good sized
companies.

Ive been told that 60% of the price of any new press, is insurance.

Few machine tool dealers will admit to being able to supply a punch
press. However they nearly all know someone who has one.....

Gunner

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:08:26 -0700, "Robin S."
wrote:

On Sep 23, 8:29 pm, Ignoramus9581
wrote:
I am talking about an OBI style punch press, if I am not mistaken,
with a BIG flywheel. It is powered with a 1/2 HP single phase motor. I
would say it weighs 200-300 pounds. This is from a big pile of really
old iron (not yet quite ready for a museum, but almost) from an estate
of a deceased 90 yr old guy. I offered them $100 for it, after two
weeks no one is biting (they wanted to sell the whole shed of that
stuff for 2k, which was crazy). So they are now agreeing to sell to me.

My question is, is $100 a reasonable price. The punch works.


If it helps to hear another voice say the same thing..

Find a certified, experienced and trustworthy tool and die maker to
SHOW you how to operate your press correctly. After four thousand
hours working on mechanical and hydraulic presses up to 2500 tons
capacity, I was still very careful EVERY time.

With mechanical presses (yours), you get to jam it precisely ONCE.
When you do, something WILL break. People have been crushed by massive
flywheels and gears coming off the presses due to a smash. Don't be
fooled by the size of your machine. Find the formulas and calculate
the amount of energy that flywheel has stored. Your mushy body doesn't
stand a chance. That press will be *the* most dangerous tool in your
shop.

Regards,

Robin


Good advise.

Gunner

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:20:01 -0500, Ignoramus3778
wrote:


- The press was made by BLISS (no idea if it is good or bad).


Very old..very good.

Gunner

Ignoramus3778 wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:25:26 -0400, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
spaco wrote:

A friend keeps reminding Me: "The punch press is ALWAYS trying to get you".


One got the hand of the daughter of a friend of mine in Ohio. She
lost most of her hand when she reached in at the wrong time.

Mike, how sad. Did they recover the hand in any way?


Only part of the palm could be saved I can't remember if she lost
the thumb, but she did lose all four fingers.. She was 16, and in high
school when it happened. Somehow, she was able to adapt, and laugh at
what happened. Her parents owned a business that made replacement parts
for antique cars. I don't remember if it was the 10 ton, or one of their
larger presses they used to make fenders, it was about 25 years ago. I
do remember that she had a wicked sense of humor, and loved to make
people laugh.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:04:57 -0700, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:21:26 -0500, Ignoramus3778
wrote:

Interesting discussion.

So, a good start would be a safety conversion from pedal to two switch
operation, right?

i
still ambidextrous


Yes.


its simple enough to cobble up a pair of NO momentary switches and use
them to fire off a solenoid to trip the dog clutch.

And far far safer.

Though to be fair...I work on these a couple times a month and only
see a few women (usual operators) with missing fingers or divits. But
then..they often quit right after an accident.

An interesting side note about presses. Lots of the old mechanical
dog clutch ones still in operation and being bought and sold.

However..and this may give you something to consider...most are bought
and sold for cash, with no receipts/bills of sale tendered. And often
the buyer has to give the seller a signed statement that the press is
being bought as Scrap and will not be operated, only destroyed.

In our litigious society...this is about the only way one can protect
himself when selling a mechanical press. And Ive brokered 15-20 in
the last 5 yrs. ALL..ALL...ALL being cash sales between good sized
companies.

Ive been told that 60% of the price of any new press, is insurance.

Few machine tool dealers will admit to being able to supply a punch
press. However they nearly all know someone who has one.....


OK, good point on insurance and cash/disclaimer on sales. I finally
got it into my garage and will clean it up. It seems to work
fine. Weighs about 300+ lbs.

i

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:04:57 -0700, Gunner Asch
wrote:

Yes.


its simple enough to cobble up a pair of NO momentary switches and use
them to fire off a solenoid to trip the dog clutch.

And far far safer.
=======
Until it doubles because of a stuck/sticky clutch.

The only truly safe setup is pull-backs or a sliding door or
sweep. These just sprain or break the arm/hand rather than cut
it off.


Unka' George [George McDuffee]
============
Merchants have no country.
The mere spot they stand on
does not constitute so strong an attachment
as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826),
U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:21:26 -0500, Ignoramus3778
wrote:

Interesting discussion.

So, a good start would be a safety conversion from pedal to two switch
operation, right?

Oh, absolutely. And you want to put guards around anything that
moves just so someone doesn't get 'brain fade' and put their hand in
where it shouldn't go - only takes a fraction of a second of
inattention to make a batch of hamburger out of a hand.

The term you want is a "Two hand no tie-down" safety circuit, where
you have to push two buttons roughly at the same time. And the press
won't reset if one or both buttons is held down, as would happen if
someone deliberately jammed one of the buttons to get out of pressing
it each time.

Clippard makes one that's 100% pneumatic (logic control valves, like
air relays) if the machine is all air powered and air operated, and
you don't want to run electricity to it just for the controls.

-- Bruce --

"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:20:01 -0500, Ignoramus3778
wrote:


- The press was made by BLISS (no idea if it is good or bad).


Very old..very good.

Gunner


The good old american iron is an excellent candidate to build DIY iron
worker.
I did a conversion of an old bliss to operate with a hydraylic cylinder for
a client
that manufactured wroth iron fences. He was able to punch 1" square holes in
1/4" plate and channel iron in 5 seconds. If you need a short throat iron
worker
you can build one at reasonable cost using a scrap yard punch press and some
hydraulics.

Best Regards
Tom.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:28:32 -0500, Ignoramus3778
wrote:

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:04:57 -0700, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:21:26 -0500, Ignoramus3778
wrote:

Interesting discussion.

So, a good start would be a safety conversion from pedal to two switch
operation, right?

i
still ambidextrous


Yes.


its simple enough to cobble up a pair of NO momentary switches and use
them to fire off a solenoid to trip the dog clutch.

And far far safer.

Though to be fair...I work on these a couple times a month and only
see a few women (usual operators) with missing fingers or divits. But
then..they often quit right after an accident.

An interesting side note about presses. Lots of the old mechanical
dog clutch ones still in operation and being bought and sold.

However..and this may give you something to consider...most are bought
and sold for cash, with no receipts/bills of sale tendered. And often
the buyer has to give the seller a signed statement that the press is
being bought as Scrap and will not be operated, only destroyed.

In our litigious society...this is about the only way one can protect
himself when selling a mechanical press. And Ive brokered 15-20 in
the last 5 yrs. ALL..ALL...ALL being cash sales between good sized
companies.

Ive been told that 60% of the price of any new press, is insurance.

Few machine tool dealers will admit to being able to supply a punch
press. However they nearly all know someone who has one.....


OK, good point on insurance and cash/disclaimer on sales. I finally
got it into my garage and will clean it up. It seems to work
fine. Weighs about 300+ lbs.

i

Hell..thats a tiny one.

Gunner

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:34:46 -0500, F. George McDuffee
wrote:

=======
Until it doubles because of a stuck/sticky clutch.

The only truly safe setup is pull-backs or a sliding door or
sweep. These just sprain or break the arm/hand rather than cut
it off.

Unka' George [George McDuffee]

Even the pull backs are not perfect.

Back in the 60's I was working as a tool & die maker for a large maker
of automotive gauges (S-W) in Chicago. An operator lost both hands
due to mis-applied pull backs. The die he was running was in a long
stroke press, and the bushings in the punch holder completely left the
leader pins in the die shoe, when the press was at the top of it's
stroke. Well the cables on the pull backs somehow got wrapped around
the bushings. And when the press was tripped, the operators hands
were pulled into the die.

The die came to the tool room for clean up. No volunteers, the
foreman did the clean up.

John Normile