Building a hydraulic cylinder repair bench similar to the wtc small cylinder repair bench. The question that comes to mind is for the wrench’s in the past I have cut wrench’s out on-site of 1 inch plate. I had the crazy idea to use a large three jaw chuck off of a lathe. One size fits all. To turn it I thought of a sprocket segments welded to the outer diameter of the chuck. And a chain fastened to the hydraulic cylinder used to pull the chuck/wrench setup. The biggest question that comes to mind is if the chuck will take the torque. Thanks in advance for the input.
I doubt it. You're on the right track so to speak. The big benches use two plates with a V cut in each and adjusting rods like a bearing separator. Clamp down on piston nut and apply torque however you like. I've seen a circle with holes evenly spaced around it to apply the torque with a hydraulic cylinder. The circle plate is setup to hold the V plate adjustable socket. I've also seen sockets cut out of plate and they all have a common size drive end to set in the circle applying the torque. Many ways it can be done.
In the past when I was at the dealer we had 1 inch by 10 inch plate and just cut whatever size wrench we needed out of that and applied torque with a cylinder. I’m using all of the same set up at that but I would like to have a one size fits all setup. I’ve used the otc style universal wrench setup with the v cut in it with a large jack screw in he center but it didn’t work very well and didn’t last.
I would be concerned about the chuck. The jaws are moved by a scroll... A plate with a spiral groove. I think the pressure would break the scroll or the jaw portion engaging the scroll. Same problem as your universal wrench... torque converted to opening force. A plate is like a box wrench vs adjustable wrench (AKA head rounder) I've seen a bench with a square receiver and hex cut into square plates. Change the plate for the hex size.
I take my previous comment back. Here's a youtube video of a home made bench with a jaw chuck. It's a massive chuck. Is this your inspiration ?
That is a pretty cool machine. But it's not covered in dripping hydraulic oil.
That is a really cool bench.
The person that designed that bench is a genius. I would like to see the cover removed from it, where he is putting the torque wrench.
Yes that is what I saw over in one of the Facebook pages. I had the privilege to comment back and forth with him and he claimed he had a cylinder on it that was put back to 24,000 ft lbs. said he had roughly 10k in building it.
In my very limited experience, Rod nuts & bolts seem to yield to wrenches pushed by cheater pipes or a handy excavator. The gland seems to be the hardest nut to crack (pun intended) and what a bench does best. This may do the job for you without the expense of a cylinder bench. If you investigate it, tell us the cost. http://www.tuxco.com/products/RGS-310.pdf
Looking for a used Tuxco HGS 40 cylinder repair bench? 662-891-8483