DANE

[dane]

Ok, I guess it's time I start contributing to this a little bit...

First off, thanks to everyone on this site! It has made my life so much easier sifting through this wealth of knowledge.

Here's the latest creation...hopefully these pictures work.











I know there is a post in the commercial section about graphic designers, so in response to that...these graphics were done by a buddy of mine who is a graphic designer living out in Jackson Hole. Awesome guy, real creative. This is his ode to our sweet home Chicago.

With that said, I am going to be out in JHole starting tomorrow afternoon, and we'll be giving these bad boys a test run at JHMR and Grand Targhee. So if anyone is in the area for the next 7 days, let me know and we can definitely meet up.

Thanks again to everyone on here. Hope you like what you helped produce!

[dane]

Damnit, I had a feeling I would end up being THAT guy who couldn't post pictures right the first time...

Attempt 2 on the way

[twizzstyle]

(your photo links need to be a direct image file link... aka end in .jpg or .bmp, etc)

[dane]

Thanks Twizz. I think I got it this time...

[Dtrain]

Nice work> the t/t shapes are Fresh. What do you have for base material , and how/who put the graphic on it. Thanks. Keep it up.

[Jekul]

Nice work. How are the graphics done on the base?

P.S. Jealous of your trip to JHMR. Planning a trip there late early Feb.

[JukeSnowboarding]

great board!

[twizzstyle]

I'd like to know about the base too, it looks great!

[knightsofnii]

one of the nicest vac bagged decks i've seen on here to date

[dane]

Thanks everyone! Jackson is insane right now...we got 15" last night and they opened up the tram today. Conditions are prime.

The graphics I did through Chad at Coda. He did an awesome job, and super easy to work with. He just sublimates the base on clear Durasurf, so your standard UHMW plastic. The top he does on PBT.

[dane]

Wow, it has been a while since I have updated this. No time like the present!

Life has been crazy since 2012. I have lived in 3 different cities across the country and am about start yet another chapter. Thanks to a lot of great distractions and constant moves, my building has had to fit in where it could... The good news - it was the perfect time to upgrade my setup, tools and design approach. What better way to do that than to build myself a proper press?!

I wanted to try a different approach though...so I got to some welding and this happened...





This thing is tough. And cheap. And lighter than an I-Beam press (but still heavy ). Over-engineered, but hopefully worth it.

After that I salvaged some wood to make some stands, and started working on the guts. Picked up all of my pneumatics on Mcmaster-Carr, snagged some fire hose (thanks gorge!), and rigged up the system. Also drilled out and installed a aluminum cat track, which I did not document well...sorry. Here's the way it stands today, plus a little dust and a new air compressor.



Closeup of a stand:



Still have to add a PID Controller and get my hands on a couple (cheap) heat blankets, which will have to wait until after my next move. That's right, I said it. I am moving again. Next stop...Calgary, AB! And this time, I am building out a proper shop, because this has taken a back seat for long enough. And I promise to be better about sharing my process with this community on upcoming builds.

Anywho, here's some eye candy from over the years to tease all you powderhounds and hopefully make up for my absence. More to come...

[gozaimaas]

Hey man, maybe Im not looking at it right but that press seems to have almost no support in the direction you need it, and those non penetrating welds scare the shit out of me!
Stand behind a solid door when you fire that thing up lol.

[dane]

Oh man, I am hoping that it is just the way the pictures show it. I am pretty positive I got some good penetration on those welds, but I'll take another look at 'em before I get too far. I also have some more steel that I can use to add trusses if needed. My main thought process was around deflection of the top and bottom surfaces, which is why I added more rigidity there. I can see where you are coming from though.

Thanks for the feedback gozaimaas!

[gav wa]

yeah dude, that press looks pretty flimsy. Keep the gate for the front (but add a heap more cross braces) and then add a heap of vertical braces welded to the back opening. That press is made from damn light material so you want the design to be top notch. The gate needs 4 hinges not two, the 2 you have won't handle it.
Would you be happy to park a few cars on top of it? Because when you press a board you are going to be looking at around 20 tonne trying to blow that frame apart.

You better make some solid molds too so they are able to stay straight and warp free after a few presses, because the press probably won't support them a lot.

[dane]

I am really suprised to see this response. I have to say, this thing is pretty robust. It is made of 2" sq carbon steel tubing that is about .120" thick, and welded. There is also a third hinge in the middle, all 3 of which are welded on all 6 sides.

Having seen a lot of different press designs over the years, a good number of them are larger cross-section square tubing that is simply bolted together on either end to a stack of the same square tubing, with absolutely zero support on the front and back openings of the press. What is the reason you feel this is so much flimsier than something like that? Hell, people are making the exact same thing out of wood!

Oh, and you can definitely drive a car or two on top of this thing, but that is not the force you are questioning here. We are looking at an issue of tension, not compression. And with the distributed load of the pressure being applied, is it still really an issue?

I haven't run any numbers, so I am not trying to discredit anyone's experience here. Just trying to talk this out...and now I am very curious to test this thing and report back! I will add some extra cross braces on the sides and back just to be safe.