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Freshened up a Dake 75H press

Sweetcorn

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Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Messages
671
Location
North Central Ohio
I've been on the lookout for a 50H or a 75H for a while, and this one came up a few weeks back. Price was great, about half of what I've been watching them sell for at machine auctions.

I'd planned on cleaning up and painting whatever I ended up buying, so it wasn't a big deal to me that it was bright red.

The press worked great and only had 1 leak, which put it far better than most of the ones I looked at. Leak was an easy fix, just replaced the packing on the release valve. There was a variety of other things that needed attention, so I took care of those and decided to paint it in the modern Dake grey paint instead of the original. I know it's a little sacrilegious to do this to such a nice older piece, but I like what I like. FYI, the press is a 1954 according to Dake. With the exception of the warning labels and decals, all the other components are same from then to now. I think that's pretty cool, and rare anymore...

I really didn't want to have this sticking out far away from the wall, and I kinda wanted to put it back in the one corner where I keep some other junk. I also didn't want to put it on big casters, either. I improvised and made these adjustable rollers from some rect. tubing, round bar, and flat stock I had around. I wanted the overall height of my rollers to be shorter than the 3" angle, so that is what I considered my max. No need to create any unnecessary trip hazards.

The rectangular tube was cut down the middle and tapped for a 1/2-13. A short bolt easily threads screws in and pushes down on the "arm" and gets the press up off the concrete. The design of these was just something I made up as I was machining them. The solid steel wheels roll surprisingly easy across the floor.

I wanted to be able to easily roll it away from the wall (and back) for those times I have to press something big, but like I said earlier, I don't want it way out in the way the rest of the time. It feels perfectly stable on the wheels, but a quick turn on the bolts has it sitting back flat on the floor.

I already had the Dake 1 3/4 arbor press, so I went ahead and mounted it on the side. For those that don't know, that model arbor press was made to be mounted like that. They both have the proper hole patterns already drilled in from the factory, whether you buy them together or not.

Anyways, here are some pics. Please ignore the clutter behind the press. Scrap wood comes in handy for a lot of things and I just hate to get rid of it all, lol.

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OP
S

Sweetcorn

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Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Messages
671
Location
North Central Ohio
How is the rectangular tubing attached to the base of the press?
It's welded to the angle in a few spots on each roller. Two places along the top of the tubing and one along the back.

If it ended up not working, I wanted the welds to be easily accessible to cut off.
 

NC Fabricator25

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Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
193
That's an impressive machine, and you did a superb job on the restore.

Mind sharing what paint, and color, you used? That gray is sharp and I'd like to put it to use on some machines. Thanks.
 
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tarmy

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May 28, 2014
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4,670
Location
Nor Cal
Very nice….and a well deserved YOU **** OP!

I like the mini version hung on the side as well…
 
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Sweetcorn

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Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Messages
671
Location
North Central Ohio
That's an impressive machine, and you did a superb job on the restore.

Mind sharing what paint, and color, you used? That gray is sharp and I'd like to put it to use on some machines. Thanks.
Thanks!

For the paint, I sprayed Rustoleum charcoal gray (from quart cans), reduced with Xylene, and added a little bit of hardener.

This color is very close to the OEM color, this just has a little more gloss. For what it is, I had a hard time justifying more expensive paint when I could get the color so close with a cheap and durable version.
 
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Sweetcorn

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Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Messages
671
Location
North Central Ohio
Thank you for the info. The paint looks great, I would have thought it was fresh from the factory.
Thanks. I like the color of the new ones over the correct vintage color for when it was made.

I was shocked how cheap the new safety stickers, DAKE nameplate, and replacement tag were. I think it was around $25 for all of them, with a new stamped serial number/model tag.
 

Steve_P

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Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Messages
5,182
Beautiful job! I like the gray color, I guess because I'm used to seeing it. Excellent design on the wheels.
 

thecj3man

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Joined
Sep 21, 2009
Messages
190
Location
East TN
The press worked great and only had 1 leak, which put it far better than most of the ones I looked at. Leak was an easy fix, just replaced the packing on the release valve.

Did you get the new packing from Dake or did you source it elsewhere? I need to reseal my press.
 
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Sweetcorn

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Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Messages
671
Location
North Central Ohio
Did you get the new packing from Dake or did you source it elsewhere? I need to reseal my press.
I got the packing from Dake. Eight pieces at something like 27 cents each. When I called and they gave me the price, it was too cheap to even consider shopping around.

These weren't for the main cylinder though. If I was rebuilding that I'd get part prices from Dake and from a hydraulic shop/internet.
 

MichaelP

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Jul 27, 2009
Messages
927
Location
IL/WI border
Good work in the rollers. The only thing I'd do differently is use a large captive ball instead of a roller to allow movement in all directions.
 
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