which ironworker is better?

So I'm looking at 2 different ironworkers:

Uni-hydro 42-14 42 ton unit with a single punch station, bar and angle shear with some tooling

Scotchman 40-14 40 ton unit with a turret punch station and same shears, tooling etc.

Which unit is better? Price is only $500 difference. Thanks

I have a Metal Pro, and I have to ask why do you need one. We thought we would really use, but we don't.

I think it depends on what you get used to using. We have one and it's quicker to shear flat stock 3" and over than it is to cut it on a horizontal band saw. Works good for shearing angle too. And if you need a lot of 1" holes it's way faster than drilling. As far as what's better between the two, I don't have an opinion. The turret may be better if you're punching a lot of different size holes and shapes.

I used a Scotchman for many years and it was a pretty good unit. The turret punch would be a handy feature. Beats changing dies every time you need a different size hole...

RPM said:

I have a Metal Pro, and I have to ask why do you need one. We thought we would really use, but we don't.

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I do small production runs of fixtures, metal art stuff (plant hangers, wall hanging art etc) and it seems I'm always drilling holes, cutting flat stock, angle etc. Do I truly need one? no. I get by now. But then I don't really need my plasma table...or shear...etc. They all just make the next job easier and quicker. I just finished a 130 store display fixtures that had a total of 1050 holes that were all drilled. The profit from the job will buy the machine out right so it isn't like I'm going into debt for it. Then again maybe I just have a tool fetish! lol [cl

I have that tool fetish also. So I know what you are talking about. We were going to use ours to punch all the holes in our brackets that we make. We were drilling them also. It takes a long time to drill a hole. Drill a 1/2" hole in a pc of 3/8" plate, and see how long it takes. Now drill a 100 of them. So we were going to punch them. Then we found out that the punches get dull and they can't be resharpened, like a drill bit can. They can be resharpened, but you have to send them off and then, they are smaller. So we were buying new punches. We now plasma cut just about all the holes, and we cut them a little bit small. Then we use a bridge reamer to bring them to size. The reamers are a liitle bit more than the punches, but we have been using the same reamers now for several years and done 1000s of holes with them. We have found this method to be the fastest and most economical way for us.

We also use the iron worker with a press brake to bend 3/8" parts, like steering arms.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Yes, you really need one. Mine is an HMI, and I don't know how I got by without it. More features is probably better. I would spend the extra to get the extra.

RPM said:

We now plasma cut just about all the holes, and we cut them a little bit small. Then we use a bridge reamer to bring them to size. The reamers are a liitle bit more than the punches, but we have been using the same reamers now for several years and done 1000s of holes with them.

We also use the iron worker with a press brake to bend 3/8" parts, like steering arms.

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RPM - This is a good idea. I have found the plasma cut hole has very hard edges. You don't have an issue with the hard edge tearing up the reamer? I've destroyed a couple of drills trying the same technique when I needed a perfectly round hole.

Bonehead said:

Yes, you really need one. Mine is an HMI, and I don't know how I got by without it. More features is probably better. I would spend the extra to get the extra.

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Bonehead - You sound like one of my friends that my wife claims is always egging me on to get more stuff! lol [cl

Here is the other unit...

jfg455 said:

RPM - This is a good idea. I have found the plasma cut hole has very hard edges. You don't have an issue with the hard edge tearing up the reamer? I've destroyed a couple of drills trying the same technique when I needed a perfectly round hole.

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No problem with the reamers and the hard surface. If you have to drill a hole. Just plasma cut a pilot hole of about .080" then use a cobalt drill. No problem that way either, just slower than reaming.

Sorry I'm tardy on replying.

I have a Scotchman with a 6 station turret punch. It is extremely useful. Takes about 10 seconds to change to another size punch. However, I'm convinced that the Scotchman engineers never use anything they build.
The clamp on the shear is something like 3" from the blade, so I often can't get that last cut done on short stuff.
The shear tends to pull the material as if cuts - a wide piece won't stay square unless it is clamped very tightly.
The cut-off pieces don't slide out of the way - they pile up. So, if I'm cutting 3/8 stock I have to walk around the machine and clear the stacked parts out of the way.
The stripper has to be removed to be able to feel the center punch mark.
There's a few other gripes I have.

I also have a Parana. Changing the punch is a pain. There is no way to manually lower the punch to line it up (other Parana models have fixed that issue). The urethane stripper is a big improvement over the Scotchman's stripper. I like the notcher and the fact that all three stations are the same height.

I tend to use the Parana to shear and the Scotchman to punch.

I use the heck out of both or them. A 3/4" hole in 1/2" plate takes seconds. Cutting 1/2 x 12 seconds. They both also cut 16 ga no problem. They don't care if it's stainless. You need at least one.

Also, I have the center shearing station on the Scotchman. It cuts angle, round and square bar very cleanly -good square cut on both ends. However, the scale works between the plates and the springs won't punch to die plate back up. So if you're cutting a lot of parts you have to stop an deal with it often.

DJ3100 - That's good info on both machines you use. I have narrowed it the the Uni-Hydro just because it is about 1/2 the size and my shop is jam packed as it is already. I also think it has a better notch and shear station. It is 2 hours away from me and I have an offer on the table, just waiting to hear if they accept it or not. [P

Have friends who have Unihydros - you won't go wrong there.

well instead of buying the ironworker I bought a bulldozer instead...[cl

The CNC plasma cutter probably can do most of what you need better than an ironworker (unless you're going into the ornamental iron business).

The only thing is, I'd rather see the cars you build, than the dirt you move. Wouldn't mind seeing a pic of the dozer. D9?

JD 450B A little smaller. If it were a D9 then I'd have all 60 acres turned into fields by now! Lol[cl

The CNC does wonders on the stuff I cut out as a single unit. The ironworker was more for making smaller stuff from flat stock or angle. I recently did 130 store display fixtures that required 520 pieces made from 1x3/16 flat stock each with 2 holes punched (or drilled in my case) in them. The labor to drill the 1040 holes was enormous. I could have saved 2/3 of the time if I could have sheared and punched them instead of band saw and drilling. Even gang cutting x5 and drilling x2 was slow.

jfg455 said:

The CNC does wonders on the stuff I cut out as a single unit. The ironworker was more for making smaller stuff from flat stock or angle. I recently did 130 store display fixtures that required 520 pieces made from 1x3/16 flat stock each with 2 holes punched (or drilled in my case) in them. The labor to drill the 1040 holes was enormous. I could have saved 2/3 of the time if I could have sheared and punched them instead of band saw and drilling. Even gang cutting x5 and drilling x2 was slow.

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Yeah, that's where the iron workers really shine. The punch and die costs $50 - $70 and will punch 100's (sometimes 1000's) of holes with a cycle time of about 1 second per hole. Can't beat it. The cutting has similar economics.

There are stand alone hydraulic punches. Wouldn't take up much space.

I used a scotchman that was available to me at my last job to fabricate many of the brackets on my truck. It made speed holes an easy process! It was a great machine and we had tons of dies for it, square holes and such... the more tools the better!

Some day I will buy one!