Old OTC Hydraulic Press

[Duckfarmer27]

Three weeks ago I went to an estate auction - first one around here since last fall for me. I got this press - it did not work, was covered in dirt and grease and the cabinet had a bit of rust. Even after removing parts it required four of us to lift it into my pickup, laying it on it's back. Thought I had it bought for $45 but then another guy woke up and I had to give $85, but no fee and no tax. My kind of PA estate auction.

I'm curious if anyone has ever seen a press like this. I've looked a fair amount on line but have not seen one at all like this. The twin ram is rated at 30 tons. My grandson and I tore it down, cleaned it up. There was a fair amount of sludge in the hydraulics He decided Ford tractor blue paint was almost the same as original and so that is the color we went with for the cabinet. After some research I got two rebuild kits, one for the pump and one for the twin ram.

We just cleaned the rest of it. I find the lower adjustable part interesting - but you want to use a floor jack to adjust it up or down. This whole thing is really heavy. I like the adjustable ram. The design concept is different but I think it will work great for what we do.

After rebuild it seems to work fine. I can get 22 tons on the gauge without really straining it, which for an old press rated at 30 tons I think is good.

I'll be curious if anyone has one like this. And sorry for the washed out pictures - the lighting was not great.

Dale

 

[Roberts210]

That's a gorgeous old press. Glad you snagged it.

 

[Bogie1632]

$85. I believe that qualifies for a "you ****" comment. So...

You ****.

That's a nice snag. Glad you save it and got it working, it looks nice.

V/R
Bogie

 

[Provincial]

I second the "you ****" comment!

I think the design is influenced by a desire by OTC to expand the application of their portable press line. The double cylinder design was developed for the portable line for two reasons, weight reduction and size reduction. They needed to keep these two factors limited to get into many desired applications, especially truck suspension repair.

That press is unique in that there is no attempt to carry the load directly from the press ram structure all the way to the movable lower anvil. It required the heavy "table" to transfer the load to the narrower spacing of the lower anvil support rods.

It is a very unique piece, and I can see it is very useful for common tasks.

 

[Duckfarmer27]

I think the design is influenced by a desire by OTC to expand the application of their portable press line. The double cylinder design was developed for the portable line for two reasons, weight reduction and size reduction. They needed to keep these two factors limited to get into many desired applications, especially truck suspension repair.

That press is unique in that there is no attempt to carry the load directly from the press ram structure all the way to the movable lower anvil. It required the heavy "table" to transfer the load to the narrower spacing of the lower anvil support rods.

It is a very unique piece, and I can see it is very useful for common tasks.

The design is what got my interest to start with. I'm a retired mechanical engineer so I know that I look at things differently than many. The pre-auction pictures were poor and this was just in the background next to a machine but I figured it was a press of some type. I have to admire what is, to me, and elegant design for an ordinary brute force piece of gear.

I contacted OTC looking for information but struck out - nice enough folks but no records of this. Not surprising unless I found an old guy like me still working there. First guy I talked to wanted to know if it was a track pin press - which this pump/cylinder combination was used for according to him. And I found a picture that would seem to substantiate that use. I've had to worry about 'breaking track' in my life and this could be broken down and used for that with a little fabrication work. Of course their design with a forging is more compact.

I agree this was 'growth' of the portable presses. There is a quick disconnect on the cylinder to split the system hydraulics. The press block with the deep Vee is original as well - has faint OTC logo and part number still readable.

Glad I have a tractor with a front end loader - made diassambly to clean and paint a lot easier. That table is a bear to handle - can't imagine without equipment. The 'table' and lower anvil seem to offer some interesting possibilities in certain situations.

I have a large planer that I am going to refurbish - 24" Powermatic with the cutter head shaft/motor shaft all one piece. That will require pressing the rotor on and off. I'm thinking this design will make the setup a lot easier than the old cheap press I've been limping along with.

Dale

 

[Provincial]

Nearly 50 years ago I ran a big hydraulic press at a machine shop that has been originally installed on a repair ship during WWII. It was rated at 100 tons. The head was a huge casting with provision for huge rectangular bars to be pinned in place. The pins must have been at least four inches in diameter. The "table" was another casting that pinned onto the bars and was adjustable for height by unpinning and moving the table. It was designed to operate horizontally, with the work handled with a crane. The separate power source was a reciprocating pump with four pistons operated by a roller chain from a large electric motor. The pump was installed in a steel box that was also the supply tank. The crankshaft of the pump ran on babbit bearings lubricated by gravity oilers with glass reservoirs and a toggle on top to shut off the flow when not in use.

This one had the adjusting bars cut off and a frame built to use it in the upright position. It was old, slow, primitive, and incredibly powerful.

 

[Duckfarmer27]

Provincial -

I like that press! With that monster if one were to screw up at least you knew you would have to start over - had to be totally unforgiving with that capacity. Many times simple is better.

Dale

 

[Provincial]

We used it to press solid rubber fork lift tires on and off the wheels. The rubber was vulcanized onto a steel band, and it took a lot of pressure to get them to move. There was a tendency for them not to move until the pressure built up high enough, the release and jump with a bang! Sometimes that big press would jump up in the air, probably only a small fraction of an inch, but it seemed like a lot. Lots of noise, too! You could hear the pump straining as the gauge got past 50 tons.

One operator got a 2" diameter push block installed at an angle, then kept pressing until it shot out across the building 40 feet and took a large divot out of the tilt-up concrete wall. The owners then built a cage to contain the projectiles, or at least try to.