Hydraulic jack letterpress
The Hydraulic Jack Letterpress is a press designed to deboss designs into paper much like old movable type letterpresses.
| Hydraulic Jack Letterpress | |
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| Information | |
| Owner | Dan9186 |
| Version | 1.0 |
| Status | In Progress |
| Started On | 2010-01-31 |
| Cost | $120 |
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
- Even distribution of pressure on the printing plate
Building Instructions
| Image | Instructions |
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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. |
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Cut the two by four into four pieces at 18 in (46 cm). |
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Glue the pairs together to make the top and bottom piece for the press. |
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Clamp them until you have the chance to bolt everything together. |
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Glue and clamp the 12 in (30 cm) x 12 in (30 cm) and two 15 in (38 cm) x 15 in (38 cm) pieces and screw them together with 2.25 in (5.7 cm) wood screws. |
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Place the L brackets on the top of the pressing plate to provide something to pull upward with for the return on the hydraulics. |
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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 |
Use
Pictures and words to come