Fly Press


Fly Press
I'd been looking for a fly press for a while when one showed up on Craig's List in Gilroy. It was a bit bigger than what I was looking for but I've rarely had remorse over buying too much or too big when it comes to tools. After thinking about it for a few days I called and made arrangements to see the press. The pictures below show the rest of the story.
	The camera was still in the Jeep when we removed the fly wheel. Dave grabbed it in time to get some shots. Here I'm removing the lower supports for when more reach is needed. There is another picture farther down that shows them better. I also removed the legs to lower the center of gravity of the press for the ride home. It also removed probably 200 pounds which would make it easier to move once I got it home.
	The previous owner has a nice Ford 420 which made loading the press painless. Lift the press...
	...and back the trailer under it. Couldn't be any easier than that. All the time I was thinking about the reverse process.
	The flywheel was easy to roll onto the trailer. It does give a good reference for size. It is about 40" in diameter and we guesstimated it weighs probably around 300 pounds.
	The previous owner, Dan, looking over the press. Does he seem sad to you?
	An uneventful drive home and then the unloading process started. The legs and flywheel were easy. The press was lifted and put on rollers to roll to the back of the trailer. My engine hoist actually rubbed on the bottom of the trailer, you can see a 2*4 under the wheel raising it just enough to clear.
	Just like getting in on the trailer, drive the trailer out from under the hoist.
	With the frame setting on blocks I used the Jeep to push the press up the driveway and into the garage.
	The press spent a couple of days here while I was noodling on how to move it to its final spot in the side yard.
	Here are the supports mentioned with the first picture. They aren't very big but they are still heavy. You can also see the general condition of the paint. Several layers, likely hand painted, all peeling. I lost count of how many different colors were on the press. For sure there was gray, blue, red, yellow, and green. There were a couple different shade of primer as well.
	The legs and flywheel in the side yard.
	Using the engine hoist we muscled the frame onto the gravel sidewalk and then used a come a long to drag it on old fence boards into the side yard. My son Arron looks thrilled to be helping doesn't he?
	The tree was a convenient anchor point for the ratchet.
	Truly in the side yard now, not much farther to go.
	Close enough for what comes next, stripping the paint. Dan, the previous owner, suggested using a needle scaler. It turned out to be great advise. Hot, noisy, and messy but it basically turned the old paint into flakes. A quick once over with an angle grinder and a wire wheel and it was ready for primer. Did I mention it was dirty? Mike Rowe would have felt right at home. Even wearing a tyvek bunny suit, gloves, and a dust mask I was a complete wreck after each session.
	All stripped and setting on cribbing prior to re-attaching the legs. The legs would hit the engine hoist without the cribbing.
	Back on its legs. The inside of the legs have been primed as well and the removable center section.
	All primed. You can see the masking in place keeping the primer off the ways. All we need to do now is put the flywheel back in place. Arron figured five or six guys could easily lift the flywheel back into place.
	Turns out, our five guys couldn't do it with enough margin for safety. Another trip to Harbor Freight (thanks Arron!) and I have a one ton chain hoist. A couple of 2*6s, a few nails, and I put the flywheel in place by myself. An interesting exercise since it needed to be hoisted high enough to clear the frame, then it needed to be walked toward the frame, and then gently set in place to not damage the screw or the huge brass/bronze nut. A little math indicates we were off on our estimate. Just the outside wheel, not including the hub or spokes, calculates out to about 1 1/4 cubic feet of cast iron or about 545 pounds. Add in the hub, spokes, and the handle/cage and it is well north of 600 pounds!
	The flywheel reunited with the press. The A frames were dismantled and the heavy lifting gear was put away for the next project.
	The frame was masked off and the flywheel was primed and then painted safety yellow. Just a gentle reminder that once it is moving it won't likely stop if you get your head in the way...
	Straight on shot showing the completed press. I couldn't help myself, I painted the raised lettering with gold metallic paint. I am still thinking about adding some pin stripes.
	A 3/4 view with my anvil in the background for size. The anvil weighs 100 pounds, less than most of the individual pieces on the press! I'm starting to think the trailers max capacity of 1890 pounds might have been exceeded. We were thinking the total weight would be 1200-1500 pounds. If the flywheel assembly is around 600, the rest must certainly weigh more than 1000 pounds? I wonder if I can find a big sling scale on ebay?