Iron Workers

[tigman250]

here's the whole story, my dad and i plan on taking the plunge this spring and starting our own fab shop and i was just looking for a few opinions on iron workers. we have both used a Piranha and like it very well, the only problem is the piranha is almost twice the money as the other brand being concidered! we are currently looking at the Piranha and a Uni-Hydro. the links are below.
http://www.unihydro.com/www/unihydro/pro_56.html
http://www.megamfg.com/p50.html

as stated earlier we have both used the piranha and like it not only that but we have both made countless jigs for diffrent applications, so we already have a running knowledge on how to make it work for many situations.(we don't have any actual jigs just have made them) we have discussed it many times and we really don't like how the Uni-Hydro's coper is tucked away the Piranha is out in the open and easy to get at from all directions, and secondly the Piranha has a much heavier total weight (almost twice as much) and bigger motor (5 hp vs 10 hp) so i think it's a more robust machine all arround. honestly if it weighs twice as much and has twice as much power how can they be in the same class? could it be possible the Uni is a bit overrated and the Piranha a bit under?

what are your thoughts and discussions? anyone used either of these machines?

PS. this is probably going to be the only mechanical machine we buy new and don't want any regrets.

[Wayne]

Mr

I have a Uni-Hydro Ironworker that I bought new in 1981, it is avery good machine. I have never had any problems with it. I think you should check how much of the tooling is included in the price.
The design of the machine has a lot to do with how much horse power is required to reach the operating pressure.
Wayne.

[arcdawg]

see if you can find something at auction, depending on what type of stuff you plan on making you might be better off with a shear, and a brake..... I have used scotchman ironworkers and if they last 10 years in a voc school they are pretty **** good in my book -

dawg

[Coalsmoke]

This is the absolute best one I have seen to date: http://www.metalmaster.ca/

[Sbi1]

I agree with Pat-I also have a 42 ton Uni-Hydro that I'm happy with, but I will probably buy a Scotchman whenever i can justify an upgrade to a larger machine. If you contact Scotchman, they have reps around the country that demo their products-I have had one of their trucks at my shop, and he had a 50 and a 70 ton set up , as well as a bandsaw, cold saw, belt grinder and several other nice tools on board. Nothing beats seeing it operate before you buy it. Down side is, if you are like me, there will just be something else to see and want (I finally broke down and bought one of the belt grinders after seeing the demo). Good luck on whatever you decide to buy.

[clintonwelding1]

what are those

[dyn88]

I agree with arcdawg. Get the cash together, cause you will need to pay at end of auction. Get in touch with a couple of local auction houses and get on their mailing lists. also remember often it costs more to get the item to your shop then purchase the item itself, unless you own a heavy truck and forklift or overhead crane. Some auction houses up here are dovebid,aaron posnik. There are countless numbers but you can find some great machines at cutthroat prices.

[Fishy Jim]

They're big machines to shear plate, angle, and channel. If you've been in the machine room of a reasonably sized metal yard, they'll usually have one. It makes cutting formed steel as easy as cutting flat. As was mentioned, they're also found in any vo-tech shop because there's nothing faster for making practice coupons.

[arcdawg]

we have pendinghouse (sp) and its always getting torn down..... Im not impressed.... IT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR DOING....

I much rather go for a nice shear, heavy duty brake, coldsaw, beverly shear, finger brake.....plasma cutter and a 250 amp synrowave....plus that partige in a pear tree....

dawg

[dandimand]

I have a mubea 66 ton it works great bout 20 yrs old . i think there is a cleveland iron worker not sure how good the quality is though but they are reasonably priced. there are alot of the older mechanical ones around as up here you can't buy them anymore new as to dangerous i think. but they are fast . basically if you hit the button there is no going back on mechanical ones.

[tigman250]

see if you can find something at auction, depending on what type of stuff you plan on making you might be better off with a shear, and a brake..... I have used scotchman ironworkers and if they last 10 years in a voc school they are pretty **** good in my book -

dawg

we plan on buying the ironworker new and a shear and brake used

I agree with arcdawg. Get the cash together, cause you will need to pay at end of auction. Get in touch with a couple of local auction houses and get on their mailing lists. also remember often it costs more to get the item to your shop then purchase the item itself, unless you own a heavy truck and forklift or overhead crane. Some auction houses up here are dovebid,aaron posnik. There are countless numbers but you can find some great machines at cutthroat prices.

getting them home is no problem either we have a Ford dually w\trailer, large forklift and an awesome crane we built, it's a 24" dia pipe cemented 10' in the ground standing 15' above ground with a 16' boom with a 3 ton hoist we built it so it can rotate 360 degrees. i'll try to get pics up if i rember. depending on how large the shear and brake are we may have to hire out the homecoming but everything else we should be able to handle.

[MubeaManiac]

Mubea

Hi

Get a Mubea.

Bar none the best.

Cheers

[timw]

I have a 50 ton Scotchman that is 25 years old. I got a great deal on it. It is 3 phase and I am running it on a static converter. It runs great on the converter, seems to have plenty of power. If anyone is looking for a used machine buying 3 phase is the way to go. They are easier to find and priced cheaper.
With Ironworkers you have to look at what you plan on doing with it to decide which one you need. Each one has it's advantages for it's design. Also you might find a good price on a machine and then the tooling might eat you up. Check to see what is included and what the rest will cost. Also shop around, I priced new knives for my shear from that place in Cleveland and then Scotchman. Cleveland wanted a week to make. Scotchman had in stock and $100. cheaper each!

[PUMPKINHEAD]

Tigman,
unfortunately the metal fab. show was last week in Chicago, Michigan isn't that far, and it would have been worth it for you, iron workers up the ying-yang.

[rb455ho]

coalsmoke

coalsmoke, how much are they and are they available in Florida?