I know some folks may not be a fan, but I noticed he made his main uprights out of 1/4" steel plate welded up into a box.
I just made a deal on a small quantity of 4x8x1/4 A36 plate for about half local metal yard retail. I'm going to use one piece as the top for my welding table until I run across a good deal on something thicker. I decided to buy some extra just because the price was good enough to be worth sitting on it for a while.
I've been want a little better hydraulic press for a while. I have pulled my 12 ton partially apart. I can still use it, but only above the torn metal. LOL. My 20 ton now has a bow on the top beam. That's what happens when you try to press a prop hub out in the wrong direction.
Anyway, I was wondering if 1/4 plate really was adequate for the uprights on something like that. I have no need to make one as tall as stretch built his in the video. I won't have a joint in the pieces like he does, and I wasn't planning on going 50 ton. I've got a pretty beefy
30 ton cylinder and power unit off of a log splitter I was thinking about using for the hydraulic part. My 20 ton has been adequate for anything I needed to press except for the fact that I managed to bend it. I've also got some heavier stock for things like the top and table.Ok, tell me how stupid the idea of using 1/4 plate and making my own upright tube is.