Yep, go grade 8 and either swagoffroad or rougefab for the plates, rouge is a forum vendor here on mud. A cast arbor plate snapping at 10 tons makes a very loud pop!
Hydraulic press suggestions...
- Thread starter axolotl81
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- Thread starter
- #22
Will do on the grade 8 hardware and will also look for the arbor plates. Thanks again.
From the photos I posted, you can see I use a 12"x12" sine plate for a flat and strong base and would never assume this press to be a true 20T. But for most general automotive applications it works. The factory base plates also work fine when the bottom of the piece being pressed isn't flat. You will only get in trouble when you think your HF 20T is in fact a 20T and push it. The grade 5 hardware is weaker than the G8 but the tube between the Jack and anvil would begin to crush before failure of eight 5/8" G5 bolts. (I believe). If I have to press something questionably more than 15 T, I will rig up the Iron worker (51T) until I build a much bigger press.
Its like anything else in your toolbox, you would not use a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket to torque a 3/4" bolt to 80 ft/lbs. Pressing can be dangerous and precautions/anticipations must be addressed. For a successful result you really need to ensure your parts are lined up as close to perfect as possible and the parts won't require too much tonnage making this affordable press a good addition to any small shop. One last thing on the hardware, please ensure your hardware fits snuggly into the holes with no slop. Drill if you have to ensure a positive strong connection.
This is not meant to sound pompous or condescending in any way, I just wanted to share cautions,limitations and positive results if you decide to purchase a HF 20T press.
Its like anything else in your toolbox, you would not use a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket to torque a 3/4" bolt to 80 ft/lbs. Pressing can be dangerous and precautions/anticipations must be addressed. For a successful result you really need to ensure your parts are lined up as close to perfect as possible and the parts won't require too much tonnage making this affordable press a good addition to any small shop. One last thing on the hardware, please ensure your hardware fits snuggly into the holes with no slop. Drill if you have to ensure a positive strong connection.
This is not meant to sound pompous or condescending in any way, I just wanted to share cautions,limitations and positive results if you decide to purchase a HF 20T press.
After welding up and using G8 I pushed my 12T too far and bent the pins and warped the press apron just a bit. I'll most likely down the road build an A frame and scavenge the HF parts to do so. Works good for this homemade pressbrake though.
- Thread starter
- #25
@firestopper Thanks for the advice and will definitely use it. Every tool in the garage needs a little common sense when in use.
@warezdog awesome press brake. I'm nowhere near needing something like this, but hopefully one day.
@warezdog awesome press brake. I'm nowhere near needing something like this, but hopefully one day.
The only money spent on that ugly homemade job was the springs, everything else was scrap I picked up. Its rough and crude but does what I needed it to do at the time and allowed me to get back in the saddle with AC Stick welding on something I didn't care about being eye pleasing.
If funds permit I'll pick up the swagoffroad model on day.
If funds permit I'll pick up the swagoffroad model on day.
If you buy it from HF try find one that has decent welds. My experience has been that even on the same piece of equipment, some of the welds look OK and some look awful.
I have owned a HF 20t press for many years and it can do most any job on a Cruiser. However, if I had it to do over again , I would get a larger press for the odd job that requires more power.
You mentioned learning to weld. By all means do that. It adds a lot to the Cruiser experience. If you can't afford a quality name brand welder, don't waste your money. Learning on a cheap welder is like learning to play a music on a cheap instrument. It is much harder and you will become frustrated and give up. Find a friend that will allow you to use their good welder, and maybe give you some tips.
You mentioned learning to weld. By all means do that. It adds a lot to the Cruiser experience. If you can't afford a quality name brand welder, don't waste your money. Learning on a cheap welder is like learning to play a music on a cheap instrument. It is much harder and you will become frustrated and give up. Find a friend that will allow you to use their good welder, and maybe give you some tips.
- Thread starter
- #29
Alright, I got my HF 20 ton press. I haven't assembled it yet, but looked at all the parts with welds on them. Everything looks good, not the prettiest welds, but they seem solid. I will try to get new hardware tomorrow so I can start the assembly. I can't believe I am this excited to finally have a hydraulic press.
Thanks for all the suggestions here. Oh, and I will probably order my arbor plates hopefully by next week. Been busy with my son's 3rd bday party and getting ready for son #2's arrival.
Thanks for all the suggestions here. Oh, and I will probably order my arbor plates hopefully by next week. Been busy with my son's 3rd bday party and getting ready for son #2's arrival.
Sometime back I was looking for a US made shop press, couldn't find one for under $1500 so settled on a 25t Omega with a HF air over hydraulic pump. Even the recognized companies that used to have products made in the USA now have Chinese products. The press came with two cheap arbor plates that look cast so replaced those with some cold steel from the local scrap yard, bought 6ea 1"x8" bars about 2" wide and a few smaller .5" bars, a LARGE bearing separator, plus a Sunnex punch kit, and two rectangular 12" welded pipe sections with .5" wall to act as spacers for pressing gears/bearings off of shafts/pinions. Also picked up some AR500 plate to use as a table surface underneath the ram, use a little C-clamp to hold it in place. The press did give me a few issues when I was pulling bearings from pinions but after letting it sit under pressure I heard the loud bang and it worked just fine. Other than replacing bolts and possibly rewelding some areas, when you bolt it together and set it up make sure it is square or else when you start applying higher pressure the press will start to twist. When it twists it could move your work or put the stress on the weakest link...
