Shop Press

[stevec]

Mine's bolted to the wall.

[Mayhem]

Mine is welded to a 1/4" steel plate and then just stands on the floor. There have been times when I have needed to sit a part on the floor and without the plate, it would simply lift the press off the floor.

[arvidj]

(04-26-2013, 05:32 PM)EdK Wrote: I'll be picking up this shop press tomorrow and was wondering if you guys bolt your pressed down to the floor or not?

Thanks,
Ed

Mine is an wheels.

The only reason I could thing it would need to be attached to anything would be if what you put in it would cause it to tip over, like wanting to push a bushing in and out of a 10 foot bar and did not have any way of holding the far end of the bar up.

But that is such a common issue ... see cutting stuff with the horizontial band saw ... that I am sure you have some adjustable support stands floating around the shop somewhere.

[EdK]

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to mount it on wheels and also make provisions for bolting it to the wall just in case it's needed at some point.
Do you guys just use a wheel in each corner or do you have one under each of the long uprights also, where most of the weight sits?

Ed

[wrustle]

(04-26-2013, 04:00 PM)EdK Wrote: Thanks for the thought Russ but I have enough "project" tools. Besides, then you'd have to come up with another stand for the magnifying light.
That's got to be the fanciest magnifying light stand I've every seen.

Ed

Hi Ed,

I actually wasn't trying to sell you a piece of junk, but more of a warning to consider another brand of press other then what you are intending to buy.

My 12 ton is the same exact design as the 20 ton you are going to buy, and I am telling you from personal experience it is very poorly made.

Go back and look at the pictures I have posted. I still have shims under the cross beams where you would set your work on. There's two .125" shims under the left side, and one under the right side because of the twist in the frame.

I have another picture here from a couple years ago. Andrew was broaching some .250" wide keyways in some steel flywheels we make.

If you look at the press you can see again.....shims under the cross bar, and also you can see a .125" thick shim held to the side rail with a C-clamp to keep the head from shifting left and right because there is so much slop in the fit of the framework.



We were able to get it to do what I needed it to do, but once you moved the cross beam either up or down, it was another process of re-shimming everywhere to get it to press in straight, and even then it only worked just "ok", thus the reason why I went out and got a 5 ton ratcheting press, which works GREAT!

Yes, the price is cheap, and I understand that. Consider what you are going to use it for though and weigh the options if the low cost will outweigh the aggravation every time you need to use it.

Maybe I just got a lemon.

Hopefully you will have better luck!

Best Regards,
Russ

[Mayhem]

No offence Russ but if Andrew was watching what he was doing and not posing for the camera, the result may have been better!

Sorry - I couldn't resist that

[wrustle]

(04-27-2013, 09:22 AM)Mayhem Wrote: No offence Russ but if Andrew was watching what he was doing and not posing for the camera, the result may have been better!

Sorry - I couldn't resist that

No offense taken, and trust me.....he would rather be doing ANYTHING, other than that job!

That's one of those jobs we dreaded because of the broaching part, but now with the new press, it is always a good thing when they repeat, especially since we make them in lots of 80pcs at a time!

He's really a good kid, gotta give him props. He's worked full time for me for nearly three years now and I can count the number of times on one hand he has been late for work, and despite getting 5 sick days per year, he always has some left over at the end of the year.

Not saying he's an angel......we do have our days......but overall he's a great addition to the shop!

He's actually out there working today (saturday) is a matter of fact. Busy as all get out these days, 9 hours a day M-F, and 8 hours on Saturday.

Well.....back to work......before he catches me goofing off on the internet instead of programming!

Best Regards,
Russ

[Mayhem]

I sort of figured your sense of humour Russ and banked on getting away with that one!

It is good to see that you have been able to turn a hobby into a family business and that your son wants to be a part of that. To me it seems as if it is a rare thing these days. Mind you, as you say, (on close examination) he does seem to be less than impressed with the job and I'd like to see the positioning of his left hand two or three frames after that pic was taken!

Are you in the new place yet?

Ed - if the issue is uniform (i.e. the LH side is always off by the same amount) you could always turn new pins that compensate. I always worry about those presses being perfectly parallel. Having said that, it may be easier to 'adjust' it that to make one from scratch.

[EdK]

(04-27-2013, 06:49 AM)wrustle Wrote:

(04-26-2013, 04:00 PM)EdK Wrote: Thanks for the thought Russ but I have enough "project" tools. Besides, then you'd have to come up with another stand for the magnifying light.
That's got to be the fanciest magnifying light stand I've every seen.

Ed

Hi Ed,

I actually wasn't trying to sell you a piece of junk, but more of a warning to consider another brand of press other then what you are intending to buy.

My 12 ton is the same exact design as the 20 ton you are going to buy, and I am telling you from personal experience it is very poorly made.

Go back and look at the pictures I have posted. I still have shims under the cross beams where you would set your work on. There's two .125" shims under the left side, and one under the right side because of the twist in the frame.

I have another picture here from a couple years ago. Andrew was broaching some .250" wide keyways in some steel flywheels we make.

If you look at the press you can see again.....shims under the cross bar, and also you can see a .125" thick shim held to the side rail with a C-clamp to keep the head from shifting left and right because there is so much slop in the fit of the framework.



We were able to get it to do what I needed it to do, but once you moved the cross beam either up or down, it was another process of re-shimming everywhere to get it to press in straight, and even then it only worked just "ok", thus the reason why I went out and got a 5 ton ratcheting press, which works GREAT!

Yes, the price is cheap, and I understand that. Consider what you are going to use it for though and weigh the options if the low cost will outweigh the aggravation every time you need to use it.

Maybe I just got a lemon.

Hopefully you will have better luck!

Best Regards,
Russ

Russ,

Sorry, I misunderstood your post. I see the shims now. I understand what you're saying about the press but it's either one of the cheap ones or none at all. I know a lot of people buy these presses and don't have much problems with them so I guess I'll take the gamble and see if I get lucky. So if you see me cussing and swearing about this press then you'll know I didn't get lucky.

Ed

[arvidj]

(04-26-2013, 05:32 PM)EdK Wrote: ... was wondering if you guys bolt your pressed down to the floor or not?

Thanks,
Ed

Ed,

Here is what I did [part numbers (xx) refer to the 60603 owners manual]

I welded two pair of 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/8 L shaped "stringers" to the 'front' and 'back' of the base section (21).

I then uses four of these casters and four of these pads. The nut is pinned to the threaded rod. I roll the press to where I need it and if I choose to make it more stable ... which I do not think I have ever done ... I turn down the pads.


  casterAndPad(2).jpg (Size: 62.97 KB / Downloads: 117)

Other fun things you can do is get a press brake ...


  pressBreak.jpg (Size: 37.92 KB / Downloads: 116)

... replace the manual jack with an air-over-hydraulic one so your wife can help you ...

   

... and add a winch to make moving the press apron (19) easier to raise and lower. Note that in a total 'how lazy can you be' moment I replace the winch crank with an old 3/8ths extension so I can use a 3/8th air ratchet to run the winch.

   

   


  cable.jpg (Size: 40.84 KB / Downloads: 114)

On occasion I actually do use the press as a press rather than a project unto itself

Arvid