Shop Press

[EdK]

Wow, thanks for all of the details Arvid. You've done some nice mods to your press. Those pads you used are the exact same ones I used for my lathe stand.

I'm headed out to get some replacement bolts since the ones that came with the press are rated at 4.8 grade. I didn't even know metric grades went that low.
But at least they're actually stamped with a grade rather than being mystery grade bolts.

Ed

[DaveH]

(04-27-2013, 06:24 AM)EdK Wrote: 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

Ed,
Basically I put a wheel at each corner. Care is still required to move the press mainly because it tends to be top heavy. So I always move it by pulling it towards me, then push it in the direction of the long uprights.
That is to say I push on one upright in the direction to the other direction.
Clean as mud
Yikes, this turned out difficult to explain.

DaveH

[DaveH]

Ed,
I would push it (or pull) either from the left or right - as in the photo below.
Pushing from the front as in the photo tends to make it want to topple over
The photo shows the "table" lowered this does help it to be more stable.


Hope that is a little clearer

DaveH

[EdK]

Willie warned me about the arbor plates being junk cast steel of unknown pedigree. The ones that came with my shop press look like they are cut from flat steel and not cast. Is there a good way of determining if this is true or not? I was thinking of drilling a hole in one and observing the chips to see if they curl or are more of a powder, like cast iron. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Ed

[Mayhem]

Drop one!

[EdK]

(04-29-2013, 09:42 AM)Mayhem Wrote: Drop one!

[Tony Wells]

Unlikely to be cast, seems to me. Press plates need to be rather ductile, so most of them I have seen are the equivalent of A-36. Mine, being shop made, are 1018. I know because I know the man that made them. RIP.

[EdK]

(04-29-2013, 02:32 PM)Tony Wells Wrote: Unlikely to be cast, seems to me....

I know they shouldn't be cast but evidently Harbor Freight doesn't know that. There's a lot of pictures on the web of the HF plates that have broken and/or exploded. I don't want that to happen to me.

Ed

       

[EdK]

The plates that came with my shop press are smooth like CRS and not lumpy like the cast ones I see pictured on the web. The edge of mine looks to be plasma or laser cut, but I'm certainly no expert on identifying such things.

Ed

       

[TomG]

Those are flame cut Ed, ya can't do that with cast iron. It looks like you got the new and improved model.

Tom