Takes me back to my schooldays in the '70s. I still have some of the things I made back then...sheet metal toolbox with handmade piano hinges, forged fireside shovel and poker, sine bar, toolmaker's vice, hand-planished brass cymbal! Good times in the shop!
John Patrick it's not that expensive. you can buy and make a great anvil for about $250. go buy a striking anvil plate. don't worry about it not having a horn, that's what a bick tool in your hardy hole is for
Used to use one in England which was much bigger with a throat of something like 3 feet and the base was cast iron similar to a milling machine the throw was about twice as much.Loved that machine to death,it was so tactile, you knew where you were, so unlike a hydraulic press.Thanks for the memories, you've got a new subscriber.
I have seen a similar press used with coining dies. The operator had a long, leather strap looped on the near handle with which he increased the speed and consequently the momentum of the strike. I enjoy all of your videos. Thanks.
I'd think all of the clanging and banging from hammering could "hammer" your ears quite handily, myself. This press is quiet, but that's not all there is to metalworking.
Over here in England i work in a factory that has many fly presses this size. Ours all say "Denbeigh No 3 on the side. Ours have the addition of a lockable collar on the acme thread so an accurate depth of travel can be set. I think they were used for assembling shells during WW2
Hello Scott Wadsworth, This is a beautiful example of American Ingenuity and Craftsmanship captured in Cast Iron. I'm Paul Maselli and I am a master tool & Die Maker and an automation engineer. I'd like to offer a correction to your statement about the Acme Screw profile. The presence of the triple lead screw on your fly press is not to combat axial loading as you suggest. Multiple lead screws have been developed and used over the years with double triple and quad lead threads for a simple reason, they multiply the advance lead angle providing a very fast thread (rapid linear advancement) while providing sufficient contact surface area to distribute the load and force over the contact surfaces of the multiple threads. Axial load or misalignment are only compensated for or overcome by the length of the screw and lead nut design. Common rule of engineering would dictate that the contact area of the screw to lead nut is at least 3 times the diameter to provide sufficient surface area and contact to counteract friction and side loading. By nature of this machines design it should not experience side loading forces when being used properly. Thank You for Sharing.
Thank You, the point here is not about this being an American Invention, more on the beauty of cast iron tools lost to today's artisans. Plus my attentions here are to correct the statement that the multi lead screw was used to offset axial loading. But maybe that went over your head. Please re-read this comment.
"Common rule of engineering would dictate that the contact area of the screw to lead nut is at least 3 times the diameter to provide sufficient surface area and contact to counteract friction and side loading." When you say "...the contact area of the screw to lead nut is at least 3 times the diameter..."; do you mean the length of the nut or the actual spiral contact area of the threads?
What he actually said was that the multiple lead prevents the shaft from binding because the load is being applied from one side. This is incorrect as is your assumption that the screw prevents locking up or jamming. I assume you are referring to the "Sine" of the lead angle, not "Sin". Now lets break this down. As I stated the multiple lead screw is a fast action, with a steep angle and Sine value. This allows the ram to advance and retreat quickly for the action its performing. The amount of force applied is in direct relation to the length of the Fly Arm and the weight provides momentum. A single lead screw will not lock up or jam, just look at how you use a "C" clamp. The screw advances and will release easily without jamming. So the single lead screw with the lower lead angle and lesser Sine value will not jam as you suppose, it is not an effective design for the task of creating a ram that is easily advanced with the inertia of the weighted lever behind it. Thank You, Paul A Maselli, Sr Tool Maker, Mechanical & Automation Engineer, Boatwright.
I been using one in the smithy for 20 years now , versatility is an understatement. The latest tooling is for skillets. I have also built all manner of punches and sheers. Just don’t get whacked in the head with the arms. You might want to consider another weight on the fly, to balance things out.
I went to a technical school in the 1970's. There was no budget for this kind of equipment so the teachers got together and decided they could design and build one themselves. The sucker was 8 feet high and sometimes needed two men to operate. One to stand on a platform and yank the flywheel and another to feed in the material. We the pupils got involved by making dies to stamp out various sheet metal parts.
My all time favourite tool … my boss has a large Norton 8 that has two removable balls allowing for repetitive light duty work. I spend a lot of time on this lovable tool Setting up four hours of fast production work … I never get bored of this elegant beast… Thanks for your nice vid … Nick
We had smaller ones in the workshop where I was doing my apprenticeship and we used them for anything from stamping the company logos onto metal parts to stamping various smaller parts for office machines and for riveting. The reason for the multi thread is for faster vertical travel... otherwise you would be spinning the handle all day getting nowhere.
Thanks, now I know what it's called! I've had one for at least 10 years, I bought it at a sale, but I never knew it had a special name. I've also only used it to straighten things etc. Now you've given me new ideas. Thanks again Tim.
the thread on this press is called a triple lead thread. It is designed to give 3x the movement but retain the strength of the same pitch thread per inch
What a gorgeous tool! I managed to spot one that a friend of a friend was storing, but I didn't know that they're super handy for blacksmiths until very recently. I think it was a similar size, too, but now I desperately wish I'd spent more time eyeballing it.
There's a steam railway down the road from me and I used their fly press to change the wishbones bushes in a car of mine. Not what it was designed for and a bit beneath it really but it did a great job.
I used Norton fly presses for almost 10 years in my metal working days. We used to punch, fold, pierce, notch and dimple on these. I was in charge of a group of lads operating 8 of these for different operations. Very very useful pieces of machinery with the right tooling
This ild house has a verybspecial place in my family. Norm was our second favorite bearded carpenter. Scott would class up the joint nicely. They'd be lucky to have him.
Just found this video on 2-2-2020. Have worked in a couple of shops but never saw or heard of a fly press. Very interesting. Thanks for showing us. It looks very heavy, so I am surprised at chaining it down. Am looking forward to more about this piece of equipment.
I have a fly press at my home, albeit much smaller, but we call it a swatter and is not dependent on the fly flying into it. Everything you need, and nothing you don't need. ;)
The machine shop where I was employed for twenty years had a manual press similar to this one except heavier and designed to try out metal cutting dies. It had a heavy round upper wheel for momentum and large vertical square thread for impact force. This "try press" was rated at 30 tons. A die set with proper stop blocks was placed on the bolster and the heavy round wheel spun to produce maximum force.
I'm not sure where this channel's creative vision and expertise begins or ends, but this channel represents the confluence of true craftsmanship and Godly character. No pun intended but here iron truly sharpens iron - Those in the faith know of that which I speak. May the Lord bless your endeavors and I also hope all are blessed by the messages that are taught in these moments caught on video.
Yes I have seen lots of fly presses, in my early years as an apprentice in the northeast of England. They were old then in the sixties a very versatile piece of equipment.
In my mind, more threads on a shaft makes the pitch steeper... so the movement is faster. More axial movement with the same amount of rotation. Nice apparatus tho =)
He Ka you're totally correct. The screen he describes is called a triple lead screw. If it had two helixes it would be a double lead screw and so forth. The purpose of a multi-lead screw is to transfer motion quickly.
I was practicing on my lathe the other day and I made a double and quadruple start. Triple would be much harder since it's not even. You'll almost 100% of the time find multistart threads on juice bottles, milk jugs, etc.
I assume you did the multistarts on purpose ? xD .. But ye. they are used in all kinds of consumer products, like jars and bottles.. consumers wouldn't appreciate having to twist on a cap for a whole minute to get it open/closed =D
The Metal Butcher on a lath you just set your pitch 3 times what you want it to be, and adjust your cutting position with your compound rest. So for 10 tpi you set the lath to cut 30. Cut the first thread. Move the compound rest 0.100". Cut the second. Move again. Cut the third.
Used one for about three months when I was a teenager, we had the pattern with an iron ball at each end of the top bar and a single long handle, we worked these by swinging the handle round hard and catching it on the recoil. It doesn't take long to learn not to get slammed in the head !! How old these machines were nobody knew, but the raised cast lettering was well worn !
I bought a new A.P.Lever 7N flypress from the factory circa 1973/74 in Mascot , Australia. It has a fine thread at the top of the screw to allow a big nut to act as a stop and the handle has a hexagonal hole in it that fits over a corresponding taper on the screw. This permits the handle to be lifted off and placed in a more convenient position.The only maintenance is a drop of oil every now and then on the dovetail slide and screw. I still have that press.
That's probably the quietest blacksmithing process I've ever seen. Imagine how nice that would be to have a day of great forging that didn't involve your ears bleeding
I have one in my shop ( mine is in the shape of a bell with a heavy "round" weight on top). Just used it today. People tried getting rid of it when we were downsizing. I wouldn't let them. Don't use it often but when you need it nothing else will do!
Seeing as the toes on the legs have given out I would be quite concerned that the legs are not far off themselves. That could kill you if a leg gives out.
I had the same thought (among other commenters). Also, I'm a fan of your videos as well NIL... TH-cam feels strangely small sometimes. Next thing you know AvE will be reviewing EC's Burke bar.
Man it'd be so easy to move right in and make that shop a home I think if I ever got to tour it personally I'd have a hard time leaving I want to just live there and never leave what a playground what fun !!! Seems so cozy and very inviting to me and full history !!!
Amazing -- Thanks! I see these are SUPER RARE, at least in my part of the US (Southeast). In England and Australia they are everywhere. You are so lucky!
Your fly press has the elements and geometry of a bookbinder's standing press. One of these gets you 2-3 times the pressure of a typical hydraulic press for gluing a book into a hard cover (even when your "book" is the size of a newspaper!). The torquing weight was in a 20-inch wheel atop the helical drive shaft. An operator, especially a short one, would hop up on the workbench and spin it down until contact began -- then a half to one turn brings it home. Machines like these are sometimes felt to be "sweet" in a way no hydraulic device ever is . . .
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Last time I saw one was in a shop and used in punching dies. Father's worplace. It had two weights and about the same size as that. I was about 5 or 6 then and that was about 30 years ago. Random video recommended by youtube to bring back some really old and forgotten moments.
In our workshop in college we had a much larger one mounted completely solid down one corner of the shop, ours was a monster and i wish we had done some blacksmithing when we were there to use it more!
Hey man, I`m Owner of a 10t Flypress since 2 days now to ;-) - It`s such an anazing tool! I started trying out making holes with hole-tool from a kitchen sink hole puncher ... Works quit good for the beginning cu Echo
The quality of the old machines is awesome - just about any machine made in the 1920’s and 1930’s were so well made that they are still in use today - remarkable ! 😃👍👏👏👏👏
yes.. used in making custom design hand-made tiles in Backwoods, Pakistan. 4-6 tiles per pressing, two pair of two men teams per flypress. A pair of tilemakers on each side of the platen. No doubt working FULL TIME HOURS
Your videos are really brings some old memories... 👍👍👍 I used one that had full ring to hold it and we only used it to fold sheet metal... it was more for training ENG newbies back then. Thank you so much for making these videos they are awesome 🍺
I used to clean up all these old machines Herbert lathes,Cincinati lathes fly presses etc for a company called Normans back in the 1970s brought for not much from British Leyland cleaned by me and sold on.
Excellent display of your press. I have a John Heine 7 ton press here in Australia. Rated 7 ton I guess if you can swing that hard. I use it a lot for Blacksmithing work. It is strong and robust and made from cast iron, which accepts hot steel sitting on it for a short time. Thanks to others for comments on the Acne screw thread. Good info.
Just for further info. My press only has one handle so you get the full 360 deg before it has a chance to hit you. Maybe your press would be safer and easier to use with one down handle removed. (the one opposite the ball end)
Nice press I would like to tell you that the three starts thread is just to increase the traverse of the head in order to have enough momentum therefore and pressure . Hello from Greece
Wow. It's been years since the last time I saw this kind of press. A friend of my father who, as my father, was a goldsmith had one of those. I remember how it could go through hot gold like a finger through wet tissue paper.
very cool piece of historical equipment. that brought me to visualize how steel stencil and arbor presses machines evoluted from something like your amazing flying press machine. thanks for your demonstration
My grandfather was a jeweler and had one of these out in his garage for stamping cufflink and various other blanks out of sheet silver and gold. It was quite a bit smaller than this though.
The triple helix entails that there are 3 starting (and ending, obviously) points for the 3 helices; and having 3 points of contact (or a multiple of 3) has indeed, the advantage of translating rotary motion to linear motion and thereby pressure in the most equally-distributed way we can easily achieve. This advantage is well understood in all fields involving rotary motion, and it also expands to other mechanical aspects of such scenaria; angular velocity is also handled more evenly by the system, and having multiples of 3 weights attached equidistantly on a circle's perimeter likewise means that the rotary motion will be the most stable (i.e. it's the arrangement causing the least deviation from perfect rotation), which is why we prefer putting test tubes in a centrifuge in such an arrangement.
I think a cool idea for a tool to make for three fly press would be a fullering tool... you could be more precise with it versus by hand on your anvil. Keep up the great work!
The thread is a three start acme thread. It is very common now in cnc machines. Basically less friction in the threads so more power goes into movement and less into friction but at the same time you get more movement. Counterintuitive but it works. Great looking machine. I have an 1875 bandsaw that was butchered in a shop years ago because they didnt want to repour the babbit bearings and put ball bearings on it. Good looking machine except for that. Still need to have some parts remade to get it usable.
I've watched several of your videos and every time have been impressed by your voice. It just came to me that your speech modulation reminds me of rne late Jerry Falwell. To top that off a previous comment about your work mentioned Godly character.
First of all, I have been looking for one of these for quite some time and they are hard to find in North America. There are a few for sale in the UK, but shipping would cost a fortune. My main purpose for it would be etching on mid to large sized blades. I have seen that done on the "Man At Arms" You Tube channel and would like to add that to my knife making portfolio. Love your channel!
Actually, I have seen a fly press that had no individual weight hiked out like this one. Instead the thing looked like a steering wheel. The “wheel” was heavy but the spokes were not. It still needed a hand grip and if I remember right, the one I saw had two, still allowing the operator to bang their head.
You can put two ball weights on, i had one and one had a horrible noise it made, like it was going to jump off! It never did or would though thankfully
Like always great episode. Just one thing: Triple lines screw thread isn't for standing the abuse (only lenght of tapped slot matters) but to make stroke longer way by one rotation. For example 3/8 inch instead of 1/8, just by one full swing of flywheel. Otherwise operating would take too much hassle. Thanks
The fly press I remember from the shop I used to work at, had two balanced weight balls on the top, not just one. Seems odd to have just one, with all the imbalanced side loads on bearing surfaces.
It's an inertial version of my old Weaver mechanical shop press...cool. Or a square-chisel mortiser for steel. You've opened a window to another world of tools (like I needed that).
Flywheels fascinate me, I wonder what your opinion will be in time about this tool saving hammer fatigue in the forging process. Thanks for sharing new and interesting subject matter again.
Hey-Eric here in Deadwood. My favorite attachments for my press are the butchering tool and my fullering tool.... Allows for exact tenons. nice crisp shoulders and clean fullers on BOTH sides of a piece... You still haven't come up to my shop?...
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"Press on,Brother." Everything you bring to this channel is fascinating.Looking forward to your discoveries.Thank you.
Takes me back to my schooldays in the '70s. I still have some of the things I made back then...sheet metal toolbox with handmade piano hinges, forged fireside shovel and poker, sine bar, toolmaker's vice, hand-planished brass cymbal! Good times in the shop!
Metal working blows my mind. I can barely afford to woodwork, getting metalworking tools looks intimidating! Very cool!
John Patrick it's not that expensive. you can buy and make a great anvil for about $250. go buy a striking anvil plate. don't worry about it not having a horn, that's what a bick tool in your hardy hole is for
Levi Blackwood Gonna take me a while to decipher this response!
buy a flat peice of steel with a hole in it for the tools that go in the hole and ur fine
Metalworking>woodworking I do not like working with dead tree carcass
Lmfao
Used to use one in England which was much bigger with a throat of something like 3 feet and the base was cast iron similar to a milling machine the throw was about twice as much.Loved that machine to death,it was so tactile, you knew where you were, so unlike a hydraulic press.Thanks for the memories, you've got a new subscriber.
I have seen a similar press used with coining dies. The operator had a long, leather strap looped on the near handle with which he increased the speed and consequently the momentum of the strike. I enjoy all of your videos. Thanks.
As i get older i appreciate the craftsmanship and talent needed to use these tools. Thx for sharing!
And you don't need ear protection!
I'd think all of the clanging and banging from hammering could "hammer" your ears quite handily, myself. This press is quiet, but that's not all there is to metalworking.
You do if it is punching holes in steel
I'd opt for a helmet, or at least a hardhat.
Could you repeat that?
Over here in England i work in a factory that has many fly presses this size. Ours all say "Denbeigh No 3 on the side. Ours have the addition of a lockable collar on the acme thread so an accurate depth of travel can be set. I think they were used for assembling shells during WW2
yes it's good when you have a stop on them, especially when loaded with dies and punches or bending brakes..
Hello Scott Wadsworth, This is a beautiful example of American Ingenuity and Craftsmanship captured in Cast Iron. I'm Paul Maselli and I am a master tool & Die Maker and an automation engineer. I'd like to offer a correction to your statement about the Acme Screw profile. The presence of the triple lead screw on your fly press is not to combat axial loading as you suggest. Multiple lead screws have been developed and used over the years with double triple and quad lead threads for a simple reason, they multiply the advance lead angle providing a very fast thread (rapid linear advancement) while providing sufficient contact surface area to distribute the load and force over the contact surfaces of the multiple threads. Axial load or misalignment are only compensated for or overcome by the length of the screw and lead nut design. Common rule of engineering would dictate that the contact area of the screw to lead nut is at least 3 times the diameter to provide sufficient surface area and contact to counteract friction and side loading. By nature of this machines design it should not experience side loading forces when being used properly. Thank You for Sharing.
fly presses existed since the roman empire... so not american
Thank You, the point here is not about this being an American Invention, more on the beauty of cast iron tools lost to today's artisans. Plus my attentions here are to correct the statement that the multi lead screw was used to offset axial loading. But maybe that went over your head. Please re-read this comment.
"Common rule of engineering would dictate that the contact area of the
screw to lead nut is at least 3 times the diameter to provide sufficient
surface area and contact to counteract friction and side loading."
When you say "...the contact area of the screw to lead nut is at least 3 times the diameter..."; do you mean the length of the nut or the actual spiral contact area of the threads?
Length to diameter ratio, a 2" diameter screw, you would be safe to have a 6" long lead nut. Thanks for asking.
What he actually said was that the multiple lead prevents the shaft from binding because the load is being applied from one side.
This is incorrect as is your assumption that the screw prevents locking up or jamming. I assume you are referring to the "Sine" of the lead angle, not "Sin".
Now lets break this down. As I stated the multiple lead screw is a fast action, with a steep angle and Sine value. This allows the ram to advance and retreat quickly for the action its performing. The amount of force applied is in direct relation to the length of the Fly Arm and the weight provides momentum.
A single lead screw will not lock up or jam, just look at how you use a "C" clamp. The screw advances and will release easily without jamming. So the single lead screw with the lower lead angle and lesser Sine value will not jam as you suppose, it is not an effective design for the task of creating a ram that is easily advanced with the inertia of the weighted lever behind it.
Thank You,
Paul A Maselli, Sr Tool Maker, Mechanical & Automation Engineer, Boatwright.
I been using one in the smithy for 20 years now , versatility is an understatement. The latest tooling is for skillets. I have also built all manner of punches and sheers. Just don’t get whacked in the head with the arms. You might want to consider another weight on the fly, to balance things out.
I went to a technical school in the 1970's. There was no budget for this kind of equipment so the teachers got together and decided they could design and build one themselves.
The sucker was 8 feet high and sometimes needed two men to operate.
One to stand on a platform and yank the flywheel and another to feed in the material.
We the pupils got involved by making dies to stamp out various sheet metal parts.
My all time favourite tool … my boss has a large Norton 8 that has two removable balls allowing for repetitive light duty work. I spend a lot of time on this lovable tool Setting up four hours of fast production work … I never get bored of this elegant beast… Thanks for your nice vid … Nick
We had smaller ones in the workshop where I was doing my apprenticeship and we used them for anything from stamping the company logos onto metal parts to stamping various smaller parts for office machines and for riveting. The reason for the multi thread is for faster vertical travel... otherwise you would be spinning the handle all day getting nowhere.
I want to say as a electrician, I love watching videos just like yours and learning new things. I really appreciate your your videos and time.
Thanks, now I know what it's called!
I've had one for at least 10 years, I bought it at a sale, but I never knew it had a special name. I've also only used it to straighten things etc. Now you've given me new ideas.
Thanks again
Tim.
the thread on this press is called a triple lead thread. It is designed to give 3x the movement but retain the strength of the same pitch thread per inch
You are correct. The reason for multiple start threads is high axial movement.
What a gorgeous tool! I managed to spot one that a friend of a friend was storing, but I didn't know that they're super handy for blacksmiths until very recently. I think it was a similar size, too, but now I desperately wish I'd spent more time eyeballing it.
Glad to see old tools like this still getting used.
I've never seen a fly press, but I have seen an ant running on a treadmill.
Element of Kindness, I was hoping someone would run with this title that direction.
Bravo.
I was hoping for a good recipe for bug juice.
I saw one doing a backstroke in my soup once.
I have also but, then my magnifying glass caught my treadmill belt on fire.
that took me a second to get lol
Your channel is as good as "this old house" or any show out there for that matter.You are a natural my friend.
What a beautiful piece of old machinery.
Love seeing old school machines like this that I used when I did my apprenticeship, great to see them still being used.
There's a steam railway down the road from me and I used their fly press to change the wishbones bushes in a car of mine. Not what it was designed for and a bit beneath it really but it did a great job.
Your videos are turning me into the son my father always wanted.
I used Norton fly presses for almost 10 years in my metal working days. We used to punch, fold, pierce, notch and dimple on these. I was in charge of a group of lads operating 8 of these for different operations. Very very useful pieces of machinery with the right tooling
What a head buster. Imagine that press has enjoyed the choicest invectives ever said.
Hi, I am from England and I love your videos. Tells the story of good old craftsmanship and the wonderful tools they used.
Everything you need and nothing you don't need. Love this.
Anyone else think this guy would fit right in with the guys from "This old house"?
Great videos with great content!!
This ild house has a verybspecial place in my family. Norm was our second favorite bearded carpenter. Scott would class up the joint nicely. They'd be lucky to have him.
Just found this video on 2-2-2020. Have worked in a couple of shops but never saw or heard of a fly press. Very interesting. Thanks for showing us. It looks very heavy, so I am surprised at chaining it down.
Am looking forward to more about this piece of equipment.
I have a fly press at my home, albeit much smaller, but we call it a swatter and is not dependent on the fly flying into it. Everything you need, and nothing you don't need. ;)
The machine shop where I was employed for twenty years had a manual press similar to this one except heavier and designed to try out metal cutting dies. It had a heavy round upper wheel for momentum and large vertical square thread for impact force. This "try press" was rated at 30 tons. A die set with proper stop blocks was placed on the bolster and the heavy round wheel spun to produce maximum force.
Just awesome- the human mind is an engineering machine. We get it from a generous and kind Creator. Thanks for sharing
I'm not sure where this channel's creative vision and expertise begins or ends, but this channel represents the confluence of true craftsmanship and Godly character. No pun intended but here iron truly sharpens iron - Those in the faith know of that which I speak. May the Lord bless your endeavors and I also hope all are blessed by the messages that are taught in these moments caught on video.
Sure have now! Thanks for introducing me/us to this precious gem!
It always amazes me how stuff this old still works, it looks really well maintained!
Yes I have seen lots of fly presses, in my early years as an apprentice in the northeast of England. They were old then in the sixties a very versatile piece of equipment.
In my mind, more threads on a shaft makes the pitch steeper... so the movement is faster. More axial movement with the same amount of rotation. Nice apparatus tho =)
He Ka you're totally correct. The screen he describes is called a triple lead screw. If it had two helixes it would be a double lead screw and so forth. The purpose of a multi-lead screw is to transfer motion quickly.
Yep... seen it before in gate valves. Maybe somewhere else too...
I was practicing on my lathe the other day and I made a double and quadruple start. Triple would be much harder since it's not even.
You'll almost 100% of the time find multistart threads on juice bottles, milk jugs, etc.
I assume you did the multistarts on purpose ? xD .. But ye. they are used in all kinds of consumer products, like jars and bottles.. consumers wouldn't appreciate having to twist on a cap for a whole minute to get it open/closed =D
The Metal Butcher on a lath you just set your pitch 3 times what you want it to be, and adjust your cutting position with your compound rest. So for 10 tpi you set the lath to cut 30. Cut the first thread. Move the compound rest 0.100". Cut the second. Move again. Cut the third.
I'm just astounded.
Thanks for sharing. The best thing about this for me is it's something that my dad and I can find some common ground on.
Used one for about three months when I was a teenager, we had the pattern with an iron ball at each end of the top bar and a single long handle, we worked these by swinging the handle round hard and catching it on the recoil. It doesn't take long to learn not to get slammed in the head !! How old these machines were nobody knew, but the raised cast lettering was well worn !
I bought a new A.P.Lever 7N flypress from the factory circa 1973/74 in Mascot , Australia. It has a fine thread at the top of the screw to allow a big nut to act as a stop and the handle has a hexagonal hole in it that fits over a corresponding taper on the screw. This permits the handle to be lifted off and placed in a more convenient position.The only maintenance is a drop of oil every now and then on the dovetail slide and screw.
I still have that press.
You do have an appreciation for useful tools. That's what makes your videos so enjoyable. Thanks for a great video.
That's probably the quietest blacksmithing process I've ever seen. Imagine how nice that would be to have a day of great forging that didn't involve your ears bleeding
I have one in my shop ( mine is in the shape of a bell with a heavy "round" weight on top). Just used it today. People tried getting rid of it when we were downsizing. I wouldn't let them. Don't use it often but when you need it nothing else will do!
The more I watch this channel, the more I realize, I f'ing love tools.
Garage extra space
Is like saying extra money
Happy tinkering boys
Seeing as the toes on the legs have given out I would be quite concerned that the legs are not far off themselves. That could kill you if a leg gives out.
I had the same thought (among other commenters). Also, I'm a fan of your videos as well NIL... TH-cam feels strangely small sometimes. Next thing you know AvE will be reviewing EC's Burke bar.
Definitely worth getting some dye penetrant and checking the legs for cracks.
aimlessweasel I cannot effing wait for that moment. I hope they get together with chrisfix and use the Burke to wreck a car or something, lol
Weld up a frame that fits under it tight.
That machine is a thing of beauty.
Used one in college for sheet metal work. I love these tools but that one is a beast. So versatile
I worked in a shop that had a fly press that size. Everyone loved it and preferred using it rather than the hydraulic press.
Man it'd be so easy to move right in and make that shop a home I think if I ever got to tour it personally I'd have a hard time leaving I want to just live there and never leave what a playground what fun !!! Seems so cozy and very inviting to me and full history !!!
Amazing -- Thanks!
I see these are SUPER RARE, at least in my part of the US (Southeast). In England and Australia they are everywhere. You are so lucky!
Great for pressing bearings etc. together and inevitably knocking them out again!
We used to flare pipework out on bike exhausts, press fit parts fold sheet, punch out bearing's. It's one tool I miss in my current employment.
Your fly press has the elements and geometry of a bookbinder's standing press. One of these gets you 2-3 times the pressure of a typical hydraulic press for gluing a book into a hard cover (even when your "book" is the size of a newspaper!).
The torquing weight was in a 20-inch wheel atop the helical drive shaft. An operator, especially a short one, would hop up on the workbench and spin it down until contact began -- then a half to one turn brings it home.
Machines like these are sometimes felt to be "sweet" in a way no hydraulic device ever is . . .
Last time I saw one was in a shop and used in punching dies. Father's worplace.
It had two weights and about the same size as that.
I was about 5 or 6 then and that was about 30 years ago.
Random video recommended by youtube to bring back some really old and forgotten moments.
In our workshop in college we had a much larger one mounted completely solid down one corner of the shop, ours was a monster and i wish we had done some blacksmithing when we were there to use it more!
Interesting. The company I work for has a few big presses that came from Ford's Model T production lines. Enjoy seeing the old stuff.
The bending jig at about 4:09 is absolutely amazing... What genius.
Hey man,
I`m Owner of a 10t Flypress since 2 days now to ;-) - It`s such an anazing tool! I started trying out making holes with hole-tool from a kitchen sink hole puncher ...
Works quit good for the beginning
cu
Echo
The quality of the old machines is awesome - just about any machine made in the 1920’s and 1930’s were so well made that they are still in use today - remarkable ! 😃👍👏👏👏👏
Nice to see those old tools still in service👍
yes.. used in making custom design hand-made tiles in Backwoods, Pakistan.
4-6 tiles per pressing, two pair of two men teams per flypress.
A pair of tilemakers on each side of the platen.
No doubt working FULL TIME HOURS
The helical threads also make for a quicker up and down. Wonderful video, thanks!
i have the same passion in old tools and machinery as you and i hope i can build a collecting as awesome as yours
That bend jig is fantastic! So simple! Think I'm gonna make one soon. Love the channel!
love these old fly presses, used to use one often for bending and punching, very versatile indeed...
Your videos are really brings some old memories... 👍👍👍
I used one that had full ring to hold it and we only used it to fold sheet metal... it was more for training ENG newbies back then. Thank you so much for making these videos they are awesome 🍺
I used to clean up all these old machines Herbert lathes,Cincinati lathes fly presses etc for a company called Normans back in the 1970s brought for not much from British Leyland cleaned by me and sold on.
Excellent display of your press. I have a John Heine 7 ton press here in Australia. Rated 7 ton I guess if you can swing that hard. I use it a lot for Blacksmithing work. It is strong and robust and made from cast iron, which accepts hot steel sitting on it for a short time. Thanks to others for comments on the Acne screw thread. Good info.
Just for further info. My press only has one handle so you get the full 360 deg before it has a chance to hit you. Maybe your press would be safer and easier to use with one down handle removed. (the one opposite the ball end)
Never seen a fly press but I have seen a horse fly
But have you seen a pig fly?
Matmoo me,
How about a barn dance?
Or a butter fly?
Bet you ain't never seen a donkey fly
I was going to go with henway. Thanks for carrying the ball for me these last 4 years. Go get some rest. You've earned it.
No I have not ever seen a Fly press. That seems like a very interesting machine. Thank you for another great video.
Soopa Doopa, and no noise! Sooooo dig you videos!!!!
Dang man, you are having just too much fun ! Good on you !
Thanks for sharing and take care.
Nice press I would like to tell you that the three starts thread is just to increase the traverse of the head in order to have enough momentum therefore and pressure . Hello from Greece
Wow. It's been years since the last time I saw this kind of press. A friend of my father who, as my father, was a goldsmith had one of those. I remember how it could go through hot gold like a finger through wet tissue paper.
These are still popular in Europe even in some serious maintenance workshops in big factorys. Good machine to push in or out a bearing.
very cool piece of historical equipment. that brought me to visualize how steel stencil and arbor presses machines evoluted from something like your amazing flying press machine. thanks for your demonstration
My grandfather was a jeweler and had one of these out in his garage for stamping cufflink and various other blanks out of sheet silver and gold. It was quite a bit smaller than this though.
Triple thread leads are for quicker linear force transfer. It is in the oil drilling industry anyway.
The triple helix entails that there are 3 starting (and ending, obviously) points for the 3 helices; and having 3 points of contact (or a multiple of 3) has indeed, the advantage of translating rotary motion to linear motion and thereby pressure in the most equally-distributed way we can easily achieve. This advantage is well understood in all fields involving rotary motion, and it also expands to other mechanical aspects of such scenaria; angular velocity is also handled more evenly by the system, and having multiples of 3 weights attached equidistantly on a circle's perimeter likewise means that the rotary motion will be the most stable (i.e. it's the arrangement causing the least deviation from perfect rotation), which is why we prefer putting test tubes in a centrifuge in such an arrangement.
That might be my favorite piece of equipment that you've shown on your channel. Awesome video!
Cool old tool. Thanks for sharing.
Why is it that after every video I end up searching for a new machine!! Love your work, let's put the flypress on a t-shirt
I think a cool idea for a tool to make for three fly press would be a fullering tool... you could be more precise with it versus by hand on your anvil. Keep up the great work!
Beautiful old piece of iron.Thanks for sharing.
The thread is a three start acme thread. It is very common now in cnc machines. Basically less friction in the threads so more power goes into movement and less into friction but at the same time you get more movement. Counterintuitive but it works.
Great looking machine. I have an 1875 bandsaw that was butchered in a shop years ago because they didnt want to repour the babbit bearings and put ball bearings on it. Good looking machine except for that. Still need to have some parts remade to get it usable.
I've watched several of your videos and every time have been impressed by your voice. It just came to me that your speech modulation reminds me of rne late Jerry Falwell. To top that off a previous comment about your work mentioned Godly character.
Wow that is one very interesting and awesome piece of vintage equipment!🤔 Thanks for the great video👍😉🇨🇦
That's a cool machine. It looks to be a time saver. Nice!
First of all, I have been looking for one of these for quite some time and they are hard to find in North America. There are a few for sale in the UK, but shipping would cost a fortune. My main purpose for it would be etching on mid to large sized blades. I have seen that done on the "Man At Arms" You Tube channel and would like to add that to my knife making portfolio. Love your channel!
Is there any benefit to having the load only located on one side? In my head it would be a better design with two smaller weights, one at each end.
Actually, I have seen a fly press that had no individual weight hiked out like this one. Instead the thing looked like a steering wheel. The “wheel” was heavy but the spokes were not. It still needed a hand grip and if I remember right, the one I saw had two, still allowing the operator to bang their head.
You can put two ball weights on, i had one and one had a horrible noise it made, like it was going to jump off! It never did or would though thankfully
Pretty cool. I have a huge arbor press simular design. About 4 times that size. Just a collector's item.
Like always great episode. Just one thing: Triple lines screw thread isn't for standing the abuse (only lenght of tapped slot matters) but to make stroke longer way by one rotation. For example 3/8 inch instead of 1/8, just by one full swing of flywheel. Otherwise operating would take too much hassle. Thanks
The fly press I remember from the shop I used to work at, had two balanced weight balls on the top, not just one. Seems odd to have just one, with all the imbalanced side loads on bearing surfaces.
Its on the opposite side for exactly that reason;
@@naui_diver9290 Opposite side of what?
It's an inertial version of my old Weaver mechanical shop press...cool. Or a square-chisel mortiser for steel. You've opened a window to another world of tools (like I needed that).
A wonderful tool, looks kinda fun for a little while. Thanks for sharing.
Backhoe
Another excellent video! Will post it on our Facebook
Flywheels fascinate me, I wonder what your opinion will be in time about this tool saving hammer fatigue in the forging process. Thanks for sharing new and interesting subject matter again.
This guy needs his own show
Asombroso herramienta, por su sencillez y eficiencia.
Me gustó mucho ver cómo se utiliza.
Gracias por compartir.
Hey-Eric here in Deadwood. My favorite attachments for my press are the butchering tool and my fullering tool.... Allows for exact tenons. nice crisp shoulders and clean fullers on BOTH sides of a piece... You still haven't come up to my shop?...