Shop Press - How Big is Big Enough?

The ongoing project to refresh the suspension on Hedwig, my daily driver SAAB 9-3 continues, and I am at the point where I need to press in/out 6 or 8 new bushings/mounts. Not many local machine shops will take on this kind of simple work anymore it seems, and those that will want $150, so I am shopping HF presses. With the usual coupons they run from about $60 for this 6 ton http://www.harborfreight.com/6-ton-a-frame-bench-shop-press-1666.html, to $100 for the 12 ton http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-h-frame-industrial-heavy-duty-floor-shop-press-60604.html. The price difference is small enough that it doesn't bother me, and if I wasn't worried about space in my small garage I'd just get the 12 ton.

Will the much smaller 6ton be tough enough for use on car size control arms etc, or will I sooner or later regret not getting the 12ton?

Better to have more press than you need, than not enough.

I have the 20ton.

In reply to Swank Force One:

I giggitied all over your post.

60K# made in USA press w/ China bottle jack. Still creaked pressing out badly corroded F-150 U-joints. Preload part in press, apply OA heat, apply more presure. E36 M3 flew all over when it finally broke loose. Never have enuf press.

Floor footprint between the 6 - 12 - 20 is about the same.

I've yet to have too much press (well, except when I mangle things with it), but I've certainly had too little. I'd buy the 20 ton to have as much as I can. So when I need only 12 tons (or 15, or 8) I've got it and can get the job done.

OP, I'm with you -- I'd always rather take the $$ I would pay a contractor one time to do a job, and buy the tool with which to do it myself instead.

Swank Force One wrote: Better to have more press than you need, than not enough. I have the 20ton.

I have the 6 ton. It does the job for the most part. There are 2 issues with it though.

1. It is light and the bottle jack is at the top of the frame. If you are pushing on the handle ( or pulling down on it if it's on a countertop) with any real force it wobbles a little on the tiny feet. Usually it's fine but sometimes it moves the object you are working on and forces you to back out and start over.

2. Being that the object being worked on is below the press point it is sometimes difficult to fit the worked on piece under the press point. I made 2 small sawhorses about 1'4" tall to hold it up and that seems to work, but then I have to find a place 2 store 2 small sawhorses.

In reply to codrus:

I want that. Think how easy diff bushings would be.

I have a 12 ton harbor freight here that if you come and get it the cost of gas to get here from 10 miles away would be paying too much that I'd feel guilty asking for a six pack.

Get the 20 ton.

codrus wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: Better to have more press than you need, than not enough. I have the 20ton.

At UW-Madison, they have a 1,000,000 pound test machine. When something broke in that puppy, it shook Engineering Hall. Apparently there are a couple similar machines that are 2 to 4 times bigger at other Universities. It's probably a bit over kill for some bearing races, though.

20 or 30 ton.

You pick your tools to fit your battles. I have a crummy HF 12-ton unit yet it's always been enough to push out any bushings and bearings I put under it.

The size of the press is less relevant than having an assortment of arbors, brakes, spacers, etc. Pressing is the easy part, it's setting up that's the trick.

Having used a press in my youth at a job where one of my tasks was R&R'ing axle bearings, if it's not large enough to press bearings off non-floating rear axles, then it's not big enough. We had a 50 ton with an air powered, foot controlled pump.

I'd vote 20 ton; not much more money, footprint is very close to the 12 ton. That said, I've had one of the 12T ones for over 10 years and it's always been enough for what I needed.

But you never know, and this is GRM, so you're probably best off with the one Codrus has...

I have a 12 ton Northern Tool press that works great, except for one thing. It wasn't tall enough to do the axle bearings on the Samurai. It now sits on two pieces of 6x6 and is perfect. Not only did I get the height I needed, it's much more stable. Since it's not used often, it sits on a furniture dolly and is rolled into a corner.

I have a 20 ton Enerpac that sometimes struggles with rusty stuff. An OA torch would help. Go big.

Get the 20. AND BE CAREFUL.

The sad thing with the HF presses are that they are narrow - really narrow. I had a 12 ton and modified it a bit to do a DSM transmission, the thingy that spreads across the frame that you press against had to be widened out a hair to fit a transmission gear through.

I bought a used Arcan 20 ton off Craigs for the cost of a new 20 ton from HF and its about a million times better, maybe more. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_604_604

Anecdotally, I took my 12 tonner to a swap meet and sold it almost immediately for $60, which I thought was $75 too much after struggling with it.

I've got a HF 12 ton and it has been fine for my little British cars. I don't think I'd want to do big stuff off the pickup, though, for example. If I had to do it over I'd get the 20. Forget the 6.

Dr. Hess wrote: Get the 20. AND BE CAREFUL.

This. It takes every bit of strength of a 20 to press out SW20 MR2 rear hub bearings. I don't consider that a terribly specialized job.

And next to the angle grinder, a big press is one of the most dangerous things in your shop. It imparts an immense amount of potential energy into a workpiece. Lose control of that energy and bad things can happen in a big hurry.

That Arcan 20ton is a 100% dead ringer for my HF 20ton.

The HF 12ton is narrow and built on a lighter not as solid frame. It flexes like crazy too. It works but it's scary.

JG Pasterjak wrote:

Dr. Hess wrote: Get the 20. AND BE CAREFUL.

And next to the angle grinder, a big press is one of the most dangerous things in your shop. It imparts an immense amount of potential energy into a workpiece. Lose control of that energy and bad things can happen in a big hurry.

Oh yes... One of the closest "near-death" experiences I've ever had was while operating that 50 ton press. I was removing an axle bearing and didn't get the splitter under the inner race quite right, so the press was acting on the outer race and bearing cage. I was standing maybe 3 feet away from the press when the bearing leg go with a huge "BANG!" and sent shrapnel into just about every corner of the shop. How none of it hit me is no small miracle.

Hearing the explosion, my boss came in to see what happened. Then he said, "oh yeah... see that beat up peice of plywood there? That's what it's for - to lean against the press in case that happens..." The other option is to cut off the outer bearing and bearing cage so all that's left to grab is the inner race.

I've got a HF 12 ton an it has done everything I wanted it to do. But like everyone else has said, if I had to do over I'd buy the 20 ton. If you are really worried about overdoing it you can install a smaller bottle jack on the more delicate items and have the best of both worlds...