Ok lets see who can help with this one..

[moparkid440]

Ok guys....I want to weld together my own bearing press, preferably a 20 ton capacity press, for doing wheel bearings, ball joints, etc....My question is, DO THEY MAKE BOTTLE JACKS WITH FLANGES OR MOUNTING SURFACES ON THE BOTTOM SO THAT PEOPLE CAN DO PROJECTS LIKE THIS?? I have searched and I cannot seem to find one....ALSO...my second question: Even if I find a jaclk with a mounting flange, would that jack have to be specilly designed to mount upside down? In other wods, will fluid leak out of a jack not made to mount upside down????????..Any help would be great....Thanks

 

[lisiecki1]

I think you can buy one a lot cheaper than building, however:

1. Instead of welding the bottom of the jack to the assembly, why not just build a cradle to hold it, that way if it ever needed to be replaced in the future the replacement would be drop-in?

2. Why would you want to mount it upside-down?

 

[Kevin54]

I have two presses. One is a 30 ton, and one is a 5 ton. The bottle jacks are just located in some welded pieces of square stock. Once the jacks are centered, they tacked some square stock around the base and top on a couple sides to center it. No rocket science to it. As far as mounting the bottle jack upside down.....No!!!! Most have to be mounted right side up.

Also, if you would put the State that you live in, there may be some around you that might have one for sale. Location always helps to answer questions.

Like lisiecki1 states.....It may be cheaper to buy one than build one. Or buy one and beef it up some. I paid $100 for my 30 ton, but the jack needs rebuilt or replaced. The other, I paid $50 for, and it was homemade. Whoever made it was a machinist because there were scribe lines all over it. They knew what they were doing. The 30 ton was factory made, but not as nice as the other.

 

[Richard D]

cheaper to buy one than build one.

This.

 

[moparkid440]

ok yes youre right about the bottle jack, about being upside down..I wasnt thinking....I tried finding someone to sell one but noone around me is selling one...My main goal is to have a press that is short enough to fit on a work bench....I don't have rook for a tall press......Another question....In youre opinions, if I build the frame of the press out of 4x4 wood posts instead of metal, do you think those would hold up, strength wise??? Its probably never been done before and probably for a good reason, but I just wanted to get youre opinions...thanks for your help guys....

 

[raddksn]

I just got the HF 20 ton new style on sale and with coupon it was less than $140.00. Could not have bought the steel for that!

 

[dlcwent]

20 tons with wood. Strong as an oak????? Don't get hurt. I saw the result of a guy who put a 4x4 piece of oak under the bed of his 1 ton dump as a brace. The bed came down. The wood didn't win I don't think that would be safe. I may be wrong. Research this a little more.

 

[Kevin54]

ok yes youre right about the bottle jack, about being upside down..I wasnt thinking....I tried finding someone to sell one but noone around me is selling one...My main goal is to have a press that is short enough to fit on a work bench....I don't have rook for a tall press......Another question....In youre opinions, if I build the frame of the press out of 4x4 wood posts instead of metal, do you think those would hold up, strength wise??? Its probably never been done before and probably for a good reason, but I just wanted to get youre opinions...thanks for your help guys....

You can't find one around you? You need to put your State that you live in into your profile. It makes it way more easier to answer questions.

As far as presses, I have the 30 ton Carolina press. It's a factory made press. I bought it used, got it home, and the ram was crooked as can be. It was almost 14 degrees out. The price of the press new was around $500. I found another press with less tonnage, but way better built, and as said above, it had to be built by a machinist.

If I didn't have either press, it would not bother me one bit to buy a Harbor Fright press. About the only thing that could go wrong with one would be the hydraulic jack give out. So unless you want to shell out huge bucks for something like an Enerpac, or shell out around $200-$300 to build one, I'd shop around for a used on and either modify it, or look into HF for one of theirs. That's just my $.02 on it.

 

[sz0k30]

My main goal is to have a press that is short enough to fit on a work bench....

HUH? A 20 ton benchtop press?

 

[zkling]

You CAN mount a bottle jack upside down, however you have to modify the jack by adding additional ports in the base to keep it supplied with oil. Otherwise you will end up pumping air.

As mentioned by Kevin the HF 20ton is a workhorse for the $. Buying new steel would be hard to beat that price. Plus the $ for a hydraulics unit, then time and resources to assemble. Unless you want a moving ram type press that has a remote pump and reservoir. I've seen people build small presses out of enerpac and other pora a power types units.

I would suggest you look at how commercial presses are made. You will get a better understanding of how and why.

Could it be made out of wood, sure. However you really have to know what you are doing when loading wood like that. And no offense but based on the fact that you even asked the question in the first place indicates you do not have the proper knowledge at the moment to do so.

 

[kerrynzl]

In youre opinions, if I build the frame of the press out of 4x4 wood posts instead of metal, do you think those would hold up, strength wise???

Absolutely non existent weight savings. A good strong hardwood weighs about 780kg /cubic metre.

So a 100mm x 100mm [4"x4"] piece of hardwood would weigh about 7.8kg per linear metre [ 5.28 lb/ft ]

a piece of 100 x 100 x 3mm SHS steel is 8.96 kg/metre
If you used 100 x 50 x 3mm RHS steel it would be 6.6 kg/metre.

On the posts you could use thinwall steel because the loads are under tension ,not beaming [ bending ]

There are places for wood though;
A good shiplap wooden deck on a trailer increases the beaming strength [ compared to 1/8" diamond plate ]


Again I say "Shape is more important than size"

 

[Duke55]

I just got the HF 20 ton new style on sale and with coupon it was less than $140.00. Could not have bought the steel for that!

If I didn't have either press, it would not bother me one bit to buy a Harbor Fright press. About the only thing that could go wrong with one would be the hydraulic jack give out.

As mentioned by Kevin the HF 20ton is a workhorse for the $.

I would look at this site/write up before I used the HF press.
http://www.swagoffroad.com/Arbor-Press-Plates_p_7.html

I would recommend finding a quality used one. But if it has to be HF, throw away the cast press plates and make or buy steal ones. How much is one of your eyes worth?

 

[moparkid440]

Duke thanks alot for that..I appreciate it......I will definitely invest in a good one..Thanks for the heads up

 

[cwh]

This post is for entertainment purposes only. Do not attempt to recreate anything resembling this device. Professional driver on a closed course.

I built a tiny press this weekend out of some brackets that are basically 2X3" 3/8" thick angle. I needed it to press some bushings into the cross tubes on some hydraulic cylinders I'm rebuilding.

Angle is not the ideal shape strength-wise, but it worked. Here it is tacked up with the jack.

I cut/ground a slug out of 1/2" steel, as the bushings needed to be recessed into the cross-tube.

Here is a terrible picture of the finished product, a $5 hydraulic press. The slug sits between the jack and the bushing, with the cross-tube being the bright yellow part. The frame is just clamped to my welding bench.

You'd want a carriage under the jack, with springs holding it up, guides to keep it aligned, and a post under it to push with. This was fine for pressing in 4 bushings, but it is not nearly as versatile as a real press. Getting everything aligned and checking depth are time consuming when you have to take the whole works out to get a look at it. Also, you run the risk of something flying out of there at a high rate of speed if your alignment is off.

 

[Duke55]

Duke thanks alot for that..I appreciate it......I will definitely invest in a good one..Thanks for the heads up

I guess I kind of jumped the gun and didn't answer your original question but I am obviously not a supporter of the HF press. Around here I often see quality build presses for sell cheap and that is why I recommend finding a good used on. If that is not the case where you are or you just simply want to build your own, I would look at some USA built presses for ideas. I picked up a 20 ton OTC press used for $150 and I don't think it had ever been used.

http://www.otctools.com/products/20-ton-press-wbottle-jack

It would be very easy to build (and improve) a press like this and it shouldn't cost very much. I considered modifying mine to handle some more precision type work then I found a 3 ton Dake arbor press for a good deal so picked it up instead (had to watch a long time for one of these).

I often resort to building tools that I can't afford or justify to buy. My goal when I build my own tools are better/more capable then the bench mark tool at or near the price of a Chinese tool.

 

[zkling]

I would look at this site/write up before I used the HF press.
http://www.swagoffroad.com/Arbor-Press-Plates_p_7.html

I would recommend finding a quality used one. But if it has to be HF, throw away the cast press plates and make or buy steal ones. How much is one of your eyes worth?

I understand your point and it is a valid concern, but I have a feeling if you took a statistical average of people that have been hurt by a HF press in comparison to those not hurt with the press. The overall % would be very, very low. Just to be on the safe side one could always just replace the supplied plates.

 

[geologist]

OK, on the wood comment...

If you built the frame out of would, you WILL eventually have a CATASTROPHIC failure. By catastrophic, I mean, you're going to be real messed up... or dead.

 

[Duke55]

I understand your point and it is a valid concern, but I have a feeling if you took a statistical average of people that have been hurt by a HF press in comparison to those not hurt with the press. The overall % would be very, very low. Just to be on the safe side one could always just replace the supplied plates.

I completely agree with your statistics argument. But statistics don't make me feel good standing next to a 20 ton HF press even with steel plates. I do think HF makes some tools that can't be beat for the price for the hobbiest but I do not think their presses fall in this category. They are very sloppy and rickety IMO beside the fact that they are awkwardly short.

 

[sz0k30]

I completely agree with your statistics argument. But statistics don't make me feel good standing next to a 20 ton HF press even with steel plates. I do think HF makes some tools that can't be beat for the price for the hobbiest but I do not think their presses fall in this category. They are very sloppy and rickety IMO beside the fact that they are awkwardly short.

I recently bought a HF 20 ton press. I got the new gray model #60603. In my opinion for @ $150.00 it is an excellent buy. Much better than the old orange press. It comes with steel not cast arbor plates. And no - 1" thick steel plates aren't going to shatter or break or explode.

 

[Duke55]

I recently bought a HF 20 ton press. I got the new gray model #60603. In my opinion for @ $150.00 it is an excellent buy. Much better than the old orange press. It comes with steel not cast arbor plates. And no - 1" thick steel plates aren't going to shatter or break or explode.

I have no experience with the grey unit (didn't even know they changed). After needing a press for years and seeing what looked like a great deal on a press in the HF ad. I drove into town specifically to get the HF 20 orange press. After seeing it in person there was no way I was bringing it home (and I didn't even realize they had cast plates at that time). You can find posts/reviews all over the place that support this press. And yes I do believe the vast majority of people that use them can use them safely. But IMO it wasn't worth the money. I think the use of cast press plates shows the people who are reverse engineering these things do not know what they are doing. Steel plates on the new ones show they are getting smarter.

In the end it is a judgement call on what you want, need and can afford or fab. I got an excellent deal on a USA built unit that I would have never bought new and I frequently find jobs that I would benefit from a much more rigid/precise press than what I have.

 

[ChevyEFI]

Royce, not all the orange 20t presses got cast plates. And it is discontinued.

Congrats on your OTC.

My 20t has about 10 years on it and to replace it would be hundreds more or mega hours trolling craigslist.

 

[sz0k30]

And it is discontinued.

No its not. There are several HF's in my area that I occasionally visit and 3 of them still have the orange press on display. Their super sale coupons still list both numbers.

 

[cardude56]

I think the harbor freight 20ton is a good press for the money for the average DIY, the new grey one sounds like a more solid unit. When I was considering buying the orange one , I found a USA made 30 ton Carolina on Craigslist in excellent condition for $ 170 .

 

[Modern Jess]

HUH? A 20 ton benchtop press?

Sounds crazy, right? But I'd buy one in a heartbeat. I need a 20 ton press to remove / install pressed-on gears for scooters, but the gears themselves aren't all that big. They're interference fit on a reasonably sized shaft, though, and take between 5 and 15 tons to get on and off.

(I've seen one that exceeded the capacity of my press, and had to be farmed out to a 40-ton press. Come to find out that particular gear had a 0.004 interference with the shaft -- yikes!)

 

[ChevyEFI]

No its not. There are several HF's in my area that I occasionally visit and 3 of them still have the orange press on display. Their super sale coupons still list both numbers.

So they're still being made in orange older style?

How about with the cast plates?

Great that someone makes plates for those with the cast ones. But posting everytime the press comes up and pretending all the orange stock will blow up on use is one very dead horse.

Along with that thinking, everyone should rip out the IFS in favor of a solid axle. Right?

 

[DenisG]

Ok guys....I want to weld together my own bearing press, preferably a 20 ton capacity press, for doing wheel bearings, ball joints, etc....My question is, DO THEY MAKE BOTTLE JACKS WITH FLANGES OR MOUNTING SURFACES ON THE BOTTOM SO THAT PEOPLE CAN DO PROJECTS LIKE THIS?? I have searched and I cannot seem to find one....ALSO...my second question: Even if I find a jaclk with a mounting flange, would that jack have to be specilly designed to mount upside down? In other wods, will fluid leak out of a jack not made to mount upside down????????..Any help would be great....Thanks

There's a build of one here:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181462&showall=1

 

[Kevin54]

Out of curiosity, the cast plates of the HF presses.....are they cast iron or are they a cast composite of iron and steel

 

[sz0k30]

So they're still being made in orange older style?

Don't know if they are still being made or just a lot of old inventory to get rid of.