Selectron Fly Press

[mattm82]

Hi all,

I have just picked up a Selectron Fly Press, model248.

Does anyone know much about this company and the tonnage of this particular model.

I paid $15 bucks for it so pretty pleased with it. Just got to buy/make some tooling for it.

Thanks

[Mark Emig]

I'm not familiar with that brand, but 15 bucks? Good score. Have fun playing with your new toy,er, I mean tool.

[mattm82]

Thanks Mark, I do fully intend to have fun with it and $15 is certainly a good score. The only thing I know about the Selectron brand is that it was around until the late 50's and was based in Ryde, (Sydney) NSW. I have seen a few mentions of Selectron on the forum so figured someone may have some info. Regards, Matt

[Jim]

Just from the looks of the frame it's going to be about 1 or 2 tons of force. We have three fly press's in are shop from one you can pick up by hand to the big one that needs a forklift to move around the shop this one has a 100# fly wheel. The flying weight will tell a lot about force it will produce. Hope this helps. Check out are web site we have tools for the fly press's

 

Regards,

Jim

[mattm82]

Thanks for the info Jim. This one doesn't need a forklift but it isn't light! I'll be sure to have a look at your site. Matt

[rawtiron]

Hey Matt,
Here's a couple of links. I googled selectron c248 and they were on the 2nd page on my phone. 1 said 4 ton but the site is down at the moment. Search Selectron fly press, Selectron screw press, fabricated fly press, fabricated screws press and steel fly and screw press. There are other Selectrons there but bigger, all of them have been with Greys online. I found all this when trying to find out what breed my fabricated fly press is.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17997708
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17989227
I've got some photos of one that looks the same as yours if you want them just pm me.
Jason

[MOblacksmith0530]

I think that machine is garbage, so you won't be embarrassed I will pay you 30 dollars for it......

Seriously that is a slick looking little press. Looks real clean and the screw looks great from the photo. I really like the square hole in the base plate, that will give you a nice way to index tools that is repeatable.

[mattm82]

MOBlacksmith, thanks very much for the offer but I feel I should suffer through the clear waste of my hard earned $15, also the freight from Australia maybe a little unkind to your wallet : )

The whole press appears in great condition and I was willing to pay a lot more for this. Unfortunate for the seller who was not willing to freight, was in an out of the way area and used eBay. No one nodded so I got a bargain!

[AndrewOC]

G'day matt,

at this link is what I have found so far (inc. your finds- thanks);

http://trove.nla.gov.au/list?id=32652

 

I have a C100, which is a bigggg 'c' frame, fabricated fly press. It may weigh 150-200kgs.(!)  The specs. are as follows;

Die space/ bedplate; 14" x 11-1/2"

stroke of slide; approx 11-1/2"

die shank; 1.5" dia x 3"

opening in bed; 4-1/2" sq.

  Compare with: http://www.johnheine.com.au/

 

machine height to top of screw nut; 31"

Thread; 2" dia x 2-1/2" lead, four thread/ start

handle is 1" bar, 45" long

The frame is made up of 1/2" and 3/4" plate.

They would be a good design to copy for those who wish to make their own.

 

regs,

AndrewOC

[Bruce Beamish]

Hello Matt,

 

Selectron Idustries made a good fabricated press as did Accro (both Australian Manufacturers) of the cast iron body presses I have seen (I own both) are the John Heine and AP Lever (Australian Made) are good machines too.

All utilise the twin bolt clamp for holding the die shank unlike the english presses I have seen which use a grub screw through the press head to hold the shank of the tool which can lead to problems.

In fact I picked up a Norton  No.6 deep back press for a friend of mine recently and the grub screw had been replaced with a bolt and the bolt was burred over on the shank of the tool. After finally managing to extract the damaged bolt, the press head now needs drilling and tapping oversize. So I speak from first hand experience of this problem. Another thing I noticed was that the Norton is a three start thread whereas both my John Heine and AP Lever are four start threads.

The Norton is a double flyweight machine and the Australian presses are single flyweight, perhaps the idea is the extra weight increses the oomph (technical term) as opposed to the mechanical advantage of the four start thread?

I did succumb whilst I was buying for my mate, a Norton No.4 deep throat press had to come home to stay at my place, yes I know my reservations as I have mentioned about the die clamping but it is the size I needed and I will use a tool holder and it will get looked after. Another thing that surprised me about this press (the No.4) was the poor quality of the casting, missmatch casting and a the odd bit of porosity! None of it is major but I thought it was unusual given the reputation that Norton presses have.

Having said that, the quality of the casting on the No.6 is good.

[David Gaddis]

15 dollars goes a whole lot farther down in austrailia than here in US

 

 

Carry on

[Jimmy James.]

Hi Matt. 
I’ve just bought a selectron 248 fly press. Pick up next week. Seeking any information on them. 
jimmy

[Stash]

Hey Jimmy- this thread is over 10 years old, and Matt's handle is one I haven’t seen for a long time. Best to follow the links and see where they take you.

Steve

[Jimmy James.]

Thanks. Knew it was old. But can’t find much. Been following links. 
cheers. 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Jimmy James.

[NoGoodWithUsernames]

It looks like he last logged in Feb 2022 but perhaps sending a private message would put an email notification in his inbox and you could get in touch?