The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Shop Press

Use mine quite a bit. I also do woodwork from time to time so I use mine more than most folks. Mine is a floor model craftsman I bought back in 1986 and it still does a fine job. If your going to use a drill its nice to have some of the gizmos that help to hold stuff in place and the right drill bit. Otherwise you'll make a mess of things......cause I've done it a bunch of times!!!

I'm not sure he means drill press.

I'll use mine for changing out ujoints, straightening bent metal parts, removing / installing bushings, removing / installing ball joints, removing / installing pressed bearings and anything that requires a gentler force than the pounding of a hammer and maybe the use of some heat.

It can sit and collect dust, but when you need it, it can pay for itself many times over!

I have a 12 ton shop press that I use for straightening, bending, pressing bearings and bushings, etc. I don't like to use it for pressing U-joints because I can't maintain even control on the driveshaft. I have a U-joint press (looks like an oversize heavy duty C-clamp) that works well for U-joints and ball joints.

It's one of those tools that will spend a lot of time sitting in the back of the shop but when you need it you REALLY need it. When I closed my business I sold mine and have regretted it ever since.

I have a 20 ton. I have mixed feelings about it, as it takes up a bit of room in my smaller-sized shop. I put it on casters so I can move it around.
I also haven't used it that much, mainly for pressing on hub bearings. I could probably have survived by running down the street to the machine shop, as last time I was there he didn't even want to charge me anything for pressing in a bearing.

I built my own press out of 6" sq. 3/8" wall tubing and 12" C-channel boxed with 3/8" plate, and used a 5" dia cylinder with 2" ram and 2,000psi hydraulic power supply. I am in the 20 to 25 ton range and is 50" wide inside. I picked up some of the press brake shoe of different length's and widths and some die stock so my press also serves as a press brake. I picked up the material as scrap off a bridge project with the exception of the 6" tubing. As a press it would probally sit idle a lot, but as a combo unit it get's used weekly.

My arbor press makes a really good walnut cracker when not doing the normal u-joint or bushing patrol.

I have a twelve ton press. I have owned it for at least twenty five years. So far I have not had a job that the press could not handle. I do not used it much but when I need it I wonder how I could have gone with out it.

Build one yourself. You can make it cheaper, better, determine the size you want it to be and use any bottle jack you happen to have around. You can just pull the jack out and stick it under a car any time you need it.
The first image is a scan from a '60s HotRod magazine. I didn't build mine until about ten years ago and I kicked myself for not building it sooner.
HotRod's press
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I had looked at harbor freight to get some ideas and immediately knew I didn't want theirs. The tables are flimsy and they gave you a couple of plates, but they aren't steel. They are cast iron and easily snap in half. The plates you see on my table are 3/4" and 3/8" for spacing. I had them cut to length with the rest of the pieces when I bought the steel. It was faster, easier and only a few extra bucks to have everything cut. I think the cost for the steel at that time was about $50. The grade 8 bolts and springs I got at OSH. The 5/8" Dia. cold rolled and the angle pieces for the base I had lying around.
I made several changes to the hot rod plans. Mine is 24" wide and 60" tall.
I used less than the four inch spacing on the holes on the side supports, so that I could use two pins on each side if the need arose. Usually I just use the bottom one on each side.
Instead of bolts, I used 5/8" rod between the front and back of the table and welded them in place.
I used 1/2" x 3" steel for the cross bar that the jack sits on instead of the aluminum. The 1 1/2" pin is simply bolted on with a counter sunk 3/8" taper head screw through the top of the plate. The lower 1" pin extension makes it more versatile, but unless you have a lathe, you probably would do well with a one-piece pin like they used.
They welded a ring on the top plate above the jack to keep it centered. I wanted to be able change that a little easier so I bolted that piece of tin on there with a hole in it. The first jack I was using was a 10-ton. When it went south, I got this 12-ton and it had a larger top pad. I simply had to cut the hole larger on the piece of tin. You could probably use an even bigger bottle, but you would need bigger or double up on the springs because of the extra weight.
They show two different methods for holding the side guide bars in place. I used the cable clamps and had to do a lot of grinding and filing on them. The side guide rods have to square with each other so that the plate moves up and down easily. I extended the angle iron for the base only about an inch on the back. I'm not worried about it falling against the wall and I can move it out should I need extra room when pressing something.

I have one of the Harbor Freight presses. I actually use the jack out of the press more than I use it in the press, but it works fine. It is kind of dangerous, though, I've sent a few things flying across the shop. Do yourself a favor and make an apron out of something heavy to protect your torso, and wear a face shield. Safety glasses aren't going to stop a shard of metal pushed along by 20 tons of force.

One look at the table on the HF and you can see that could happen. The table isn't holding the part square with the ram. It needs to be able to push absolutely perpendicular on both axis to prevent damaging to the part or you, so it would seem. The table on the HF press is way too loose between the side guide bars.

the 60 ton homemade version - available for mechanical work 8 months of the year, when not busy squeezeing fruit

Bill