Porta Power Ram - Which one?

[machine_punk]

A: I've been interested in getting a Porta Power Ram recently. I've always thought they were cool, but believed they were primarily for auto body collision repair, which I do VERY little of. I've seen a few examples lately, though, of people using them for very interesting things, which have nothing to do with collision repair.

B: As a side note to this, I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has actually used the HF Hydraulic Punch set (cuts holes in sheet metal for lightening the piece...used in place of manual Greenlee punches).

You are probably used to my format by now. Thanks for taking the time to help...

1. Which one do you use? (which brand, which size (4 or 10 ton).

2. Do you like it? (are there any problems which make you think you would try a different one next time?)

3. What interesting things have you used it for?

4. Do you use the included hand pump, or did you also buy an air-over-hydraulic foot control to go with it?

5. Particularly for those who have used the HF HYDRAULIC PUNCH SET: Have you had any problems with it? What gauge of which metal do you routinely use it for?

I know you guys well...here are a few pics...

The HF Hydraulic Punch set...

 

[machine_punk]

Here is a post which WNSTWOLF was kind enough to post over in E-TEK's thread, before I started this thread:

Machine Punk. porta-power rams are a tool that like many you don't need till you need it and when you have one you will find all sorts of things to do with it. I have the10-ton Grainger unit that cost about $450 While it has been a great tool on car projects it has been used on so much else from bending back mower decks to knudging a deck into place.. One of the best parts is the spreading "jaws" for the amount of Time I use it the hand pump is fine for me..

 

[Provincial]

I have an import 4-ton kit that I got from JC Whitney 30+ years ago. It has been handy, especially when space is limited. It has a funky design for the extensions, and the newer kits are much easier to use.

I also have a 10-ton HF set that I use more. It replaced an Astro unit that was very similar, but left with a business I sold. The HF has performed better than the Astro. I just used this unit to remove a tie rod end on a large forklift. I backed off the nut on the tapered stud, put the jack under the nut, and lifted the front end off the ground. I Smacked the side of the steering arm with a big hammer and the stud popped loose.

I have a 30-ton stubby ram that I use with the big set. It has come in handy many times, especially because it fits in a tight space, but applies a lot of pressure. It is an OTC tool.

I also have a 35-ton ram that is about a foot tall that has a 1-1/4" through hole. It has a big advantage in that it will pull as well as push. I got it off Ebay a few years ago. I have used it to pull stuck pins out of blind holes in big machinery after welding a nut onto the pin and using all-thread through the ram to apply the pulling pressure.

I have the HF accessory set of rams that use the pump from the 10-ton set (the HF 4-ton set fits, too) and it adds versatility to the set.

Make sure you standardize the fittings on your setup. The imported hand sets have a smaller fitting than the industrial sets, although the JCW set has the large pattern fittings.

The power pumps (air or electric) are handy if you have an application where you have a long travel or repeat operations that don't require fine control. The hand pump is great when you need precise control as in body work or pressing a bearing. Hydraulics can be dangerous if your ram slips and spits out (or spits the work out) while under many tons of pressure.

Once you have one of these sets, you will be amazed at how often you use it, and how much you need even more attachments! They are as bad as machine tools in that they require lots of optional stuff to reach their full potential.

 

[Mastermind]

what he said.(provincial)
the more pieces the better. i do collision work, so that is the primary use for the "box of doom"...its a large metal suitcase (i believe blackhawk)aprx. 24"x16"x6"...packed to the brim with the pump and every 4 ton accessory i've ever found, there is 3 full sets of extensions and shoes, all different brands, imports tend to have different lengths, so i rarely have to use more han an inch or two of ram to reach. it wieghs around 100 lbs. only bad exp. i've had was with 7 feet of ext. on trying to tweak a derby car...pushing from the rearend to the dash to get the dashbar as far forward as possible, the coupler failed at the point where it threads into the ram quite dramaticly...think 12 guage shooting a half gallon of hydro fluid all over the inside of a car.
one of the most useful tools in the world.
also have the ten ton HF set, no problems with that in 2 yrs.

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

MP, I have the harbor freight punch. It is a good set however you might not know that the electrical punch sets are not standard drill sizes. They are made for conduit fittings. There are company's that make dies to fit that are standard drill sizes, or they have dimple dies that fit the conduit sizes. Most of these company's are small and cater to the 4x4 crowd. Check on pirate 4x4 .com. I used to use barbed wire off road to get these. But it looks like they are out of business.

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

Oh, and thanks for the rivet demo at Cuesta. Learned a lot.

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

Here is a long thread on the dies and the uses.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=786210&highlight=dimple+dies

 

[machine_punk]

Oh, and thanks for the rivet demo at Cuesta. Learned a lot.

My pleasure! I tried to look you up, when I got back, but there are too many 'icebergs' here and I could not remember the rest of it.

EVERYONE: Thanks for the input so far. Sounds like a tool I cannot afford to NOT have ;-)

M_P