My press

[Col]

Depends on the press design. If it has a detachable pump its easier as you can put more distance between you and the press. If its a bottle jack press, the shield needs to protect everyhing including the hand doing the pumping

[Coulterbart]

I was going to make a new thread but this orb is very similar so I am going to try and start here. I have been looking for some info on a safety shield for my cheapy harbor freight 12 ton press. Had to go with this one as the arbor press wouldn't give enough clearance for gerbs. My question is:

 

Are people using plain plexiglass or some kind of bullet proof material for this. My thought was this is not for protection from an 'explosion' as much as a 'fireball' or fountain accidentally igniting.

 

Any input on material and even some suggestions on mounting would be greatly appreciated. I was planning on using 4 bolts (1 for each corner) to hold in place. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

P.S. Searching here and on passfire I could not find an article on this but it seems like a good feature for our presses. Maybe someone will get the wild hair to post an article on it. (Or maybe I will try to document everything and make one myself when I complete it.)

[jessoman]

Hi mate,

I'm lead to believe the best transparent compound is explicitly polycarbonate/Lexan. 2x 5mm sheets (or more) 1cm apart allow best protection. The idea of plexiglass is only that it is transparent so you can see your work. You can use thick plywood for other areas that need no monitoring. I'm actually working on my shield today. I will use a c channel steel as framing and weld on bars that can be bolted/welded to the frame of the press.

 

Kind regards

[ddewees]

You want polycarbonate aka Lexan, not acrylic aka Plexiglass. Edited January 16, 2014 by ddewees

[jessoman]

http://youtu.be/n22zlPHOk-M

 

Alright team, what's the verdict...