There are many ways to deform hot steel - hand forging with a simple hand hammer being for sure the least expensive and most widely spread way. 

However the limitation is obvious, no matter how strong a smith you are - on your own without trained strikers - forge folding a billet of 4x4x8" (100 x 100 x 200mm) steel by hand is just not going to happen - you will dent it, you'll deform it, but you will not draw it out to double it's length, fold it , weld it and repeat the whole again over and over until the desired layer count has been reached.

Sure three well trained strikers at least 450 pounds for an anvil will get that done too - but go and find three such smiths, willing to work the sledge hammers for close to no pay...

The most obvious and probably oldest solution to this problem is a powerhammer - they come in various types and flavours to say so - but all of them have a set of drawbacks in common: WEIGHT (a serious powehammer is at least 1-ton, often double or even more), VIBRATIONS & NOISE - That is a serious issue is neighbours are plenty and close by, POWER - Well to get large billets done easily at least a 50kg Airhammer is required... anything less will work, but slower than you might expect, SPACE - a 50-100kg Powerhammer takes up a serious bit of shop-footprint.

Now with that in mind, if the powerhammer is not really an option under certain circumstances it narrows down to a rolling mill of course a forging press.

The rolling mill, whilst perfect for drawing out isn't doing much else. Whilst the hydraulic forging press, if set up correctly and fitted with the appropriate dies can do it all.

a 40-ton hydraulic press, a fast one, will do the work of a 75-100kg Air-operated industrial powerhammer... some things better, some a little less - but it's fast and very powerful. you can easily work billets of 4x4x8" or even larger, you can forge to shape and make dies for almsot all things you'll ever do if you want.

Maintenance is very low and operational costs too.



Here's a short movie demonstrating what 40-tons of pressure can do:

The original Idea I have from Don Fogg who did base his press on a design by Jimmy Fikes. They were most likely some of the first bladesmiths to make small-shop sized fast acting forging presses. Usually a forging press just comes industrial sized and is not suited for our type of work. Dr. Jim Batson, a bladesmith himself, saw the press built by don and it inspired him to take his engineering background and develop a set of plans. The resulting small book is one of the best short primers on hydraulics - explains you all the calculations. The book shows you what sort of speed and power you want, helps you with the plumbing and many other aspects of building a press.

The book can be bought from Don Fogg for around 35$ (the best 35$ you'll spend if you plan to build a press, believe me): Don Fogg - Hydraulic Press

Once you have figured out how much power & speed you want it isn't difficult anymore - the most basic forging press operates and is rigged in the same way a log-splitter would be. The operator moves the valve control up or down to generate the desired movement of thy cylinders rod.

What you want is a double acting cylinder, meaning one which is capable of both pushing and pulling.

The rigging consists of four hydraulic hoses, three of the same diameter and one quite a bit larger to accomodate the back-line. My advice is it not to go with cheap lines - get solid stuff, rock solid - something well rated above your maximum capacity - this is for your own health and security.

The Press we have built features the following specs:

Press built by Daniel Gentile of FERRUM D. Gentile (www.ferrumdg.com),

• The press weighs in at approx. 350kg (770lbs) and is powered by a separate hydraulic powerstation.
• The Motor has 5,5kW (7,5 HP) running on 3phases 400/690V
• operating high pressure 2900PSI
• Pump: 1st stage - 18gpm / 2nd stage - 5.8gpm
• Cylinder: 5,5 Inch

With it's roughly 40-tons and good 2 inch per second movement the press is rather powerfull and fast. Using appropriate drawing dies you'd be amazed at how quickly even the largest stock can be squeezed to the desired dimensions.



The building costs for a press can vary largely - depending on how you get your parts and where you live... but you should be able to build a simple press with a little less power for around 2000$ from scratch. if you're good at junkyard-hunting - well you might even go with quite a bit less.

The one we built (all new parts) was priced a little bit higher - but it's a good investment allowing to get a lot of work done - even things previously impossible stuff.

Basic part listing:

• Double acting cylinder, around 3-6 inches diameter - stroke length depends on your setup and needs...
• 60l Tank with return line filter and suction strainer installed (a filter for the filling port is useful too)
• Two Stage pump (the trick here is this: the first stage allows for a fast movment but little force, but as soon as the cylinder feel some resistance, the pump switches to the second stage giving you slower movment but a lot more force.
  
  The more the merrier the saying goes... but beware, stronger pumps need stronger motors... your shop should have the appropriate electric outfit. 
  
  A slow 16Amp fuse would work for a 7,5HP Motor... mine's rated to 25Amps which gives me some room.
• a strong motor - the stronger the better - mine operates at 7,5HP, which isn't little. there are some presses using a 10HP motor. I wouldn't recommend going below 5HP.
• Hydraulic Oil (around 50l for my system)
• Hydraulic hose, electical wire, motor switch, and a good number of small parts ;)
• Good Steel... the rule of thumb is: BUILD THAT THING AS SOLID AS POSSIBLE. 40 tons or more are a lot of force - you better know your welding good... I wouldn't weld that thing with a small hobby-grade welder, you need thoroughly welded seams - free of bubbles or inclusions. you don't want a frame that twists, deforms or even worse breaks. Whilst failure would be considerably less dangerous than with a powerhammer (less speed) it still could be lethal, at least it could generate a serious situation. Even if you get away undemaged, you'll have a lot of unwanted work and trouble with the repairs - so build the machine TOUGH.

If you'd like to see the full gallery (construction photos): Hydraulic Press Gallery

A Movie demonstrating patternwelding with the 40 ton hydraulic forging press: