Keeper96 Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Evening all, im looking at buying a press for the garage, the most common use will be suspension bushes but I also need to press out my a frame ball joint, what size press should I be looking at? 10t or would bigger be better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 I would go at least 30 tonnes regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Definitely more than 10t, 20t bare minimum, 30t and you will likely not need to resort to a hammer for a-frame ball joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keeper96 Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 Cheers lads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 I have got an old V.L. Churchill 10 ton jobbie. Has done everything I have ever asked of it. Never done an A frame balljoint with it though. It is however, somewhat heftier than new red ones I have seen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 As big as possible 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zardos Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 This might be big enough https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bliss-HS2500-H-52-48-Hydraulic-Straight-Side-Power-Press-2500-Tonne-Ton-Rhodes/254389041448 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keeper96 Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 Ordered a 20t from sgs, a bit pricey but nice to have decent gear! A bigger one would be nice but the prices start going crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cackshifter Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 I have a supposed 30 ton press - probably is but then again my Chinese isn't strong. I couldn't get it to move an A frame ball joint, so I tried putting the joint in an electrolysis tank for a day or two to derust it. Then tried the press again and easy peasy! In case you find yourself struggling... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 If you get a 500 ton press you could press your own panels 😊 Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 I would have thought 20t is more than adequate. What's more important is how much of that can be used, the gauge on mine only reads up to 30t (but it's a 700bar ram so I think capable of closer to 80t with a two stage pump). But being Brunelian engineering (well certainly Victorian) it's solid. I pushed out radius arm bushes whilst pushing in new ones and it barely registered 5t but that I suspect is down to the fact that there's no give in the frame. Those nuts are 3" AF on forged solid steel ties so all the force goes into pressing the bush rather than flexing the frame. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 There is a big difference in quality. We had a cheap 20t one in the old Workshop and now a very similar one, also 20t. We've needed to strengthen the frame after some abuse pressing out P38 wheel bearings. But it copes with most jobs no problem. It's the biggest of the cheap range. I considered upgrading to a 30t version, but those are 3x to 4x the price (professional range), and I couldn't justify that. Filip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 The best tip I would give when using a press is to hit it with a lump hammer when you have pressure on it instead of just applying more and more force. You can damage things that way. Often with ball joint arms or wheel bearings if you apply a decent amount of force and then give it a clout in the right place with a lump hammer it deflects the metal enough for it to move - often not noticably but enough to drop the pressure on the guage. Same principle of getting a ball joint apart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 On 4/19/2020 at 10:36 PM, Ed Poore said: As big as possible I think @Hybrid_From_Hell might still just have you with the biggest one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 I built myself a press from C beam, intending to find a 20t cylinder eventually, but put in a 1t body repair cylinder temporarily. In 5 years i've never needed any more. I would warn against the Machine Mart type ones, a neighbour has one and the frame is now banana shaped. So easy to make. did mine with a sliding truck, very useful feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 "..I built myself a press from C beam,.." any pics please ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcock Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 I aquired a 30T press from my local scrappy, I was dropping of some bits and pieces and spotted it, when I asked about it the cylinder was leaking and the air assist was missing. I did a deal on it thinking it was worth it just for the frame, I stripped the cylinder fitted a new seal blanked the air assist and now got an excellent shop press for less than £50. What I need now is some tooling for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 14 hours ago, ballcock said: I aquired a 30T press from my local scrappy, I was dropping of some bits and pieces and spotted it, when I asked about it the cylinder was leaking and the air assist was missing. I did a deal on it thinking it was worth it just for the frame, I stripped the cylinder fitted a new seal blanked the air assist and now got an excellent shop press for less than £50. What I need now is some tooling for it. Not cheap but I keep thinking I am will treat myself to this when I am feeling flush https://www.stakesys.co.uk/swag-20-ton-finger-brake-heavy-duty-diy-builder-kit https://www.stakesys.co.uk/swag-hemming-dies-that-fit-the-12-20-ton-finger-brakes lots of cool ways to spend your hard earned on that website 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 22 hours ago, landroversforever said: I think @Hybrid_From_Hell might still just have you with the biggest one His might be a tad more powerful I think but mine's physically bigger and heavier Besides I'm not sure I need any more power, if I do then a friend down the road's "little" press is 100t and a bit bigger than Nige's. Shortly after I met him I asked "if that's the small press what's the big one?!". It's set up as a sheet metal brake, not quite sure of it's tonnage but will put a beautiful bend into an 8m length of, at least, 10mm sheet steel . Slightly off-topic but an entertaining story non-the-less. My parent's neighbours brother was having a silage cart converted to rock trailer, they asked Chris to sort out the bed and decided inch plate was the minimum they would go so several sheets were ordered and delivered to CLH. Then the brother got a shock when they loaded these full size sheets of inch plate into their guillotine and simply cut them to the correct size. Not that many places that'll cut inch plate approaching 8m in length on a guillotine. I know before the whole Corvid thing they were looking into an 8x4 HD plasma to help speed up the bracketry cutting. Was slightly surprised at the fact they were into the £100k territory until Chris clarified he meant 8x4m not feet! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 On 4/21/2020 at 1:12 PM, Arjan said: "..I built myself a press from C beam,.." any pics please ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 I might be a bit late but I have a cheap 30t, it's no precision instrument. I find the key is to remove rust and keep things in line otherwise you can soon run out of oomph. Mine doesn't have a pressure gauge and I keep saying I'm going to add one as otherwise it's hard to know how hard your pushing. You have to get a feel for it as if you keep pushing you get to a point when your making things tighter not pushing out, a pressure gauge would help there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Thank you for the pictures - that is a very nice build ! Does not look like a "home build" at all. Interesting.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 15 minutes ago, Arjan said: Thank you for the pictures - that is a very nice build ! Does not look like a "home build" at all. Interesting.. Its super easy. I ordered the C beam cut to length with my local metal supplier (about 100 Eur) and just had to drill loads of 12.5 holes. I will convert it to electric 20t ish at some point when i find a good deal on a power unit & cylinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 There is not really such a thing as big enough or not big enough. I have a little Clarke 10T one I bought second hand for £50 and it will do most of what I want which is pressing wheel bearings on boat trailers and the like. A bit of heat is often worth 10 or 20 tonnes if something is stuck, a Rothenburger Superfire MAPP torch is a reasonably good unsticker if you don't have acetylene. If you're coming from just having a vice, a 10 tonne press is awesome... We used to have a 50 tonne VL Churchill press at the old job that weighed half as much as the Titanic, and I've seen that maxed out on the pressure gauge just with a suspension bush but then a quick acetylene tickle and it comes out with just a few tonnes on it. You really don't want to lose a tool out sideways with 50 tonnes on it.... sometimes technique is as important as brute force (said the archbishop to the actress ) Ultimately the best compromise depends on how often you use it and how much space you can afford. I only use mine a few times a year so I don't want something that takes up half the garage. There are some 'dedicated' folks on here who like to have a nuclear arsenal, which is fine, but most people just doing their own maintenance on one or two vehicles probably don't need something that can press the prop off HMS Prince of Wales. A commercial user doing the same thing regularly, where time is money, will have entirely different requirements. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 A very valuable point. One thing is my press is pretty strong but consequently the cylinder moves a small amount per stroke of the hand pump. Can be a pain getting the ram to the right place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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