1944 DAKE 50-H Hydraulic Press

[cj8lvr]

Thought you guys would like to see this.

I scored a shop press on an online auction in Decatur, AL a few weeks back. Eaton was closing their facility there and auctioning off all of it's equipment. I knew it was a DAKE 50-H hand operated hydraulic shop press but beyond that I didn't really know a whole lot about it. Went to pick it up and immediately notice one of the vertical c-channels on the frame was bent some probably as a result of an overload of some kind. I wasn't too concerned as it appeared repairable in my opinion. So, I had the forklift operator load it on my trailer and I strapped the mess out of it and headed home. Got home and immediately had a problem because it was so tall. A friends gantry crane, a bunch of cinder blocks, a winch cable to keep it from going over into the house, air out of the trailer tires and we were able to get it safely on the driveway to walk it in.

Now, the cool part of the story. I e-mailed DAKE some pictures and the serial number and have now heard back from them. They said that they've passed the pictures around the company and it is, in fact, the oldest anybody working there has ever seen. There's a guy who's been there since the early '60's and it's the oldest even he has seen. According to DAKE and the serial number, it was built in 1944! I'm probably going to be restoring it back to it's old color (best we can tell a battleship gray) and repacking it and putting new seals in the head unit. C-channel frame will have to be repaired too.

Thought y'all would think that was cool.

Here's some pictures:





How we got it off the trailer:

 

[bluebolt]

Nice score! Care to share how much dinero?

 

[cj8lvr]

Nice score! Care to share how much dinero?

No doubt I will be eternally hated amongst this crowd for this but.... $550.

I know. I ****.

 

[zkling]

Very nice Moving head presses can be extremely handy.


Don't ya love it when you call a company and they can't help you with your item because it is "too old". Cough delta machinery, cough.

 

[Duct Tape Man]

Built in 1944 - during those WWII years virtually everything in the auto, hardware, tool, aircraft, railroad and shipping industries was related to the war effort. Makes you wonder if your press was built for and used by the War Department in the fight to win the war, and what it helped build. Pretty neat save!

 

[LXCam]

That's a kickass snag, WTG bud!

 

[Bronson]

Sweet! YOU ****!

 

[devoncoolman]

Cool press. Good deal. Moving head presses are expensive.

 

[signcrafter]

Nice press. You have to wonder what overloaded a 50T press!

 

[oldldh]

Ya Dun Gud, Bubba!!!

 

[Outlawmws]

VERY cool! Can you post some specs of the table and overhead pieces, and the uprights? And of course more pics!

I'd like to compare those to the Press I made some years back and this is the first press I've seen that is even close to what I built!

Great Score!

 

[DandDMachine]

I have that same press, mine is probably newer though. Mine looked old when I first saw it in 1993. You will love that press. Does yours have the 3 spoke wheel to turn down the ram or is it the full circle wheel? Where did you find the badge with the name and serial number? I don't recall seeing one on mine.

 

[cj8lvr]

I have that same press, mine is probably newer though. Mine looked old when I first saw it in 1993. You will love that press. Does yours have the 3 spoke wheel to turn down the ram or is it the full circle wheel? Where did you find the badge with the name and serial number? I don't recall seeing one on mine.

No wheel or spokes on the ram. Missing or not available at the time, not sure.

Badge is just to the right of the DAKE nameplate that is centered on the front of the front top C-channel.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Good find,

If you order any parts from Dake, be prepared for sticker shock. They really like their parts. I have a 25H and bought it from a plant that was closing in New Jersey (it was part of the plants maintenance shop). Drove up from Atlanta in my Ranger and we pulled the legs off of it and lay it horizontal and set it in the bed of the truck on 4x4's. They guy who loaded it used a boom pole on forklift tines and a strap. Went right in the bed of the truck (I knew it would, we have one at work and I had measured it and determined bolt sizes, etc for removing the legs.)

Mine was missing the crank for the hoist. Dake wanted some crazy amount of money ($100 or so if I recall) and I found a functionally similar crank, but not a Dake, on Ebay for $10.

Be aware, you are supposed to have FOUR (4) pins for the bed, Two go thru the holes in the bed, and two more go in the holes directly under the bed.

Also be sure and after you raise the bed in place and pin it, be sure and slack the cables on the hoist. If you don't, it will destroy the hoist.

On mine, someone had cut off the front half of the legs and lagged the unit to the floor (you don't trip over the legs this way) and Dake wanted $66 each for the legs, so I went to a steel supply place and had them cut me new angles of the right size and thickness and I drilled and painted them and bolted them in place. No more tippy press.

Charles

 

[iajonesy]

Don't want to hi-jack your thread,but wondered if that was Eaton Compressor Co. that was closing up? Thanks.

Mike

 

[cj8lvr]

No,
Eaton Hydraulic Cylinders.

 

[4x4gearhead]

Love it! and holy hell would it look good with a fresh coat of battleship gray! So badass.