The Fly Press with John Crouchet

Produced by LOVE OF ART PRODUCTIONS

If you have been thinking about getting a FLY PRESS, this DVD will give you a good idea of what it can do and what to look for in a used FLY PRESS or SCREW PRESS as it is commonly known.

John Crouchet of Marbles Falls Texas gives a well organized overview of what the FLY PRESS is; how to evaluate a used press; how to make tooling for the press; and finally a number of forging operations, both hot and cold, using the press.

According to John, FLY PRESSES have not been made in the USA for the last 50 years. They were primarily used in the jewelry industry. Your best bet for locating a used press is in the North East, especially around Rhode Island.

John takes you through setting up clamping plates and fences and the building of various top and bottom tools. He especially likes S1 tool steel since a lot of the work is done cold. He also covers various safety aspects in using a FLY PRESS.

The last half of the 39 minute long DVD covers various forging operations using the press. He shows how to do the following cold: veining, straightening stock, rolling circles, decorating edges, and using dapping tools to decorate a leaf finial. He concludes the DVD with hot operations: stamping, making and bending decorated collars, taking advantage of the check nut to precisely control the depth of incisions while making a seed pod, and preparing stock for twists. John shows how to do the “Gaudy New Orleans Whore House” twist and the pineapple twist.

In addition, if you watch closely during the hot forging section, you will see him use a modified Gas Mizer which allows him to turn on and off his oxy-acetylene torch with a foot pedal, so that he can easily heat the metal he is working on. By stepping on the foot pedal, it lifts the torch on the control arm, which turns on the gasses and the tip of the torch passes by the pilot light which ignites the torch. Then by letting up on the foot pedal, this lowers the torch back onto the control arm which shuts off the gases. Very handy!!

This DVD presents a lot of useful information if you have a FLY PRESS and will help you decide whether or not a FLY press belongs in your shop.

-- AlbinDrzewianowski - 01 Feb 2009