School me on shop presses

[bucky]

I’m looking to get a 20 ton shop press. I scrap a lot of auto water pumps, alternators, electric motors among other uses. Being able to press out steel shafts from aluminum housings would speed up the scrapping process. I’m also looking at getting a press brake setup for it.
My budget is $800 or less which I anticipate my next load of scrap will bring in. Been looking for a while and I’ve had no luck with craigslist or FB marketplace.
HF seems to be my best option for local pickup. Because of the weight shipping adds a lot to the cost. Temu has great low cost options but they seem suspect to me.
I’m looking at getting the HF 20 ton manual and upgrading it to an air over hydraulic unit with a foot pedal.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-h-frame-floor-shop-press-70603.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-airhydraulic-bottle-jack-59426.html

 

[John Cooper]

We bought the HF at my former job and used it regularly pressing bearings off and on.

We also had that same jack used on the tire side of the shop for lifting class 8 trucks to change tires.

What you are describing they should work good for you.

 

[FarFire70]

I’m looking to get a 20 ton shop press. I scrap a lot of auto water pumps, alternators, electric motors among other uses. Being able to press out steel shafts from aluminum housings would speed up the scrapping process. I’m also looking at getting a press brake setup for it.
My budget is $800 or less which I anticipate my next load of scrap will bring in. Been looking for a while and I’ve had no luck with craigslist or FB marketplace.
HF seems to be my best option for local pickup. Because of the weight shipping adds a lot to the cost. Temu has great low cost options but they seem suspect to me.
I’m looking at getting the HF 20 ton manual and upgrading it to an air over hydraulic unit with a foot pedal.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-h-frame-floor-shop-press-70603.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-airhydraulic-bottle-jack-59426.html

I'm no expert on presses but this sounds like a good use. I do have the 20-ton and it's a quality HF tool.

Plenty of YT videos to upgrade it - including your idea to add air-actuation (which I believe HF also still sells for the 20T jack used in the press).

 

[bucky]

I’ll hop on YouTube and have a look.

 

[FarFire70]

I’ll hop on YouTube and have a look.

You'll lose yourself there lol - lots of cool mods people have come up with for the HF press.

 

[PCO6]

I built my own back in the mid 70s and it's still going strong. It's a bit wider than some as I wanted to put a tool box under it for storing press and drilling tools.

 

[Vtx531]

I have the HF 20ton. I recommend to replace the four long bolts at the top with 8 short bolts. The long bolts just bend the ears of the c channel instead of clamping down firmly.

 

[RHanna]

I think another common upgrade to the HF press is the plates.

 

[mrblaine]

I’m looking to get a 20 ton shop press. I scrap a lot of auto water pumps, alternators, electric motors among other uses. Being able to press out steel shafts from aluminum housings would speed up the scrapping process. I’m also looking at getting a press brake setup for it.
My budget is $800 or less which I anticipate my next load of scrap will bring in. Been looking for a while and I’ve had no luck with craigslist or FB marketplace.
HF seems to be my best option for local pickup. Because of the weight shipping adds a lot to the cost. Temu has great low cost options but they seem suspect to me.
I’m looking at getting the HF 20 ton manual and upgrading it to an air over hydraulic unit with a foot pedal.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-h-frame-floor-shop-press-70603.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-airhydraulic-bottle-jack-59426.html

Your air option is not the foot pedal type. I'd encourage you to get the regular version and then convert to the air over hydraulic foot pedal pump. The biggest issue you will encounter is cycle time. The type in your link is very slow due to the hand operated air valve and the cylinder has to be opened manually to retract. With the foot pump, you just rock the pedal forward to retract. They are relatively low volume so if you over retract, you waste a lot of time pumping the cylinder back down. I wear out what is most likely a comparable version of the one below every few years or so. I'm a reasonably high volume user in that I press pins into the Wizard brackets and several other things in similar fashion. I use the foot pedal pump on a Dake benchtop 10 ton to shorten the cycle time.

https://www.vevor.com/air-hydraulic...1EEp5VwPYFmo6n4aXj2544qow_htGBWhoC9R8QAvD_BwE

Be aware if you are using it on a press brake and trying to hit a close tolerance bend angle, the pump stroke may be too much for the tiny little bit of extra bend you need and will over bend. It lacks the fine control you would have with the handle doing the pumping manually.

If you are doing a lot of repetitive stuff and use the foot pump, build a simple wood platform that stops the pump from scooting around when it pumps and then places the rocker pedal right above the deck. I am constantly annoyed that I'm essentially standing on one foot and chasing the pump around and scooting it back where it belongs with the other.

Unless they have changed, reinforce the top cross support. I bent mine in very short order. Looking at the picture, I see they have updated the press bed. Mine blew apart into two halves when the welds failed. Mine does not have the little wrap around straps to tie the two sides together. I suspect that was added to prevent failures like mine. I drilled and bolted mine back together with long bolts and sleeves.

The comment about replacing the long bolts with short bolts is good. Replacing the bolts with quality grade 8 and tight fitting sleeves that just fit inside the open C would be better. Ties in all the sides for higher strength.

The comment about the press plates is also very good. I exploded both of mine within a week. I have heard they upgraded them to be less fragile, I still would not trust them.

 

[sab]

Lots of good suggestions here. I have an old (two decades or so) Harbor Freight 12T press. I bent the cross beam on it years ago (it was under-designed) and made a new, stronger one for it. The original pump is still going strong. I do need to fix the ram rod below the cylinder at some point, though. It was also bent slightly when the cross beam bent. It works, but sometimes requires three hands to line things up. I still use this one for most bearing pressing. The 12T is plenty strong for that, and despite my issues with it, I think it's been well worth the cost, even with the troubles I've had.

I also have a newer Harbor Freight 20T press, and that one is well-modified. Here's a list of mods I've made over the years:

• Added Swag Offroad Release Knob (I like steel! It's not 3D printed like some others. I like it so much, I bought one for the 12T HF press and my engine hoist, too.)
• Added Swag Offroad Bed Plates (there are now other, cheaper manufacturers of these, if you look on eBay) - these are much stronger, especially if using a press brake with it.
• Added Swag Offroad Press Brake - if you go with this, buy the pre-assembled one, not the weld-it-yourself version (it's well worth the extra $150 cost). I didn't, and it was very difficult to get it put together where everything lines up. I ended up cutting it apart several times until I got it mostly-right. I wouldn't do that again - it really requires a fixture to weld it properly. Also, there may be other options now. One other note, the standard press knives are just plain carbon steel, so they will get damaged over time. You get what you pay for. Hardened knives (like on the Swag "Pro" model) would be nice, but $$$$.
• Added Harbor Freight Air-over-hydraulic Cylinder (yes, it's a bolt-in mod - easy, peasy)
• Added a Foot Pedal for the Air Cylinder - got it from Automation Direct
• Designed and Fabricated a Hand Crank to Raise and Lower the Bed (was too heavy for this feller with the Swag Bed Plates and Brake) - this was a fair amount of fabrication, but I love this mod! I don't have any pictures handy, though. I used something similar to a crank assembly on the tongue of a boat trailer.
• Added Nylon Set Screws on the Carriage to Eliminate Twisting While Pressing

I rarely remove the press brake from the 20T press because the 12T works most of the time.

One other suggestion. If you are going to use the press to change wheel bearings on newer front-wheel-drive front spindles, get one of these "Universal Press Supports" for your press:

This is the only way I have been able to do these wheel bearings due to the odd shape of the spindle. Until I bought one of these, I had to take the spindles to a shop and pay shop rates to get them to change them. The one shown is (I think) the original German-made support, and it's very expensive (about $500). There are cheaper (about $100) copies available these days, which is what I bought. It paid for itself the first time I changed wheel bearings (I've used it about three times now). Just search for "Universal Press Support."

I have yet to start a thread documenting these mods, despite threatening to do it in a thread two years ago...

Happy pressing!

 

[bucky]

Your air option is not the foot pedal type. I'd encourage you to get the regular version and then convert to the air over hydraulic foot pedal pump. The biggest issue you will encounter is cycle time. The type in your link is very slow due to the hand operated air valve and the cylinder has to be opened manually to retract. With the foot pump, you just rock the pedal forward to retract. They are relatively low volume so if you over retract, you waste a lot of time pumping the cylinder back down. I wear out what is most likely a comparable version of the one below every few years or so. I'm a reasonably high volume user in that I press pins into the Wizard brackets and several other things in similar fashion. I use the foot pedal pump on a Dake benchtop 10 ton to shorten the cycle time.

https://www.vevor.com/air-hydraulic...1EEp5VwPYFmo6n4aXj2544qow_htGBWhoC9R8QAvD_BwE

Be aware if you are using it on a press brake and trying to hit a close tolerance bend angle, the pump stroke may be too much for the tiny little bit of extra bend you need and will over bend. It lacks the fine control you would have with the handle doing the pumping manually.

If you are doing a lot of repetitive stuff and use the foot pump, build a simple wood platform that stops the pump from scooting around when it pumps and then places the rocker pedal right above the deck. I am constantly annoyed that I'm essentially standing on one foot and chasing the pump around and scooting it back where it belongs with the other.

Unless they have changed, reinforce the top cross support. I bent mine in very short order. Looking at the picture, I see they have updated the press bed. Mine blew apart into two halves when the welds failed. Mine does not have the little wrap around straps to tie the two sides together. I suspect that was added to prevent failures like mine. I drilled and bolted mine back together with long bolts and sleeves.

The comment about replacing the long bolts with short bolts is good. Replacing the bolts with quality grade 8 and tight fitting sleeves that just fit inside the open C would be better. Ties in all the sides for higher strength.

The comment about the press plates is also very good. I exploded both of mine within a week. I have heard they upgraded them to be less fragile, I still would not trust them.

So if I’ve understand this right that is a hydraulic pump that is added to the manual jack that comes with the press?
I see that HF has 30% on hydraulic jacks right now. If I can modify the stock jack with that pump I don’t need to buy the air/hydraulic model.

 

[mrblaine]

So if I’ve understand this right that is a hydraulic pump that is added to the manual jack that comes with the press?
I see that HF has 30% on hydraulic jacks right now. If I can modify the stock jack with that pump I don’t need to buy the air/hydraulic model.

Yes, but what I'm trying to get you away from is the air nozzle/tire inflator type valve in the end of the air hose on the air over hydraulic jacks. They are a pain in the ass since you have to extend the cylinder and then manually release the valve to retract it. Plus the valve is never in a handy spot after you get your parts positioned and need to hold them in place for the press to come down and start applying pressure.

 

[g.hayduke]

This is my press. Comes with foot pedal air over hydraulic. I upgraded the plates.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007QV55JC?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[RHanna]

Legitimate question, what is he doing with it? I may not work on vehicles enough to know what this guy is doing with the foot pump.

 

[Apparition]

Legitimate question, what is he doing with it? I may not work on vehicles enough to know what this guy is doing with the foot pump.


View attachment 675089

Modeling

 

[mrblaine]

Legitimate question, what is he doing with it? I may not work on vehicles enough to know what this guy is doing with the foot pump.


View attachment 675089

Folks have pets, he just happens to be very fond of his new foot pump. That said, I have been tempted to move mine to the hydraulic exhaust pipe expander I made so I don't have to use the hand pump I stole off the Dake shop press.

 

[bucky]

Been doing some more research and I think I’ll get the Black Widow air/hydraulic 20 ton press. I just need to wait a bit before I order it so I’ll be home to receive it. Several trips coming up the next 2 months.

https://www.discountramps.com/20-to...k7sj_pUt3wxssijB3cy0XWQ-Kesp94SeDNebKVqYadn_e