Shop Press Comparison

[wnstwolf]

I am about to start a new restoration project and one of the new tools for the shop will be a 20-ton Shop press. It’s one of those things that are not needed till it is and this time I am pulling the trigger rather than running to a local shop for help.
I am within driving distance to both HF and Eastwood who carries the Woodward fab press. The Woodward is $200 more but other tools I have from WW Fab are top notch. Can’t say the same for HF but this is a limited use tool.
Anyone able to give real feedback that has seen both tools? My Shear-Brake-Roll from WWF looks a lot like an import with an American label on it but it is a great tool so I am ok if that is the case. Just hate to pay an extra $200 for the same press I can get at HF..

Here are pic's of the two (WWF on Left)

Thanks Guys

 

[SMKS]

Can't offer any useful info, but do you have Northern Tool in your area? They may have other options to consider.

 

[stsmytherie]

I have the 20 ton HF press and pretty happy with it so far. A good tool for the price.

Caveat: First time around I bought the old orange 12 ton press. It was so poorly welded out of square it could not be assembled. Took it back and exchanged for the 20 ton press, which was complete and square enough out of the box.

As with all things HF, budget into the process your time to return/exchange if your first purchase is DOA.

 

[stsmytherie]

PS: now very close to pulling the trigger on a SWAG finger press kit. It's a slippery slope.

 

[McLean]

I dont have experience with both of those exact presses, but I have owned HF press(es) for years and used a few others in the past.

I like the Harbor Freight Press for the money. But a large part of that is because it is cheap and easy to convert to air powered with an air/hydraulic jack. The same could be said for any bottle jack type press. However, the HF press is not especially well made, sloppy and not very square. I would consider it more of a quick and dirty tool. If you are looking for more precision, I would definitely recommend looking closer at the Woodward Fab style with the fixed cylinder and remote pump.

My setup:

 

[Kevin54]

My buddy has a HF press and loves it. He uses the **** out of it with no problems......EXCEPT he has broken two of the "X" plate shown on the pic above and not had a lot of pressure on them. Other than that, the press is 3 years old, and has worked faithfully for him.

About the only thing I would think between WWF and HF would possibly be the jack and the size of the frame.

But shop around on CL, and you may find a good deal on one. I bought a 10 ton or so he said, for $50. A machinist made it, and all the holes are precision, meaning they are laid out, and put in by a mill, and then drilled and reamed. If I would change the jack to a 20 ton, the size of the frame would handle it.

 

[mmb617]

If you don't use a press any more than I do it would be hard to justify the extra expense. I have a HF one and it's been fine for pressing off bearings and such.

 

[Cyberbear]

The only thing I could add from the comments from others is that I bought the HFT 20 ton press on sale and a 50 ton jack that I will probably install at a later date in order to raise the capacity. I prefer presses with an installed pressure dial for doing repetitive work, but can work around that feature if needs be. My unit compares well in the steel construction with other brands in that range, and should hold up well for a seldom used machine. I will reinforce the flimsy base and put casters on mine for portability.

 

[EricP]

Don't rule out a used press. Unless you need it immediately I'd shop around the used market and look at equipment auctions for one. My buddy and I picked up a used Dake 25 ton press (new one pictured below) with an extra head for $400 that came out of a high school. There are good deals out there if you peck around a little bit.

 

[jimgood]

Kevin, I think any issues with plates breaking has been with the old cast plates that the 20-ton used to come with. I believe they are now shipping all of them with plates that are cut from 1" plate steel. Mine came with the latter. The cast plates are easy to spot from the rough texture of the painted surface. The display model at the store had cast plates.

I just got mine and it assembled fine. The jack came with no fluid in it so make sure you check it and fill it before you try to use it. I haven't even used it yet but I'm already thinking about how nice it would be to have air over hydraulic because it takes a long time to move that ram!

 

[matt_i]

Depends what you want to press. A 3 ton arbor press will do a lot of stuff and give you a feel for what's going on. The bottle jack press is better for doing ball joints out of control arm ends.

 

[Graham08]

Of the two pictured, the Woodward unit is worth the extra $200. Using a stationary cylinder instead of a bottle jack and carriage eliminates a bunch of moving parts and ensures it will press square to the table if everything else is made right. I was given a HF press, and one of my frustrations with it is the carriage being so sloppy that it's a real crapshoot on getting stuff straight.

The gauge on the Woodward unit is a nice touch also. As is the lever being off to the side so you can hide behind the press frame if you're doing something at risk of jumping out of the press.

 

[rsanter]

The press I have is like the WF one you show except mine has a foot pedal to actuate the pump. It has been a good press for me so far.

If you don't use it much the HF one will be fine, but the WF will allow you to move the head to press things that are large and off center, it will also allow you to change to a phnumatic pump to operate the press which is what I have been wanting to do

Bob

 

[bobcatdan]

My biggest complaint with cheap press are they are too short. I bought a 20 ton HF because I needed a press now. It stands just over 5' tall. I have to sit on my *** buggy to be at a comfortable work height in compairson to the bed. I have/ am thinking of cutting it down into a bench model, but at the end of the day I'd rather find a nice used Dake. Does my HF press get the job done, yes, but being spoiled by high quality presses, its a POS in compairson. "Cheapest" I would buy new if I did over again would be an arcan 20 ton from Northern. I have used those in the past and while no Dake, are still much nice then a truely cheap one.

 

[wnstwolf]

Wow thanks guys.. I am not close to Northern and the freight becomes an issue. This is one of those heirlom tools that will long outlast me. I have not had that type of luck with any tool from HF...

choices choices... ;-)

 

[Falcon67]

My biggest complaint with cheap press are they are too short. I bought a 20 ton HF because I needed a press now.

This x2. I have the older 12 ton "A Frame" orange HF press. It's a good unit, served me very well these years. I plan to upgrade it sometime with a Torin air operated 12 ton jack just because. Yes, it is VERY short - so I mounted mine on a square frame of 2x6s on edge with casters. Easy to park where needed and a decent working height.

 

[clubairth]

Another vote for the HF 20 T model. Wait for a sale as always. Got mine for about $154.

As was posted above the best thing I did was add the 20T air powered jack with quick connects. Now I can use my foot feed from my blast box to operate the press. It's amazing how much better it is to use both hands when operating a press. Plus so much faster. Use that manual bottle jack a time or two and you won't have to be convinced of the value of the air powered ones!
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[mizzoutrover]

HF 20 ton, got mine in the last 6 months, caught it on special and used a 20% coupon to get it for $127

 

[BADSIX]

just bought mine about 3 months ago paid less that 150.00, no more than I will use it its ok but YES ITS TO SHORT
Jay D.

 

[ZRX61]

Woodward Fab, like Eastwoods, just slap their labels on the usual Horrible Fright stuff. Apparently the labels are REALLY ******* expensive when you compare prices...WWF's shear/roll/brake is identical to HF's.

 

[rohartman]

Depending on how big you need for your project you should consider the Dake B-10, 10 ton press. I have a friend that has one and loves it. I'm thinking about buying one myself. Amazon Prime free 2 day shipping!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DWB1MTM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[GTA Matt]

I bought Dakes version of the Woodward press for the reason someone above mentioned: I'm not a fan of how uneven or sloppy the bottle jack presses can be. Just a personal preference, but it was worth the extra money to me.

 

[Falcon67]

I bought Dakes version of the Woodward press for the reason someone above mentioned: I'm not a fan of how uneven or sloppy the bottle jack presses can be. Just a personal preference, but it was worth the extra money to me.

Mine will do fairly precise work with proper fixtures. I've done a lot of 9" builds and axles bearing swaps with ease.

 

[Finky198]

+1 on the harbor freight press it's more then fine for most people. I bolted it altogether them welded some of the joints to stiffen it up, boxed in the legs to hold milk crates for some additional storage of press stuff. I might add wheels next well see.

 

[rburke65]

mizzoutrover.... I didn't think you could use a 20% off on a "on special" items?

 

[ez-duzit]

Picked up my 50-ton Carolina press for ~$350. Presently building a press brake for it.

 

[Finky198]

mizzoutrover.... I didn't think you could use a 20% off on a "on special" items?

I got mine at $154.00 in ad price minus 20% off coupon. It came to $132 with tax the presses are not part of the coupon exclusions

It's A hell of a deal if you get it for the price and can do a couple modifications to it yourself. I really don't think you can find a better solution at that price point

A few people spoke that the frame wasn't square what we did to fix it was to get it completely assembled squared up with the machinist Square and then tact weld the top frame. And then weld all the joints in the top section. We also box in the legs with two pieces of angle iron And I use chain saw wedges to keep the base from shifting while in use

All of these basic modification seem to severely strengthen the frame and keep twisting and torquing. I'm thinking of adding wheels as well, and upgrading the cylinder in time

 

[mizzoutrover]

My deal was same as Finky, the advertised special price was $154 and the 20% coupon was applied. You can verify the coupon works on the HF website by adding the item to the cart and trying the coupon.....I usually do this standing in the store on my phone

 

[WhiffySpark]

I got mine at $154.00 in ad price minus 20% off coupon. It came to $132 with tax the presses are not part of the coupon exclusions

It's A hell of a deal if you get it for the price and can do a couple modifications to it yourself. I really don't think you can find a better solution at that price point

A few people spoke that the frame wasn't square what we did to fix it was to get it completely assembled squared up with the machinist Square and then tact weld the top frame. And then weld all the joints in the top section. We also box in the legs with two pieces of angle iron And I use chain saw wedges to keep the base from shifting while in use

All of these basic modification seem to severely strengthen the frame and keep twisting and torquing. I'm thinking of adding wheels as well, and upgrading the cylinder in time

Or you could have spent a little bit more money and not have to deal with all that. Jeez

My only issue with smaller presses is a fwd hub usually won't fit in the middle. So you have to use a slide hammer with it still on that car. I hate slide hammers.

We had an old monster that we could press the hub through at my old job. But I haven't had one since, I've been using a hub grappler for that

 

[ez-duzit]

The space between the 2 vertical columns on the Carolina is 26".

 

[WhiffySpark]

The space between the 2 vertical columns on the Carolina is 26".

Depth wise?

 

[ez-duzit]

Those columns are 7" deep and 26" apart.

 

[motofool33]

Mine will do fairly precise work with proper fixtures. I've done a lot of 9" builds and axles bearing swaps with ease.

nice work there falcon67, just noticed your in merkel texas im working in merkel for next couple days. Small World!

 

[Falcon67]

How small - used to live NW of Houston LOL. (Spring)

 

[bochnak]

Just bought the HF 20T last night for 160 w/20% off. Should do the job.

 

[oldmxracer]

It’s great having a press ! Hope You enjoy it !