Hydraulic jack letterpress

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Revision as of 07:00, 23 February 2010 by Dan9186 (talk | contribs) (→‎Bill of Materials: updated to use new template)
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The Hydraulic Jack Letterpress is a press designed to deboss designs into paper much like old movable type letterpresses.

Hydraulic Jack Letterpress
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
  • Acrylic sheet with 1"x1" registration marks

Incomplete

  • Means of quickly inserting/removing printing plate and paper

Bill of Materials

Item Metric Cost/Item Qty Sub Total Distributor
[Plywood 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
[2"x4" 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