Arbor press usefulness ?

[stioc]

I don't have room for a shop press but I could sure store a 1 ton arbor press.

My question is, how useful are they ? Does anyone here have one ? What do you use them for ? I was thinking I could flatten the ends of roud tubing with it to make chassis braces and for other welding projects ?

I'm thinking about something like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=3552

 

[DynoDave]

I've often wondered the same thing. I never spent the $ for one, figuring I'd wait until I had room for a hydraulic press.

 

[Glen]

I have a 12 ton shop press from Harbor Freight. It's not the perfect tool for any of these jobs but with an assortment of various tubes, rods, and sockets I have been able to use to r&r control arm bushings, ball joints, sub-frame bushings, and bearing races.

IMHO, an arbor press is limited in what it can do because of it's size. What do you want to use it for?

 

[Satatic]

I have a 12 ton shop press from Harbor Freight. It's not the perfect tool for any of these jobs but with an assortment of various tubes, rods, and sockets I have been able to use to r&r control arm bushings, ball joints, sub-frame bushings, and bearing races.

IMHO, an arbor press is limited in what it can do because of it's size. What do you want to use it for?

The others you can get away with a hammer and socket, but bearing races are definatly a reason to buy a press.

 

[filthy_shovel]

To me, arbor presses are the way to go. Alot more control and feel when pressing in bearings, shafts, etc.

Would go for a 3 ton model instead. But 1 ton is fine.

fs

 

[kartracer55]

You will find arbor presses in most machine shops. They are usuallly used to press a mandrell into something with a hole that is already bored, for turning on a lathe. They are also used to press other shafts in or out of things, like filthy shovel made mention of. Using an arbor press to crush tubing wasnt really in its original design, but hey, I have used it to do that too lol.

Jim

 

[TOMWELDS]

You can get benchtop hyd. presses. Or make one. I made a narrow one to leave at a jobsite were i use it alot. All the tonnage you'll need.

 

[stioc]

You can get benchtop hyd. presses. Or make one. I made a narrow one to leave at a jobsite were i use it alot. All the tonnage you'll need.

 

[Satatic]

Haha man just look at harbor freight presses. Buy some steel and a bottle jack. I'll probably make one in the future.

 

[TOMWELDS]

I dont have any pics but at the Hobart site, HankJ is making one and posting alot of pics.

 

[imported_banzaitoyota]

I find an arbor press easier to use when installing bearings and races in various components. I wouldnt trust a cheap-o harbor frieght chi-com POS to have the ram perpendiculiar to the table. The Arbor Press is square and easier to control

 

[BOSS351C]

I've looked at those harbor freight arbor presses and I would be afraid to put a real strain on it. I would (and am) look for a used Dake if $$ is an issue. My father got one on a big welding table he bought at an auction years back and that thing will take one heck of a beating. I've used that one alot to change u-joints in driveshafts. Way better than a shop press on that job. As far as a shop press, just build your own, you get a lot more for your $$ that way.

 

[e-tek]

OUTRAGEOUS! The OP is just looking for an excuse to buy another tool - and you're all enabling him!

....and now I need an Arbor Press too - ****.

 

[rsanter]

I have a JET arbor press and it's a decent unit, better than I see at HF

Bob

 

[Provincial]

In my experience you will find that a one ton arbor press won't apply much pressure. I have a four ton press and it is pretty limited in what it will do. I used a ten ton Dake in a machine shop years ago, and it was working pretty hard to broach a 1/2" keyway in a sprocket.

I have an older 20 ton American made hydraulic press (25 ton with a 20 ton Hein Werner jack in it) which is quite useful. It isn't so big as to be cumbersome, but does a lot of work! I rarely need a larger press, and can farm out what little work I have of that size.

 

[dragracer98]

OUTRAGEOUS! The OP is just looking for an excuse to buy another tool - and you're all enabling him!

....and now I need an Arbor Press too - ****.

I wonder if he got one since it has been a few weeks since his first post.


Randy

 

[PCO6]

OUTRAGEOUS! The OP is just looking for an excuse to buy another tool - and you're all enabling him!

....and now I need an Arbor Press too - ****.

And you deserve one ... and me too.

I was reading your restoration thread and admiring the work you did on the stainless steel trim. That turned out great. I was wondering if an arbour press would be useful for trim restoration if used with some kind of home made punches and dies made out of hard wood.

I've pressed larger sheet metal peices this way with my hydraulic shop press and they've turned out well. For small trim I would think the faster action of a small hand operated arbour press would be a lot better than using a hydraulic press.

With a shop press I've never felt the need for an arbour press but I'm staring to rethink that ... or justifying the excuse to buy another tool.

 

[Outlander]

And you deserve one ... and me too.
justifying the excuse to buy another tool.

Half price at Princess Auto in this weeks flyer. How's that for enablement

 

[PCO6]

Thanks Outlander. At 1 ton that ought to be plenty for what I am thinking of. The throat depth looks to be OK too.

I planned to go to Princess Auto tomorrow. It's less than 5 minutes from where I live. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

 

[BD1]

They work for crushing aluminum cans too.

 

[chris30066]

I found two Dake arbor presses over the past year on Craigslist for under $100 each. If you don't need one soon, I think you could find a nice press for just a little more than the HF ones cost.

 

[Professur]

PCO6:Ask them when their Montreal store is going to open already.

 

[PCO6]

Professur - Do you guys not have Princess Auto in Quebec? That would be a shame.

I'm still waiting for KMS Tools to make their way out east. They are good with mail order but It would be nice to have in store shopping.

KMS Tools ...
http://www.kmstools.com/

 

[Professur]

Nope .... as with most good things ... Quebec makes it not worth their time and effort. But The last time I was at the one in Sarnia, the manager said they were working on one finally ... Closest one is Ottawa .... and I'd rather have a vasectomy done with rusty garden shears than drive there.

 

[PCO6]

I found two Dake arbor presses over the past year on Craigslist for under $100 each. If you don't need one soon, I think you could find a nice press for just a little more than the HF ones cost.

I think you're right. I just did a quick search on Kijiji (kind of like CL) and came up empty. With my luck there were probably a dozen available at this time last week.

 

[zkling]

Depends on your needs. As another member suggested, try to get a 3 ton minimum.

A hydraulic press and a arbor press are two different animals. You can get a lot more feed back and control with an arbor press. Where a hydraulic press can load up on you, putting too much force into the work piece.

I use my arbor press (3ton greenerd ships wheel) for
Installing bearings, jig / dowel pins, wheel studs, pins of all sorts, bushings.
Broaching
Straightening
Light forming
Assembly

Where as I use the 20 ton H frame hydraulic press for

Dis-assembly / bearing removal
Rusted part removal
Large diameter parts that won't fit under the arbor press for bearing install
Homemade shear & press brake attachment

Just try to avoid buying one of those small 1ton arbor presses from one of the offshore makers. Not much power or working room. Look for brands such as Drake, Greenerd, Famco. Keep your eye peeled and you should be able to find one cheap.

 

[Outlander]

Nope .... as with most good things ... Quebec makes it not worth their time and effort. But The last time I was at the one in Sarnia, the manager said they were working on one finally ... Closest one is Ottawa .... and I'd rather have a vasectomy done with rusty garden shears than drive there.

Cashier at the Ottawa store told me the first one was planned for later 2013 in Laval.

I am travelling to Ottawa on business this week, and will probably stop in. Should kill and hour

 

[Outlander]

Thanks Outlander. At 1 ton that ought to be plenty for what I am thinking of. The throat depth looks to be OK too.

I planned to go to Princess Auto tomorrow. It's less than 5 minutes from where I live. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Well...did you pick one up? I may do the same this week.

 

[PCO6]

Outlander - I did! Thanks for the lead. It doesn't have the quality of a Dake of course but for the sale price it seems like a decent enough item. It will sit on my bench and I can see it being useful for a number of small press jobs that I wouldn't want to set up my shop press for.

 

[Outlander]

Outlander - I did! Thanks for the lead. It doesn't have the quality of a Dake of course but for the sale price it seems like a decent enough item. It will sit on my bench and I can see it being useful for a number of small press jobs that I wouldn't want to set up my shop press for.

I may exactly the same. Pictures can be swapped

 

[454ragtop]

Just posted a link to an interesting Manley arbor press for sale on CL, in the Hot Deals "found on CL" thread.

 

[volaredon]

I bought a 15T Dayton off of CL 3 years ago and have gotten more than my moneys worth in saved machine shop bills....

 

[Outlander]

Outlander - I did! Thanks for the lead. It doesn't have the quality of a Dake of course but for the sale price it seems like a decent enough item. It will sit on my bench and I can see it being useful for a number of small press jobs that I wouldn't want to set up my shop press for.

I grabbed one from the ottawa store. demo on the shelf was ****...glad I looked in the box. Totally different model.

photos to follow when I get to the garage on the weekend.



Posted from Garagejournal.com App for Android

 

[Outlander]

Here you go. Still need to get some bolts through the top of the bench and adjust it for square.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

Depends on your needs. As another member suggested, try to get a 3 ton minimum.
Just try to avoid buying one of those small 1ton arbor presses from one of the offshore makers. Not much power or working room. Look for brands such as Drake, Greenerd, Famco. Keep your eye peeled and you should be able to find one cheap.

So $300.00 is too much for a 3 ton Greenerd in nice shape on a stand?

I made an offer via e mail for $250.00

 

[zkling]

So $300.00 is too much for a 3 ton Greenerd in nice shape on a stand?

I made an offer via e mail for $250.00

Up to you. It's not what I would consider to be a "good deal". If you need one now or have been looking for a while and are tired of waiting, well it will solve your problem, but at a cost. That looks like a nice unit. Not sure on the stand. What is that circular thing with radial cutouts on the work table? I've heard about them but never seen one in person.

That is a solid press, just check over all the teeth to make sure non are cracked or missing.

 

[warweapon762]

Arbor press I have found tends to be pretty good and compact for doing small jobs like ball joints, bushings etc. The truth is they both have different uses.

I bought my shop press primarily for pressing out AKM-47 pins and assembling barrels into press fit trunnions. I feel like I can do MUCH more work with a shop press and much more quickly if you have a pneumatic hydraulic jack but you do lose some aspect of control. I actually prefer to do riveting on parts with a little arbor press because I can feel the squeeze better and overall they have a much better and cleaner look. But again that is just preference.

 

[sasquatch12]

PC06 You just gave me a great idea i never thought of, using my dake for pressing out dents in trim pieces or whatever. Thanks.

 

[Jason280]

I've always wanted one, but have yet to find one in a pawn shop for a decent enough price.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

Up to you. It's not what I would consider to be a "good deal". If you need one now or have been looking for a while and are tired of waiting, well it will solve your problem, but at a cost. That looks like a nice unit. Not sure on the stand. What is that circular thing with radial cutouts on the work table? I've heard about them but never seen one in person.
That is a solid press, just check over all the teeth to make sure non are cracked or missing.

OK, I'll check it over. He wrote back, he wants to see if there is any interest at $300.00, till the end of the week he said. I told him to let me know.

the circular thing with radial cutouts on the work table is like a support base,
it turns, and the cutouts are different size. You could pass a shaft past it.

I think the stand is shop made. Did I mention I did see it in person.
It's the same guy I brought my "plug and play" with cast iron goose egg motor cover 1940's unisaw off.
The press looked to be in good shape, and the stand sturdy.
But I did not check the teeth.
I know it's not a "You ****" price, even at $250.00.

Mean while, I looked at enco.
Are the 3 ton ones ENCO sells for around $200.00 any good?
They often have 20% off and combined free shipping promos going on.

There is an ENCO brand,
and a Palmgren brand.
I always was under the impression that Palmgren was decent quality.
You see a lot of there drill press vices.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAK ... PG=INLMK32
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAK ... PG=INLMK32