valw36•19d ago

Fight with a frame press: broke my backing plate clean in half last Tuesday

I was trying to back a tight text block and the cast iron plate just SNAPPED - now I'm wondering if I should weld it back or just buy a new one. Has anyone else had a press part fail on them mid-project?

3 comments

3 Comments

sageross19d ago

Would welding it actually hold up to the pressure again or just snap somewhere else?

elizabethn5619d ago

Would welding it actually hold up to the pressure again" - I mean, sure, if you want a grenade with a warranty. Welding on something that's already been stressed to the breaking point is like putting a bandaid on a severed artery. The metal around the weld is probably just as tired as the spot that snapped. You'd be better off replacing the whole section, but hey, at least if it blows you'll have a cool story about how you almost died saving twenty bucks on parts.

stella_baker16d ago

Holy crap, wait. Your backing plate snapped? Like the actual solid metal plate that's supposed to hold everything together? That's insane, I've never even heard of that happening before. I've had presses give me trouble but that's a whole new level of failure, lol. Were you using a monster press or something, or was it just old and tired? I'm honestly kinda shocked that cast iron just gave way like that mid-project.