What do you reckon?!

[overload]

I've been looking around various websites looking at punching options and come across the Balieigh Manually Operated Hand Punch HP-160.
http://www.bifabuk.co.uk/ironworkers/hand-punch-160.php

The specs seems about right for my needs which are 10mm/14mm holes in 5mm thick mild steel and 14mm holes in flattened ends of 34mm x 2.5mm tubing.


I don't have any experience of what works and what doesn't in the punching industry and so I'm open to any suggustions and opinions!

Best regards!

 

[Arsonista]

A good second hand Fly Press should do you. Ebay is full of them.

 

[pedrobedro]

Fly press takes up a lot of space and is a heavy lump of metal if you don't want it out all the time plus you still need the tooling to do the job once you have the press. They are good if you have room and can get tooling made though and can find one near enough to fetch as no-one seems to want to deliver one

 

[overload]

I've looked at ebay and for what the prices go for, £350 more or less etc, it's not far off the price for the Baileigh hand press. I'd rather have a fly press for it's versatility and whilst getting the punch and die is not a problem, I can't see how they would be attached to the press?
Has anybody gone through this hassle before?

 

[JayRS4]

£350!!! My No.2 press cost only cost 50, you need to keep your eyes open. Doubt it`s the same for all sizes of press, but mine has a 19mm bore hole to accept the top tooling, secured with a pinch bolt, the base has slots to accept bolts to secure the bottom tool.

Edit, the actualy footprint of the press isnt much, less than that of a hydraulic one, and the top bar is easily removed. That punch your looking at can hardly be moved out of the way can it, it`s 80kgs. Theres not really any arguement when it come to space, especially with the versatility of a fly press, and control over a hydraulic one

 

[Paul.]

Buying the flypress is the cheap part, to mount punches and dies in a flypress you will need a bolster and punch adaptor, like the ones here, these are mainly for sheet metalwork though, a 14mm hole in 5mm plate will take some force to achieve, I once converted one to hydraulic operation, even with a shear ground on the punches and the correct clearances it was on its limit with 15mm holes in 5mm plate, stripping the component off the punch was a problem too, I've seen one of those long handled punches mounted on a steel plate set in the floor, to use them accurately I reckon you need 2 people, one to locate the job, and one to pull the lever.

 

[overload]

Cheers guys! It's all good stuff, now giving me the confidence to forget the Baileigh and seriously consider the flypress option, at the right price of course!
Cheers again!