Bliss Power Press Handbook
In my shop, I have an E.W. Bliss #162 that we have had since the mid-fifties or thereabouts.
Purchased at an auction that I assumed was conducted at Crane Naval Weapons Center in southern Indiana. I never really questioned where it came from, or what it was originally used for, till the last few years when it became apparent to me that my family machine shop was becoming somewhat historical, and certainly a rarity. I say 'historical', and 'rare' due to the fact that it has, except for 4 years from 1988 to 1992, always been in the family (opened in 1946) and that, unlike many shops that evolve as machines are sold and replaced with newer ones, still maintains almost all of the original equipment.
Mswrd632.wpc Converter Free Download Microsoft. I have joked in the past that, The Shop is where machines go to die, and like a roach motel, they go in but never come out. The only machines that ever left, were a Marvel power hack saw that, while it ran decent, was just too slow at cutting stock. So, sometime in the late fifties, it was replaced with a Wellsaw. The other two machines were a Logan 820 lathe (pretty well worn out), and a bench drill press that went with my grandfather's partner to Missouri when he retired in 1978. Back to the press. As stated, it has been around since the fifties, and was used to punch small steel parts for the medical equipment we manufactured.
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We didn't use it much, and generally only ran it on weekends so as to not run afoul of OSHA (the press is all original, and has no guards, foot actuated, and has both a mechanical brake and clutch). Since around 2005, the year my father died, I have been trying to look up any history on my machines.
Most have been pretty easy to research. The Logan, Rockwell, and South Bend lathes are now well documented. My three mills, a Kempsmith, Index, and Gooley-Edlund, while a little more difficult to get information on, are also documented, since two of the three companies are still in existence. Regarding the Bliss, I have always come up empty handed.
Googling over the years only resulted in one hit wherein a firm was looking to buy a #162 for use on small arms ammo production. This hit at least gave me a clue as to what the original intent of the press was, and jived with it's known history.
Two days ago, I finally hit the jackpot. Once again doing a search, I came across BCN (Bliss Clearing Niagara) Technical Services, Inc. A German owned firm that has apparently consolidated what was left of these press manufacturers in one of the Bliss plants in Hastings, MI, and dedicated to the fabrication of repair parts, performing rebuilds, and otherwise keeping these old presses in operation.
On BCN's website, I located a spec sheet for the 162 that listed tonnage, shut height, and other data. Furthermore, BCN welcomes inquiries regarding copies of prints and manuals. I intend to phone them on Monday, and see what information they have for my 162.
While I still don't know the year of manufacture (yet), I now know that the 162 was designed to press the taper into.30 caliber ammunition, and that the max pressure rating was only 32 tons. We always thought it was around 50 tons. Sheet can be found here. To add a little information regarding the difficulty in obtaining any data on this press, a couple months ago, I was able to snag a decent copy of the Bliss 'bible'. A 1950 edition of the Bliss Power Press Handbook.
Comprising some 717 pages, this manual lists all manner of data, specifications, and capabilities of most Bliss presses constructed up to that time, and also includes information regarding many presses manufactured by firms that Bliss had acquired such as Toledo. Since the manual was from 1950, I figured it should include the 162, as legend had it that the press was used by the Navy during WWII. No such luck. As far as I can tell, none of the ammunition presses listed on BCN's website are listed in the Power Press handbook.
F-ztat Microcomputer On-board Writing Program. Perhaps information of small arms manufacture was considered 'Confidential' in the 1950's, and was not widely disseminated outside of the defense industry.