Hydraulic Forging Press for the Blacksmith

By Randy McDaniel

The hydraulic forging press is becoming increasingly important to the any blacksmith shop. This relatively small machine, which is often hand made, allows smiths to do many of the same operations as a power hammer while adding more control and expanding what one can do with hot metal. Over forty years ago a spark ignited Randy McDaniel’s passion for forging hot metal. This has been a passion that continually grows. Seven years ago his exploration of hot metal evolved and he began specializing in work done with the hydraulic forging press. Randy now creates all of his own tooling and dies which he uses to produce a line of unique items. He loves how the power of his sixty ton press pushes hot metal as if it were clay in his hands. This book covers the history, the how to, and especially the versatility of the hydraulic forging press for the blacksmith and the knife maker. It provides a comparison between the press and other machinery, the different types of presses, which type of press is right for your application, should you build one or buy one, focuses on tooling that you can make to get the most out of your press and much, much more. Large, full-color drawings and photographs of presses, items made on the press, and the tooling used are featured throughout the book and in the gallery section. Award-winning author and blacksmith, Randy McDaniel has brought together an international group of collaborators to make Hydraulic Forging Press for the Blacksmith a useful and inspirational resource for anyone forging hot metal.