Difference between revisions of "Hydraulic jack letterpress"

Hydraulic Jack Letterpress
Hydraulic Jack Letterpress
Information
Owner	Dan9186
Version	1.0
Status	In Progress
Started On	2010-01-31
Cost	$120

Revision as of 22:20, 2 April 2010

The Hydraulic Jack Letterpress is a press designed to deboss designs into paper much like old movable type letterpresses.

Overview

This project is the result of my fiancee wanting to have nicely made letterpress invitations to our wedding. Upon looking up the prices for such types of invitations, we were looking at about $900 to $1000 for just 100 invitations. As we started to look into it we realized that we could do this much cheaper on our own. All that was needed was the plates with the design, the ink, and something to press them with. Looking online for others' attempts, we found several where people had simply made them out of wood and were using leverage and their own weight to press them. We decided that we could make something similar with a few improvements, mainly the hydraulic portion to improve how even it is.

Features

Implemented

Hydraulic jack for pressing force
Made from simple hardware store pieces
Means of quickly inserting/removing printing plate and paper

Incomplete

Even distribution of pressure on the printing plate

Building Instructions

Image	Instructions
	Cut the 2 ft (0.61 m) x 4 ft (1.2 m) into two 12 in (30 cm) x 12 in (30 cm) and two 15 in (38 cm) x 15 in (38 cm) pieces.
	Cut the two by four into four pieces at 18 in (46 cm).

Issues

RESOLVED: The press does not apply pressure to the plate and paper evenly causing portions to not indent into the paper.
- SOLUTION: Use a minimum of 1/8" thick steel or iron sheet metal to provide a harder pressing surface.
RESOLVED: The metal piece for the bottle jack to push against is indenting from the pressure causing the pressure to disperse unevenly through the plate.
- SOLUTION: Replaced the fence post anchor with a thicker piece of metal to push against.

Bill of Materials

Item	Metric	Cost/Item	Qty	Sub Total	Distributor
Birch Plywood	3/4 in (1.9 cm) x 2 ft (0.61 m) x 4 ft (1.2 m)	$15.76	1	$15.76	Lowe's
Two by Four	2 in (5.1 cm) x 4 in (10 cm) x 104 in (264 cm)	$2.45	1	$2.45	Lowe's
Hydraulic Jack	6 Ton	$16.99	1	$16.99	Harbor Freight Tools
Bungee Tie Down	N/A	$1.39	2	$2.78	Harbor Freight Tools
Hex Bolt	5/16 in (0.8 cm) x 4.5 in (11 cm)	$0.50	8	$4.00	Home Depot
Hex Nut	5/16 in (0.8 cm)	$0.10	8	$0.80	Home Depot
Cut Washer	5/16 in (0.8 cm)	$0.11	16	$1.76	Home Depot
Lock Washer	5/16 in (0.8 cm)	$0.16	16	$2.56	Home Depot
Metal Fence Post Cap	4 in (10 cm) x 4 in (10 cm)	$7.54	1	$7.54	Home Depot
Small Tie Plate	N/A	$0.50	2	$1.00	Home Depot
Acrylic Sheet	3/32 in (0.2 cm) x 18 in (46 cm) x 24 in (61 cm)	$9.77	1	$9.77	Home Depot
Corner Bracket	N/A	$2.98	4	$11.92	Lowe's
Slotted Angle	N/A	$9.23	2	$18.46	Lowe's

@@ Line 80: / Line 80: @@
 == Issues ==
-* The press does not apply pressure to the plate and paper evenly causing portions to not indent into the paper.
+* '''RESOLVED:''' The press does not apply pressure to the plate and paper evenly causing portions to not indent into the paper.
-** Possibly increase the hardness of the pressing plates, maybe use a minimum of 1/8" steel
+** '''SOLUTION:''' Use a minimum of 1/8" thick steel or iron sheet metal to provide a harder pressing surface.
-* The metal piece for the bottle jack to push against is indenting from the pressure causing the pressure to disperse unevenly through the plate.
+* '''RESOLVED:''' The metal piece for the bottle jack to push against is indenting from the pressure causing the pressure to disperse unevenly through the plate.
-** Replace the fence post anchor with something a little bit thicker and more rigid
+** '''SOLUTION:''' Replaced the fence post anchor with a thicker piece of metal to push against.
 == Bill of Materials ==