HF presses

[Wanna Ride]

Anyone on here care to offer firsthand info on HF presses? I'm looking at the on-sale, 20-ton shop press for $169 this week.

 

[dime]

i just got the coupon sent to me too. i havent used theres but alot of people seem to have them and ive heard pretty good things especialy with some reinforcment. if i do decide to get one ill probably get the air over hydrolic ram for it too.

 

[Damian]

I've used their 20 ton almost daily for 3 years now and I love it. I lucked out and got it back when it was on sale for $99.99. I use that press at LEAST 4 times a week in my shop. Never had a problem.

 

[muibubbles]

i have one as well. bought it specifically to redo all my suspension bushings. shop wanted to charge me 300-400 bucks just to press em out. hell the suspension was already off the car and i did half of them with my buddies 12ton press. so i figured it would be cheap to buy my own press and do it myself and have a press in the end. worth every penny even if thats the last time i use it.

 

[Toolhorder]

Our dealer skimped out and got the Harbor Freight press. ************* in my opinion. The jack handle was a two piece affair I ended up welding together because everytime I'm jacking on it the handles would come came apart ******* me off. The jack itself has no power compared to American Presses I've used and the frame is sketchy/wobbly when things "break loose".
At the Honda training center they had a nice American press like a 40 ton with air/hydraulic pedal so you never had to use a handle to jack it. It was the bee's knees for pressing gears off mainshafts.

 

[Wanna Ride]

How ironic... only an American press is suitable for working on Japanese cars.

 

[mrholeshot]

I have the 20 ton in my home garage. been using it for 6 years. The only thing I did to mine was weld up the frame work where it bolted together and put a better base. Didn't need to but had some time and material I wanted to waste. Good press for the money.

 

[dime]

How ironic... only an American press is suitable for working on Japanese cars.

That's funny right there! Funniest thing I've read all week.

 

[jeffk14]

FYI, all 20 ton presses are not created equal. I have a 20 ton Arcan that I bought used off of c/l for $175 and it's at least 3 times the press that the 20 ton HF press is.

 

[bobcatdan]

It is about a foot shorter then most other 20 tons. Got one second hand from a buddies dad as a stop gap. Never use before us, It is already bending and tweaking from two wheel bearing jobs. The US made presses from Northen look to be a good opion and the 20 ton is not badly priced last I looked. Frankly, I don't thinks it worth the scrap price I going to get for it, but I'll have a 20 ton bottle jack.

 

[Vicegrip]

Had a 20 ton HF press for years. Works OK, it is a bit smaller than other 20 ton presses front to back and side to side. Would not nmake a good com shop press but more than enough for home DIY and shade tree automotive service. Replaced it when a old US made press came to me looking to be rebuilt and settle into an easy retirement after 41 years of com shop service.

 

[BJ42LX]

I've got an older 10 (12?) ton. It works fine for home use, but it's pretty obvious it's only a $100 tool. I've done half a dozen suspension bushings, a few disc brake hubs (lug bolts) and some other misc things. My son uses it to crush stuff from time to time, like Hot Wheels.

 

[jpo_tdi]

I have the 12 ton. For my needs it works fine. I am not a professional but a weekend DIYer. I have used it for wheel bearings and suspension bushings on VWs.

I thought about the 20 ton but it is a over sized shipment. The 12 ton was $99 and I had a 20% coupon (making it $80) and it was shipped free if I spent over $135. The 20 ton was $179 (20% off = $145) but was over $100 to ship since the it was not eligible for free shipping.

 

[ptschram]

How ironic... only an American press is suitable for working on Japanese cars.

And I use Chi-Com presses to work on British vehicles.

I have two of the 20-ton presses, one is dedicated to bending sheetmetal, the other has many pieces of tooling I've made for it.

I don't know how you can complain given the price.

I also have a 12-ton press that's junk. I collapsed the movable platen separating the splined joint of a seized driveshaft.

 

[muibubbles]

the 2 piece handle is a pita but just use a reg jack handle.. not that big of a deal..

the 20 ton hf is more then sufficeint. if youre using it everyday for trucks, i assume it will get you by but not be the best. for a home diyer, mechanic, hobbiest it works wonders.

however, the 12 ton is ****. i couldnt pop all my bushings out without feeling like it was going to become a projectile. the 20ton did it like cake.

 

[yaidunno]

We've got one at our shop, it now resides in the back room as scrap steel. The cast plates for holding your work piece cracked in half, and the top cross supports to hold the bottle jack have a nice bow in them. Not to mention the 1" of side to side play the tang and its cross member have.

If your set on getting it, plan on reinforcing it properly, and adding some delrin/nylon pucks inside the "ears" that locate the tang plate to eliminate the slop. The bottle jack seems to hold up, so there might be a little light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Wanna Ride]

I installed casters on it yesterday, made the legs 8' taller and welded the two-piece handle together. Scuffed it down and painted it red.

 

[smallcarguy]

I have the 12 ton. Typical HF kind of deal, as cheaply made as possible. That said, for a hobbyist like me its pretty good. Now that I've used it a couple of times its clear to me where it needs to be reinforced. I plan to weld the frame together and reinforce it in a couple of places with 1/4" steel plate. All and all, I'm happy with it for my needs. You couldnt buy just the raw steel for these prices.

 

[Toolhorder]

How ironic... only an American press is suitable for working on Japanese cars.

Believe it or not the Japanese like quality. Almost all special tools for Honda are made by Snap-on in fact I called the "factory" tool line to buy a belt tension tool for Odyssey's and Accords and the lady answered "Snap on tools, Honda special equipment division"

Awesome huh?

 

[Toolhorder]

I installed casters on it yesterday, made the legs 8' taller and welded the two-piece handle together. Scuffed it down and painted it red.

You like it much better huh? The handle welded I mean. I left that shop but they told me they think of me when they use it...lol

 

[Lump]

My brother in law and I bought one together for his shop (he presses stuff for me when I need it). He is a skilled tool-and-die guy of 30+ years. He took the cast plates to work and milled them all to make them flat and straight, and this helped. We consider it to be very light duty and cheaply made, but we only need it once or twice per year, and it's normally good enough for that level of work. But if he or I ever find a good one used at a good price, this one will be on Craigslist or a flea mkt table asap.

 

[flyingvette]

20 ton is fairly well constructed. More than enough for a typical home auto repairer. Really can't go wrong on that price. There don't seem to be many use shop presses of this capacity popping on craigslist. Would not hesitate to purchase again.

 

[shampoop]

I have the 20 ton. Got it for $160 using a 20% off coupon. Perfect for home use IMO. Pays for itself very quickly.

 

[hilld]

I installed casters on it yesterday, made the legs 8' taller and welded the two-piece handle together. Scuffed it down and painted it red.

Wow, you must be really tall, as you made it 8 feet taller.

 

[oldtools]

If you have the time to wait for a used reasonably priced American made press, that would be best. If you don't, then the HF would be the next best option. Remember, this is only a $160 press, so don't expect it to perform like a $2000 American press. It will work fine for DYIer.

 

[Wanna Ride]

Wow, you must be really tall, as you made it 8 feet taller.

Yeah, had to cut a hole in the garage roof to facillitate it.