[Chris] has built Lil’ Screwy, a 100-ton home-built press for about $35 plus scrap on hand. He demonstrates its frightening power by punching a 17-mm hole through 8mm-thick steel using an Allen key.

Although all manual presses come in 15- and 25-ton load configurations, they can also be configured as 0-5, 0-2, and 0-1 tons. The manual hydraulic press is designed for a broad range of laboratory ...