Shop Press idea's?

KC we have a couple of those presses where I work and they do a fine job, had them for 7-8 years now.
I plan to get one for my shop also, I have one of the pipe bending presses from HF and it has worked good for me, seems the most important component to the press is the jack and they seem to be good ones.

I wouldn't be afraid of it at all, maybe just go ahead and pay a few extra bucks for the extended warranty they offer and if something was to act up you can probably just get it replaced for the next 2 years, I wouldn't personally be afraid to own one.

KCvale said:

Thanks Map, it looks solid enough for my needs and pretty cheap.
HF has pipe bending jigs too?
That will be something I can use all the time given the right angles and pipe sizes.

Beats trying to use a drill press or vice for the job ;-}

Same for a good saw.
Cole brought his big Jepson chop saw with a new metal cutting blade over too.
That will make short work of making the new bases I think.

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What I bought there for bending pipe isnt a jig but rather an entire pipe bending set up, it does good on thicker wall pipe but on thin wall stuff you have to be careful and I can get tight bends or the tubing will crinkle and get a flat spot on the bottom, if pipe was full of sand and capped on each end it would probably do a lot better for thinner tubing.

I got one its decent for a cheap press.

I got a 20 ton HF press and the air powered 20 ton jack to run it and it does everything I need it to do and then some... I use mine mainly for pressing in and out hub bearings but I've also used it for bushings and a lot of other misc automotive and heavy duty truck suspension jobs, so far I hadn't found anything it can't press in or out... and it's strong enough to break a forged steel spindle... ask me how I found out... the hard way.

I also got a 12 ton tubing bender from there too, but I just bought that last night and only had time this morning to set it up, I'll play with it and some scrap steel before I try anything for real with it but it's very heavy duty built and should do just about any bicycle related task quickly and easily without kinking the pipe.

Other tools I got from them that work very well are the 3hp chop saws, these work best with the carbide 120 tooth blades when cutting metal instead of the typical 14" cutting wheels, the carbide cuts faster, smoother and cleaner... Safety glasses are mandatory using this one..., and I just picked up a tabletop band saw last night and installed the metal cutting band, I just tested it breifly with a piece of scrap aluminum and it cuts 1/4" 6061T6 like butter. Then I got one of those $99 wire feed welders, I got this originally to speed up tack welding automotive exhaust stsyems then the plan was to tack with ths then go back and Tig weld everything but the welder did such a good job tacking that I tried a complete weld which it did flawlessly so I built my whole system with it and saved a lot of time... just go to Home Depot and buy the Lincoln brand spools, the HF ones they sell as refills work good too, but not the little spool that comes with it.

Back to the press... I'm sure you'll do just fine with a 10 to press but the 20 ton press and air powered jack isn't that much more expensive so either one will work.

Yep 20 ton would be my choice ( i am building one ) just so nice to have that extra when needed. And for chop saw i am on my third one LOL this one is from Home-depot life time warranty,super nice saw compared to the last ones cast iron base...............Curt

I'd say go with the 20 ton if budget allows, but the one I got shows NO mercy if you don't have your parts set up right or if something slips right before the ram makes contact... So far I've only broke a spindle with it unintentionally, and I use a worn out brake rotor off a 1 ton GMC for my bearing removal jig because it's nice and solid with just the right size hole in the middle and it's broke off 1/2" thick chunks off that rotor before I got used to setting everything up just so... One of my mechanics also cracked a spindle because he didn't know there was a snap ring holding a bearing in and the press will not stall before the parts break...

KCvale said:

A little bend works for most, otherwise we just cut the pipe off at the cat, cut in a new angle, and re-weld the cat where we want it like we did on the Slugo.

The pipes cat input is not in it's center.

We just whacked the cat off the pipe where the original weld was, put the pipe back on the bike, then just cut the end of the pipe to the angle to match up to the cat with it's thin side to the frame, threw a tack weld on to hold in perfect position to fit nice, and then took it off and welded and painted it to be a better fit.

A press wouldn't help that problem, the cat body was in the way as it was meant for a left side output.
No biggie with an angle grinder with good cutting blade, welder, and good high temp paint though ;-}

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yep thats a good way to get that fixed up, i had a hard time reading the text in this message though, im to busy looking at that purdy green paint, that green like that is one of my favorite colors....
Which Macargi bike is that set up on KC?

Looks like a macargi sluggo fat tire cruiser from the pic... these come in black and lime green... very hot looking color combo and the bike is very hot looking too

Nice looking bike..... I bet those ride like a dream with those big cushy tires.

You'll be plenty happy with the 12 ton press... that's the one I was going to get for the shop but the guy before me left his 20 ton setup behind for me to use, and that thing is crazy powerful....
today was kinda slow at the shop so I got to play with some of my new toys like the 12 ton pipe bender I got from Harbor Freight tuesday night... Just tried a few pieces of scrap thru it and it'll bend up to 90 degrees in a pertty tight radius without distorting the tubing. I bent one piece and it started to flatten but a quick trip to the press and I was able to push it back to almost completely round again so the pipe bender is a go for my future projects..
The band saw I hadn't really played with too much, just cut a piece of scrap aluminum and it cuts it like butter. I put a metal cutting blade on it but didn't want to risk dulling it trying to cut a piece of steel just yet... I'll wait til I have a spare blade on hand before I try cutting steel with it.

BTW... very cool looking bike

It sounds like what you need is a set of knock out punches... try the aviation tool places like yardstore.com or browntool.com... dunno how thick the material you need to punch thru is, but maybe a modified knock out punch on that 12 ton press would work... Did you get the air operated hydraulic jack for the press? I think they got a 10 ton or 12 ton air operated jack and they make it much easier to control than using the hand pump... especially when you gotta hold the work in one hand, keep everything lined up, and operate the jack at teh same time... it's a LOT easier squeezing a trigger valve than using the hand pump...

Ok... my terminology doesn't match aircraft spruce & specialty's site too well for knockout punches.. they call them panel punches... http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/ats123chole.php?clickkey=22190
You can get these in all kinds of sizes and shapes but it may take some searching... these will punch thru 1/8" thick aluminum pretty easy, just use a unibit and step drill a 5/8" hole then thread the bolt thru and it'll punch the hole.. You can also use these on the press by making yourself an alignment pin out of 5/8" rod stock or tubing and a smaller diameter rod in the middle so the hole can be drilled much smaller... or just make up a jig to keep the 2 halves aligned on the press, then it's no drilling needed...
i'd imagine these could punch thru 1/8" mild steel if lubed up and powered by a press...

i want a water jet, but way to expensive for a working mans budget.

mapbike said:

i want a water jet, but way to expensive for a working mans budget.

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No kidding... i'd love to get a hold of one of those but way out of my budget too... I've noticed those laser cutters are coming down to reasonable prices tho and might try and get one of those for the shop... with one of those I could cut the copper gaskets and other small parts without having to find a way around the copper work hardening too soon...