Screw Press testing with 2x2 x 1/4" wall tubing

Vises
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Hey Guys,

First time posting here on the Fireball Forum. Awhile back Jason posted a youtube short / instagram video on a way to test vise tonnage. He had different thickness 2x2 x 1/4” wall square tube, 1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2”, 3/4” 1”.. He tested these against his load cell to see how much force it would take to deform the sections of tubing. I recently finished re-building a screw press and figured it would be the perfect test to see how much tonnage it was producing, considering I don’t have a load cell. The screw press is essentially a giant vise just turned vertically. Check out the youtube video on the testing these coupons. After all said and done my press will comfortably do 12,000lbs. I also added one of Jason’s 18x24 x 5/8” fixture plates to the press so I can use indexable tooling when bending / straightening parts. Utilizing the same versatility of a fixture table, just on the press instead.

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Very cool. Can you see if it makes a difference to not directly push on the tube? Maybe a thick piece of steel to spread the load to the sides of the tube like the jaws of the vise.

1 Like
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Great video, I would love to try it on the vise i made but i have a gut feeling I will end up breaking it!! Lol