Shop Press help

[DCP]

I will need to press The back gear off my Logan Lathe and work on a Jacob chuck. May press out a barrel some day. Wont be working on cars and such. Mostly just gunsmithing. I hope

Harbor Freight has a 12 ton $100.00 and a 20 ton $150.00 on sale on the 4Th July.:guntootsmiley:

So which one and why

12 ton smaller foot print (I am running out of room) and save $50.00 (and money)

20 ton seen a lot sturdier and heavier.

Any help will be appreciated

[John Taylor]

I have a 12 ton and have used it a lot over the years. If I were going to buy a new one I would go for the 20 tone. It is a little slower but will hold up much better. I have bent mine by putting a little more pressure on it than it was designed for, the frame will not hold up to the 12 ton jack.

[deltaenterprizes]

Be prepared to figure a way to take the side slop out of the HF press, some delrin shims should work. The last thing you need is the ram to shift sideways when you have 20 tons of pressure on a part.
I looked at them and ended up buying a 20 ton NAPA brand press used at a divorce sale. I have replaced the jack with a air over hydraulic HF 20 ton jack, works great when extruding lead wire!

[akajun]

I had the 12ton press, it was a good press and I built many ak's on it and press many a bearing and shaft with it. However it is light duty and there is signifigant slop in the sides as was stated. I made some shims out of angle iron that I could pop in and out if I needed them.
I would opt for the 20t simply because it gives you more room to work with larger parts. I had a hell of a time pressing out a bearing race from a boat trailer, had to pull the tire off to do it so it would fit.

I now have a 25t KR Wilson press I boulght used for $200. If you live in the "rust belt" look around for used american, KR Wilson, Dake, etc they are a lot heavier and have more room to work. Other than that go for the 20t hf.

[Mal Paso]

+1 for the 20. I have one. Extra height. 20 tons won't bend it.:cbpour:

[geargnasher]

I have the 20 and wouldn't be without it. Neither would I be without an expired Kevlar vest and an X-ray apron for explosion shields. Easy to wrap around parts, Kevlar first and then the lead-filled apron for mass. Decommissioned mudflaps work, too.

Gear

[rbertalotto]

I have the horrible fright 121ton that I recently bought on sale and then they gave me the 20% discount. It ended costing me $80. You can't buy the metal for this price. I use it all the time. Works excellent.

[DCP]

Gear

What exactly are you taking apart?

What exactly am I getting my self into?

:popcorn:

I have used a BIG press over 100 ton Pressing idler rollers together. We would heat two idler rings (steel) about a 6-8 inch inside dia then press them on to a idler shaft(cast iron). When you got done the whole assembly was maybe 14 to 20 inch tall weight was 60 to 80 lb.

Well sometimes they wouldn't be press all together.
:Bright idea:
You could put the assembly back in the press part way and press on a small section of the ring, rotate 2 inches then press again, till the ring was all the way down.

Well one day a rifle like sound had everyone running my way.:dung_hits_fan:
The fixture ring on the top of the press sheared off the piece was 3inch long 3/8 inch wide pointed on both ends and extremely sharp. They found it over 75 ft from the press.:holysheep:

Me I had 6 stitches it had bounced off my temple it was bleeding pretty good.
Two friends walked me to 1st aid in case I passed out [smilie=1:
They good took me to emergency by ambulance. :groner:[
The part had come out and bounced off my thigh. I knew this by the bruise on my leg didnt even feel it hit. [smilie=b:

I really dodged a bullet (well a arrow like projectile) :2gunsfiring_v1::guntootsmiley:


I have the 20 and wouldn't be without it. Neither would I be without an expired Kevlar vest and an X-ray apron for explosion shields. Easy to wrap around parts, Kevlar first and then the lead-filled apron for mass. Decommissioned mudflaps work, too.

Gear