I've started to look at building my own cylinder bench and would love to see guys who have done their own to get some idea.
I'v heard of people using "I" beams from the scrap yard.. the "I" cradles the cylinder and a smartly placed bolt will hold the rod to unscrew the bottom rod nut.. Maybe some clamps or wedges inside the channel will keep the cylinder from rotating while removing the top cylinder nut.
I copied local Cat dealer's bench, approximately $2500.00 for steel, double action hydraulic cylinder, hose reel etc plus $1800.00 for hydraulic power pack. You'll also need a overhead jib-crane or you could use a service truck crane to pick up and rotate the cylinder rod-head and cylinder barrel, required when honing and removing the head assembly off of the rod. There are 2-3 benches for sale in S. Cal if your interested.
any pics?
Check out nut buster online we built a bench similar to theirs ,they have a lot of YouTube video that show it in operation.
I got the hair brain idea the other day to rig up a mobile service trailer. That would be an enclosed trailer and build a tear down bench inside it. The only bench I have ever used is the WTC small cylinder bench. And we made homemade wrenches out of 1" plate.
As for a hyd power I was thinking a guy could use the hyd off of the truck. Just plumb in some remote connections.
You can use air powered for the bench and nut buster, capacity 30,000lbs ft. Single action, spring return cylinders. Nut buster requires moving the single acting cylinder from one side to the opposite side, e.g. loosening, than tightening. Google Tuxco, they make Cat's current repair benches. Building inside of a trailer, NOPE! You need access from above and at least one side.
Found example video Pneumatic (air) torque multiplier is manufactured in the UK, 20,000Nm = approximately 14,750lbs ft For low volume usage, NO requirement for multi thousand dollar torque multipliers, IMO.
I doubt that 15,000 ft lbs would take that cylinder nut off if it was it's first time
Another example video, fast forward to 2:33...CAT 6V4948 repair bench with Sweeney 8100 torque multiplier, capacity 12,500lbs ft. Almost NEW excavator with damaged cylinder rod close to the eye...Dealer guarantees repacking (reseal) in 4hr and re-rod in 8hrs. CAT 6V4948 is obsolete, mainly because Sweeney was purchased by Dover (doubled price) than Hydratight again almost doubling price.
I'm looking at hydraulic tork wrenches and thinking of incorporating it into a portable set up.
Nowing, I've thought the same thing. Also, I've seen a setup using a cylinder and a circle plate with holes in it for the really stubborn nuts. Their wrench quit at 4,300 ft lbs. Mine is good to 7,400 so I don't think I'll need that. Sure would take the work out of the big cylinders!
Tuxco's economy bench, 25,000lbs ft torque with torque read-out gauge. You can fabricate you own hydraulic torque nut buster way cheaper than purchasing a hydraulic torque wrench. http://www.tuxco.com/products/HCS-25-LS.pdf
Testing Tuxco 5,000ft lb nut runner, cylinder develops 60,000ft lbs https://mulpix.com/post/778217684887297234.html DIY, consider single cylinder nut buster requires heavier structural components, e.g. bench frame, supports etc...compared to 'twin cylinder' nut buster. Reason? One 4" diameter cylinder requires twice as much operating pressure per square inch compared to Two 4" cylinders... MSD nut buster: retrofitted to local Cat dealer's obsolete Wolf bench http://www.ms-d.com/ Few ideas for Catfixer
Exceeded editing time. IF both cylinders single or twin setups have the same leverage, e.g. lever are lengths than twin cylinders require 50% less operating pressure. Less pressure requires less horsepower! Twin cylinders applying torque to a ratcheting ring also reduce reactive torque by forming a couple; does not require a heavy supporting framework compared to a single cylinder design.
Air powered torque multiplier shown in the Italian video above BMCI-20 is manufactured by Norbar Mod PT11. MTS, 2 1/2" https://www.norbar.com/en-us/produc...-diameter/category_multid/117/range_multid/21 Mod PT18. MTS 221,500lbs ft / 300,000Nm cost more than most homes
Any leads or tel #’s on the benches for sale in Cal?
SOLD out of state
I have to ask, if anyone has built a twin cylinder nut buster, show us how you did it and please explain to us how you got it to work. I've got quite a few cylinders to rebuild and have been tossing around the idea of building a bench myself, but only ever been around single cylinder units.
Do mine on the shop floor . We put in 4" X 4" square tubing in the concrete for a vice post that can be moved when needed . Also works great for busting cylinder & rod nuts loose . Drop a shaft though the eye to hold it then crank on the breaker bar . HeavyEquipmentForums
I've been wanting to do something like that for a while. But how do you keep from chasing the cylinder around the pin? It won't provide any moment reactions on the axis parallel to the shop floor.
Start with the breaker bar closer to the floor when busting loose or final torque .
Ok ill give that a try next one I have to do one. At work we've done some large cylinders, but generally we strap them to a table and hold the table down with a fork lift. When dad worked in an oilfeild shol they would anchor cylinders, connections, etx to the floor and pull on a 48" pipe wrench with the overhead crane. He said it worked great, but everyonce in a while that pipe wrench would brake and fly across the shop. Needless to say this was some time ago....
That's what I like about the floor pocket system . It's 3 feet deep in the concrete . Very little drama on cylinder work . Serves as a post vice mount and also as an anchor point when a customer brings ya something that's whopper jawed and wants it strait again . Pulled on them pretty hard and aint flipped the shop over yet .
My dad has 4 pockets in his floor with hooks in them. I remember him using them to straighten bent compacter doors on garbage trucks when I was a kid. We thought it was fun to fill them with water...
My kids do the same ..... What's up with that ?
Have to look close ..... Also have anchor points on the concrete apron as well . U-bolts welded to pipe in the ground tied in to the rebar . I have some rough & rowdy customers that like to bend iron .
Well when your not as fancy as ol TD and get to work on concrete you can pin the rod to a hitch so you can pull the wrench with a excavator or what ever is handy just need taller pile of block to support every thing
I am building a cylinder table out of a forklift mast. Anyone done this before , any ideas or input. thinking 20ft but may just go 16ft.
I'd say that's a good start for smaller cylinders. How would you handle the extendable part of the mast? I'd be reinforcing it for the twisting force, a mast isn't built to handle that, just look how it will sway and twist with a load up in the air. Something like using the mast as the top rails that your fixtures mount to, and building a box beam with two more beams and reinforcement in between.
I have considered a few different methods. One , building a bow frame as you mentioned to carry the rails. Two, narrow the second rail to match the third , weld them together inline and use the fork carriage to carry the rod eye end away for disassembly, I will have a beam gantry crane over head.
I have not finished my bench yet but I had several customers that needed cylinders packed so I built this wrench. The idea was from another field mechanic on a face book page. It worked well and cut the repair time in half.
Sweet, here is what I am starting with
More
Are you going to put a double acting cylinder in it so you can pull them apart and push them together? That’s what I have always disliked was pushing the rod back into the bore after all the seals were changed.
Yes, or I may use the long single acting cylinders that came on the mast and mount them in opposing direction. Only problem there is I would only have 6ft of stroke and I want to make it 10ft stroke capable.
Don't we all.. hahaha
Lol .... hell yeah. I was welding a bracket on a 10” I beam in my shop and my girl was there. She said “what is 10in”about that piece you are welding” I showed her 10” top to bottom on I beam. She said “ OH HELL NO!!!” Ha
I STILL think post #27 is the way to go.. Even IF you don't "cement" the rod in the ground.. just someway to hold a rod would be good.. For that matter, take the cyl off the machine, remove the rod & hook the rod back up TO the machine to hold it.. I know that's not practical in all situations but it works.. I watched a utube vid. where a guy had a "stake" welded to his flatbed.. hooked the eye in, strapped it down & grabbed his impact & went to town. It really depends on how much effort you wanna put into it..
For here and there repairs I agree. For a full time hydraulic shop not so much. Need a real repair bench w hydraulic nut buster
I think I know "her".. & she's got a FULL TIME job.. Lol.. I like to call her, "yes ma'am" hahaha
Yup that’s her
Depending on the rods you're going to work on, I think your forklift mast will twist at the longer extensions. The wind-up will be a problem when the nut lets go. Be careful.
I plan to attach my hydraulic nut breaker at the large stationary end and most likely not over 10ft rods. If I keep it that close I think I will be ok. The stationary will be super structured underneath and 2nd 3rd sections only for disassembly and reassembly
I agree with what you say and am considering that greatly
The old MSD benches were made off of forklift masts
Anyone ever used a drive motor and final drive set up with a power unit and built to attach a socket or a plate with a nut cut out. Wonder if it would produce enough torque ?
What would the final drive and motor be out of? I'd checked into a combine final drive once, turns out a single or double cylinder setup would have far more torque and cost a fraction of what rigging up a hydraulic pump to run the final drive. Of the commercial benches I looked at, those that used a hydraulic motor and planetary setup, still had larger three phase power units on them and the planetary had quite a gear reduction built into them. Yes they are nice, but also very expensive to buy and repair compared to any bench with just cylinders on them. I was wondering how jastone's bench was coming, also you don't need to build super long cylinders, you just need to be able to pin adjust a shorter cylinder as you take them apart and put them back together.
Probably a bobcat 870. The brakes tend to go out and some opt for a new so there is no core. Local dealership has a few laying around. Going to try to find the start torque. I like the double acting cylinder design. The final drive idea popped in my mind the other night and I’ve been thinking about it.
I've not built one, but I found a one man shop in New Hampshire built his own. Pretty basic set up. A heavy table with overhead I beam. A slide on the I beam supported a permanent hanging hydraulic cylinder. The hanging cylinder has a pivot at the but end, a cup on the rod end. He makes his own spud wrenches & spanners. Just pushes the spanner with the cup on the hanging cylinder. A second cylinder is inline with the one being repaired to pull the piston out. He had a 25' tall rig for pulling the rod 7 piston out of the long multi stage monsters.
It's a whole lot easier to torch a round hole, than make a wrench. I plan to try an impact socket, (softer, more ductile), weld it to a 10' long handle, or a short handle for sledge hammer work. A 10 foot wrench gets pretty awkward.
I have a flatbed dump with stake pockets. It makes a pretty solid table to work from. If I need, I can weld fixtures to it, torch them off afterward.
I went and picked up two 22 foot 8 inch I beams. One for tear down and one to build a nut buster on. Just have to decide with method to use
Here is what we built at the shop. Don't have any videos ut here are some pictures. Short of the teardown bench on the side it is copied identical off of a Deere bench. The ram in the 3rd pic is normally pinned where the rod is now but we found it is much easier to build challenger track adjuster cylinders vertically so it is pinned there at the moment. We have several different sized adjustable wrenches that clamp on the nut and pin to the little ram with a chart made that converts psi in ram to lb/ft on wrench. Send pm if anyone wants more pics or dimensions.