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Just received my copy of ‘Hydraulic Die Forming For Jewelers & Metalsmiths.’  It is by Susan Kingsley. It is all you need. It is very nicely detailed and several applications of die forming. The book is old so there are not all the pretty pictures in it like all the books have now. The pics are black and white and they do the job they need to do but reading is required.

She has a nice blueprint for making your own press on page 76 & 77.  It is detailed so you know the exact measurements.

You still need to have 8×10 x 1 inch steel plattens cut and drilled by a machine shop which should not be too expensive. Most towns have a local machine shop that can do this kind of work.  Susan’s press is a little nicer than mine because she has a pressure gauge and I don’t. I did not have her instructions when I built my press I just looked at another one and some pictures, asked Kevin Potter from Potter USA (he makes awesome presses) and took it from there. I also like BonnyDoon and have used both companies equipment at workshops. It’s all great, not dissing anyone.

I purchased my book on Amazon.com for 24.95 and had it in three days.  Good Luck and Happy Building 🙂