Questions about Protentional Greenerd No3 Purchase

[rsbonini]

Looking for an arbor press and came across this Greenerd #3 for a decent price on the local classifieds.









I've never seen a press with a slot cut into the end of the ram like that. Googling around doesn't seem to show anything similar. Is this normal or has the ram been modified? What should I look out for if I go to purchase this unit (or any press)?

 

[GregSY]

The pics are so poor it's hard to tell what's there.

I don't like the round ram presses as much as the square ram presses, but if the price is right...it's still a good press.

 

[adh2000]

I’ve seen a few abused presses. People crank the ram down on something stuck then sledgehammer the top of the ram to get whatever loose. Look for flaring or evidence of hammering on the ram. Also look at the teeth in both the rack and pinion. Other than that just general evidence of thrashing. This one looks ok in the photos although I don’t like the slot on the end of the ram. What if you are pushing on something small say 5/8 diameter you’d have to fill the slot with something. Seems like a pain.


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[eKretz]

The slot was probably used for interchangeable tooling. It would be easy enough to make a flat cap for the end of the ram that has a mating tab that could be locked into the slot, and any other tooling as well. That can be handy. I might suggest making a tabbed end piece with a hole for various stepped pins if you need to transition to round.

 

[Limy Sami]

The slot was probably used for interchangeable tooling. It would be easy enough to make a flat cap for the end of the ram that has a mating tab that could be locked into the slot, and any other tooling as well. That can be handy. I might suggest making a tabbed end piece with a hole for various stepped pins if you need to transition to round.

That would be my take, ........over 30 years back, for a small metal pressing job, I cut a 1/4 or 5/16 keyway up the back of my round arbor press - using a ''fitted'' dogpoint allen screw for a key.

Since then it's made 000's of parts where ''registering'' of the ram was essential.

 

[matt_isserstedt]

The round-ram Greenerd doesn't have any takeup for wear between the ram and the bore in the casting. Which is sort of a very minor point as its hard to wear out an arbor press if its used occasionally as shop-support equipment and not for a regular production operation.

I've encountered a worn one and its a pain because the wear is unequal thru the vertical travel. Essentially one sets the friction-screws so that the ram "holds" lightly in the bore so the user can setup work below without the ram freewheeling its way to the bottom. However because some spots are worn and others aren't as much its a balancing act on the friction-screws. Can cause the need for 3 hands to escalate quickly... I think its more of an issue with a ratchet-lever model vs. a standard sliding-arm as the ram has less inertia to freewheel its way to the bottom.

 

[metalmagpie]

Greenerds are great arbor presses. But I would hold out for a compound handle or at least ratcheting.