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Easy upgrade for your HF 20T press

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Cannonmn

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Jun 25, 2016
When Harbor Fright came out with their air-over-hydraulic 20T jack, I swapped it out for the manual hyd jack the press came with. I think the only adaptation needed was to throw a 1/2" or so thick steel plate under the new jack which has a larger base plate than the manual jack. What a difference in operation! Instead of working up a sweat pumping that handle you just press the lever on a valve. Of course you need compressed air but the jack doesn't use much. I've used my converted HF press mostly for straightening things, occasionally to assemble things or power a crimping die, but everything goes better and faster and more accurately with the new jack. Safety is also better as you can be as far from the press as the hose length downstream from the trigger valve permits. I got nailed in the leg by a piece of shattered steel I was pressing and got a bad case of phlebitis from the deep wound, so I like to be at least a few feet from the press and preferably behind something while pressing. I hesitated posting this because it is such an obvious thing to do, maybe most everyone has either done it or read some post about it. In summary, the air-over-hydraulic jack conversion turns your homely HF press into a much more useful, more controllable, and potentially safer tool.

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I did the same thing to my Pit Bull bike lift. Made a new base plate and a couple clevises and now I can get the bike up in the air without pumping the stupid jack.
 
Verboten or otherwise, and no offense to the OP, but IMHO, that type of press is a joke and an accident waiting to happen. There are few other operations in the shop with as much stored energy waiting to escape as a press, and it should be a top priority to have a quality machine. The ram and table should be perfectly aligned and very rigid. The press shown in the picture fails on both those points.

Stuart
 
Verboten or otherwise, and no offense to the OP, but IMHO, that type of press is a joke and an accident waiting to happen. There are few other operations in the shop with as much stored energy waiting to escape as a press, and it should be a top priority to have a quality machine. The ram and table should be perfectly aligned and very rigid. The press shown in the picture fails on both those points.

Stuart

That was the point of my post. I just have no idea how they get away with selling that crap. The OP knows this first hand, in his post he noted that he got hurt with it.
 
In the event you give the HF people money you encourage them to continue selling junk.
If you spend the money elsewhere you have the option to support your neighbors, family and friends.

Well the OP refuses to shop at HGR so where you gonna go.....:nutter:
 
Well HF was my only option when I got the press like 15 years ago, and it still works. A prof machinist friend nearby bought a 40 or 50 ton press from somewhere in NJ for 1200., looks wonderful, pressure gauges and very beautiful red. They went to add oil one day and it never worked again, no one can figure out how to fix it. Scrap metal now.
 
Well HF was my only option when I got the press like 15 years ago, and it still works. A prof machinist friend nearby bought a 40 or 50 ton press from somewhere in NJ for 1200., looks wonderful, pressure gauges and very beautiful red. They went to add oil one day and it never worked again, no one can figure out how to fix it. Scrap metal now.
So that's your requirements for a "good press" ?
a gage and red paint ?

Just because the "good press" doesn't work, doesn't make it scrap metal.
Take out the non functioning ram, re-use the heavy frame, and put your 20 ton jack in there.
 
Or do this.

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Had to look at that a while, not being familiar with the press pictured. It seems the black plate sandwich at the top has tilted then bent in the middle. Just wondering if the machine pictured is as-sold or has, say, a different (higher capacity?) manual jack installed? BTW I have no financial interest in HF nor have I ever been accused of being the sharpest knife in the drawer.
 
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Had to look at that a while, not being familiar with the press pictured. It seems the black plate sandwich at the top has tilted then bent in the middle. Just wondering if the machine pictured is as-sold or has, say, a different (higher capacity?) manual jack installed? BTW I have no financial interest in HF nor have I ever been accused of being the sharpest knife in the drawer.

I tried to turn it into a press brake. 18" long bend in .060thick 301 1/2 hard..

How come the metal isn't bending? :angry: leaning on the jack handle, then I looked up :eek:.

It has since been "modified", its a little more rigid now, but lost a bunch of height.
That is 4x4, 3/8" wall square tube across the top. Works for bending metal. She's
ugly, but she works, and small enough to throw in the corner when its not in use.

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So, has the prohibition been lifted? Some of us from the Shop Owners subforum have been of the opinion that our members are better served by a full exposure of how dangerous this crap can be. This is significant from a liability standpoint when you run a business. A recently deleted thread exposed a Chinese manual arbor press, about the size of a Famco S, which had actually broken in half. Good to know, to be on guard against unknowingly buying equipment that could break your employee's foot. So, this thread has now run a couple days, with pictures. Does it stay or what?
 
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