Fixing a Harbor Freight style Arbour Press.

3 Attachment(s)

I recently got this cheapo chinese Arbour Press

Attachment 42206 Click on thumbnails for full size pix.

I tend to look at these cheap tools as a kit of parts delivered assembled to ensure that you receive all the parts for subsequent fixing and proper assembly. In this case I was not disappointed, there were a few things to fix before use.

I prepared a PDF file describing the problems and the fixes.

Arbour Press faults and fixes

Update:

This morning I made the steel press plate. It is larger and I have made it square to give the maximum possible support to the workpiece. I ignored the width of the slots in the original plate and made them to suit what I expect to be most used. I wanted to clear shafts of 10 mm, 12 mm, 15 mm, 17 mm, 20 mm and 25 mm. So I cut slots of 11, 16, 21 and 26 mm each with the minimum necessary length to match the widths.

The following photos show the new plate, firstly just the plate and secondly the plate with the original for comparison.

Attachment 42211 Attachment 42212

The PDF has been updated to include the new plate.

'Parts kit, indeed.' No gibs fitted into recesses? Well, it's two-fold. 1.] Gibs add greater expense, compared to when patterns were made. 2.] Missed at assembly?
The remainder would go Python-esque "I have these two.....(ahem, three sir)".
The recess may be lightening cuts, reducing consumption of iron into casting, saving .02 fen coinage. Any rate, none of those are proper features to leave out of an arbor press, just like too small press plate for the throat depth, thrust clamp on gear shaft & unfinished bolt ends.

The only positive, working end is fitted to retain replaceable tools. Even really great arbor presses lack that.
I like adding a stop clamp also. 2 dowels spread across 3 rack teeth, in a square holed 'bushing', and a vertical set screw/ jam nut for increments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyfoale

I recently got this cheapo chinese Arbour Press

Attachment 42206

I tend to look at these cheap tools as a kit of parts delivered assembled to ensure that you receive all the parts for subsequent fixing and proper assembly. In this case I was not disappointed, there were a few things to fix before use.

I prepared a PDF file describing the problems and the fixes.

Arbour Press faults and fixes

Yes, but how many people buy one of these and have no idea there is a better way for them to function.? They just run in the screws a little more as they wear completely oblivious of real problem.

Welcome back, Tony. Very nice write up. What do you think about a piece of Teflon instead of steel for the gib? I would probably throw the plate away and just use 2 pieces of steel with a v-notch in each piece.

Im using the same press as a bender,and it is very convenient.

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltfever

Welcome back, Tony. Very nice write up. What do you think about a piece of Teflon instead of steel for the gib?

Teflon, brass, bronze etc. would all work in place of the steel. Teflon would not need any grease, although the rear part on which the rack teeth slide would still need greasing but I suspect that many users would not grease anywhere.

Teflon could be adjusted to be a bit of a tighter fit but teflon flows or creeps and I suspect that over time it would flow away in the region of the screw pressure and hence loosen that initial tighter fit. Maybe a thinner piece of teflon backed up with a steel plate would work well. On a practical side, my scrap box had a few pieces of steel plate but no teflon.

I have a funny story about that. Back in the 1960s I built a rotary disc inlet valve 2 stroke engine. I had just heard about this wonder material "TEFLON" and I thought that it would be the ideal material for the valve because of its low friction. I realised that it might grow due to centrifugal effects at high RPM so I inserted what amounted to a small knife in the lower part of the housing to trim the teflon to the size that it wanted to be. It worked too well. The teflon grew and the knife trimmed it, then the teflon grew and the knife trimmed it, then the teflon grew and the knife trimmed it.......................
I then replaced the teflon with thin steel, hard chromed. That worked well. Here is a pic of the steel version, I have none of the teflon.

Attachment 42209 Click image for full size.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Resident114

Im using the same press as a bender, and it is very convenient.

That is one of the reasons why I got it, to make small bent brackets. I have a setup for my hydraulic press which will bend larger sheet but it is heavy and takes time to setup as well as being slow to use. I also have a folder which I made and which is OK for thin sheet but I'll make a tool for this small press which will be more convenient for some small stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank S

Yes, but how many people buy one of these and have no idea there is a better way for them to function.? They just run in the screws a little more as they wear completely oblivious of real problem.

That's hopeful, IF they'd recognize intent/ purpose of the screws to start with.
My favorite conspiracy theory hinges on things like this.

No less than two generations haven't beneficial exposure to vocational, mechanical and general how-to analysis. It was removed from education at same time all the legislation for offshoring began. Made those values of "should-be", "I'd like...", intuition gained by experience, and DIY initiative not only remote and seemingly obsolete, but mysterious, out of reach, not worth the effort.

So, it follows how inferior look-alike products at attractive prices are seen as equal, when reality is quite the reverse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltfever

Welcome back, Tony. Very nice write up. What do you think about a piece of Teflon instead of steel for the gib? I would probably throw the plate away and just use 2 pieces of steel with a v-notch in each piece.

Steel, brass, TEFLON®, each have properties that lend desired result. Steel, easily worked, available and dissimilar enough to the ram material to not gall, with a bit of lube. Brass meets those too; I'd cut shim stock long enough (protruding both ends of plate) folded over to keep it in place. Depending on thickness, all 6 screws could be used to distribute pressure evenly. All kinds of non-metallics have potential and sort of endless supply. Holding in place could be simple as a pocket milled into the plates inner side.

And so far no one has mentioned cast iron or the ultimate material for gibs cast molybdenum. A bit hard to find now days but old military duce& half engines used to be made out of the stuff because it was stronger than regular gray cast iron and was nearly completely immune to wear Old leaf springs can be heated and flattened then worked to any shape desired as well the carbon content in them make them a good choice for non galling gibs

Come on chaps, let's get real. Galling???. This is a small hand operated press for odd jobs. The speed of the ram will hardly exceed zero and the number of cycles will likely be less than a few hundred in a lifetime. A layer of grease will protect it from significant wear and corrosion for years. Whatever wear occurs will overwhelmingly be confined to the rack and pinion teeth. The teeth will be subject to high forces while the gibs will not.

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Thanks for the update and the reminder, Tony. Yeah, I have a chunk of PTFE in the scarp drawer and instantly thought of it as I read your PDF . . . completely forgetting about creep! I agree and wont be using it.

Also, a caution for others. When you mentioned the press I immediately looked at Harbor Freight because there is one in a nearby town and I have been thinking of getting a press for the same reasons as you. I usually go to the 1-star reviews for a quick look at potential problems. Its fairly easy to discern failures due to user abuse or the product. However, this review is not so definitive. Did the user use an extension bar and put excessive force on a 1 ton press or was there a flaw in the Chinese casting? Buyer beware.

Central Machinery 1 ton press:

Attachment 42213

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltfever

Also, a caution for others. When you mentioned the press I immediately looked at Harbor Freight because there is one in a nearby town and I have been thinking of getting a press for the same reasons as you. I usually go to the 1-star reviews for a quick look at potential problems. Its fairly easy to discern failures due to user abuse or the product. However, this review is not so definitive. Did the user use an extension bar and put excessive force on a 1 ton press or was there a flaw in the Chinese casting? Buyer beware.

Central Machinery 1 ton press:

Mine is not actually from Horror Fright, I used the title "Harbor Freight STYLE". There are no HF stores here in Spain. I have just had a look on the HF site and judging by the photo there the casting looks to be of lower quality, but it is hard to tell from a photo though. There is no ridge around the back side like there is on mine so it starts weaker by design.

The photo that you show is really bad, surely that has to have been due to overloading as you surmise. Maybe there was a shrinkage crack in the casting to start with?. I followed your example and read some of the 1 star comments. I noticed that one said that the operating arm bent, that would only happen if the user put a pipe over it. Other comments are true horrors.

I understood that you were using Harbor Freight in a generic manner. However, since they are close that was my first look and also a good reference on what to look out for. There are plenty of inexpensive designs so it won't be too hard to find something suitable. But a big thank you for posting your work because I assume no matter what brand, I will be following your example.

Does your rack have cast teeth or are they machined? None of the model descriptions give that information.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank S

And so far no one has mentioned cast iron or the ultimate material for gibs cast molybdenum. A bit hard to find now days but old military duce& half engines used to be made out of the stuff because it was stronger than regular gray cast iron and was nearly completely immune to wear Old leaf springs can be heated and flattened then worked to any shape desired as well the carbon content in them make them a good choice for non galling gibs

"cast molybdenum", wear plate like Bissalloy 450 would work well and it machines O.K. using Carbide and keeping it cool.
https://www.bisalloy.com.au

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltfever

I understood that you were using Harbor Freight in a generic manner. However, since they are close that was my first look and also a good reference on what to look out for. There are plenty of inexpensive designs so it won't be too hard to find something suitable. But a big thank you for posting your work because I assume no matter what brand, I will be following your example.

Does your rack have cast teeth or are they machined? None of the model descriptions give that information.

FWIW here is the listing of the one that I bought eBay_listing Overall I am quite happy (so far) with the quality of it. My complaints do not relate to the quality just to the lack of gibs and a poorly positioned and sized press plate (questions of design not quality).

My ram/rack is made from square steel bar, sawn to length with machined teeth.

I noted one of the HF reviews said that teeth broke off, which indicates that the ram was cast iron, quite unsuitable. Speaking of the HF reviews. There was one which said that it did not do his job even though he beat on the lever, another said that he fitted a long breaker bar to it. Some people just ask for problems.

I've gone to shops and noticed the top of the ram on their arbor press mushroomed like an abused cold chisel or the handle bent into an L. It made me wonder what level of supervision if any those shops had over their employees

Thanks tonyfoale! We've added your Arbor Press Modifications to our Brakes and Presses category,
as well as to your builder page: tonyfoale's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-arbor-press-modifications"> <img src="/uploads/254090/homemade-arbor-press-modifications.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-arbor-press-modifications">Arbor Press Modifications</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/tonyfoale">tonyfoale</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/arbor-press'>arbor press</a>, <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/modification'>modification</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank S

I've gone to shops and noticed the top of the ram on their arbor press mushroomed like an abused cold chisel or the handle bent into an L. It made me wonder what level of supervision if any those shops had over their employees

We see things like that all the time. Ultimately, supervision is the issue. Not only lack of how/ who it gets that way (ie mushroomed or bent), but failure to have adequate equipment in place; I regard that even worse.
But damage also traces to workers who didn't PAY for the instrument. Very typical wherever bulk of are crib issued tools, not personal.

I have two from Harbor Freight, a 1/2T size and a 1T version. I also have 3.5T model from Enco which is exactly the same design, upscaled to 3.5T but three or four levels of quality control above Harbor Freight. I've had my Harbor Freight versions for about 12-15 years. They both came with thin steel gib plates under the screws and the ram is machined steel. So did the Enco press. I assume the less quality of the Harbor Freight presses currently supplied is pure cost cutting probably at the Chinese suppler. Enco was always a better cut of imported tooling in my experience. I've been careful of the rating and only have used them within their designed operating envelope and have had no issues at all from any of the three presses.

That PDF is a very nice article. Thanks for posting the link. I have a 3 or 4 ton arbor press which was probably US made. I haven't had it apart to check, but I will probably do so and see if there any gibs in it.

PS: A slight further improvement would be to substitute some long set screws for those hex head bolts for the gib adjustment. They would stick out less and be less likely to injure a stray hand. Do keep the lock nuts and size the set screws to be flush with the nut after adjusting and locking with the nut. IMHO it will also look more professional.

Enco was never my favorite brand; but the founders Nathan & Charles Usiskin had a grasp of quality control while maintaining pricing. They were pioneers of imported machine equipment. Best point was they sourced world wide, knowing the right areas excelled at certain products. The fact MSC bought them out indicates their standing, but new owners have little evident discretion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Alciatore

That PDF is a very nice article. Thanks for posting the link. I have a 3 or 4 ton arbor press which was probably US made. I haven't had it apart to check, but I will probably do so and see if there any gibs in it.

PS: A slight further improvement would be to substitute some long set screws for those hex head bolts for the gib adjustment. They would stick out less and be less likely to injure a stray hand. Do keep the lock nuts and size the set screws to be flush with the nut after adjusting and locking with the nut. IMHO it will also look more professional.

The lock nuts are essential of course but I will not be spending the time to shorten the screws. I assume by set screw you mean what I would call a grub screw. The screws as fitted are what I know as set screws, i.e. a bolt threaded over the full length.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyfoale

The lock nuts are essential of course but I will not be spending the time to shorten the screws. I assume by set screw you mean what I would call a grub screw. The screws as fitted are what I know as set screws, i.e. a bolt threaded over the full length.

set screw = grub screw seems consistent, whether it's American English or British origin. Is it Continental (?) to call very small grub screws 'grains'?
Meanwhile; here, a bolt threaded full length is named "tap bolt". By 'full length', implying not those threaded to the head common in shorter increments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toolmaker51

set screw = grub screw seems consistent, whether it's American English or British origin. Is it Continental (?) to call very small grub screws 'grains'?
Meanwhile; here, a bolt threaded full length is named "tap bolt". By 'full length', implying not those threaded to the head common in shorter increments.

I have never heard the name grains before nor tap bolt, but then I have led a sheltered life.
Except for a spell of 4 days I have never worked in a machine shop or factory environment so I have not been exposed to hearing others name things. Neither were tool names high on my mother's list of things to teach me.

Since I have never been on a F-1 team I have never heard of a grub screw in my life. Only with the rise of world wide technical/mechanical content on You Tube have I been exposed to the term. This definition seems to indicate "set" or "grub" are interchangeable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltfever

Since I have never been on a F-1 team I have never heard of a grub screw in my life. Only with the rise of world wide technical/mechanical content on You Tube have I been exposed to the term. This definition seems to indicate "set" or "grub" are interchangeable.

Good ol' Wikipedia. Reliable info, in a vast majority of subjects.
I had online college courses, one in Sociology (pointless PITA). The instructor forbade Wikipedia as resource for citation, meanwhile course book was of his own authorship. Imagine that...
Of course, I wrote first assignment with that as citation *1.
He graded it fully negative (as expected).
Immediately took up case with the institution's arbitrator. Simple question, how the professors own work (commissioned, royalties) represented a more reliable slice of public view, than voluntary - random - unsolicited - contributions that make up vast content found in Wikipedia.
Paper was regraded 99/100.
Inspiration was comedian (George Carlin?) comments on student campus demonstrations. "Why are we paying attention to students? They're STUDENTS!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltfever

Since I have never been on a F-1 team I have never heard of a grub screw in my life. Only with the rise of world wide technical/mechanical content on You Tube have I been exposed to the term. This definition seems to indicate "set" or "grub" are interchangeable.

I cannot imagine grub screws being used by F1 teams, not their sort of fix.
I had forgotten but you have reminded me, I was a works manager for an F1 team in a previous life.

Wiki says <<....the term "set screw" or "setscrew" refers simply to a bolt which is fully threaded, with no smooth shank...>> which is what I have always understood.

Totally agree, Tony. I thought of the same thing before I posted it but left it in anyway to see if I would get a comment out of you! LOL I was actually inferring I have had no close European mechanical/technical involvement and so some colloquial, technical words are new to me.

I noticed “Grub” a few years ago on this forum primarily used by British and Aus/NZ contributors. I thought it was a British thing. A couple of years later Eastern European postings (with ads!) started to appear and “grub” was also being used. I then realized how extensive its use was. DTI (dial test indicator) is another commonly used term from across the pond. When I was an apprentice (before ER collets were invented) the only thing I heard was “hey kid, use a test Indicator on that”. While in the industry for the past half century, I never heard DTI until a few years ago on this forum. It’s quite interesting seeing the appearance of some words with the advent and ease of world-wide communication.

Congratulations tonyfoale - your Arbor Press Modifications are the Homemade Tool of the Week!

These are thorough instructions, and the assembled-kit-of-parts mentality is a helpful way to approach upgrading these inexpensive tools.

Some more nice builds from this week:

Tool Block by dgbreggin
Bench Vise by Kwandotechnic
Nail Puller by diy creative crafts
Ball Turner by Massimo P
Knurling Tool by Massimo P
Drill Press Vise by bouboulas
ESAB Welding Helmet Battery Fix by GBWM
Rod Bender by katy
Horizontal Bandsaw Improvements by Massimo P
Mag Drill by Made by Dad
Tap Follower and Die Guide by e_m_maker
Drum Sander Dust Collector by SculptyWorks
Nutcracker by orioncons36
Mobile Electric Crane by fawabros
Weed Puller by projectswithrich
Drill Press Pulley Adaptor by Improvised DIY
Mill Spindle Seal by Improvised DIY
Small Engine Carburetor Plug by Improvised DIY

tonyfoale - we've added your tool entry to our All Homemade Tool of the Week winners post. And, you'll be receiving a $25 online gift card, in your choice of Amazon, PayPal, or bitcoin. Please PM me your current email address and gift card choice and I'll get it sent over right away.

This is your 14th Homemade Tool of the Week win! Here are all of your winning tools:

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank S

I've gone to shops and noticed the top of the ram on their arbor press mushroomed like an abused cold chisel or the handle bent into an L. It made me wonder what level of supervision if any those shops had over their employees

Sadly it is often the "supervision" that does such damage. On the other hand sometimes the job only has one way to get done as no one is willing to buy the right tools.

I have a little half ton press in my cellar waiting on a rebuild, thought I had scored when I got it, but soon found out the unit was damaged. Come to find out that teeth on both the ram and pinion where damaged and that with zero evidence of abuse on the handle or RAM. Some of these imported tools seem to be made out of wax owing to the way they fail with out any abuse at all. I can easily imagine that horror freight tool failing with out any abuse at all, the stuff is that bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toolmaker51

Enco was never my favorite brand; but the founders Nathan & Charles Usiskin had a grasp of quality control while maintaining pricing. They were pioneers of imported machine equipment. Best point was they sourced world wide, knowing the right areas excelled at certain products. The fact MSC bought them out indicates their standing, but new owners have little evident discretion.

Is it me or has MSC slipped substantially over the last couple of years? At work I literally gave up on them and have started to use alternative vendors. Given that, if a vendor doesn't have a good web site, that is search and organization, I see no reason to use them. I remember the days to the massive paper catalogs from MSC, McMaster and the like, I use to love seeing the new catalogs come in.

Yes, they have, drastically. I object to fact they managed to nearly dominate industrial supply, being staffed with equals to critters in local home improvement store.......They cannot answer ANYTHING other than what is on their electronic catalog. One more of the biggies I avoid like a plague.

There will never be another DuCommon, American Wholesale Hardware etc beside McMaster-Carr; they do an incredible job. People still buy old McMaster-Carr catalogs as an astounding reference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyfoale

Teflon, brass, bronze etc. would all work in place of the steel. Teflon would not need any grease, although the rear part on which the rack teeth slide would still need greasing but I suspect that many users would not grease anywhere.

Teflon could be adjusted to be a bit of a tighter fit but teflon flows or creeps and I suspect that over time it would flow away in the region of the screw pressure and hence loosen that initial tighter fit. Maybe a thinner piece of teflon backed up with a steel plate would work well. On a practical side, my scrap box had a few pieces of steel plate but no teflon.

I have a funny story about that. Back in the 1960s I built a rotary disc inlet valve 2 stroke engine. I had just heard about this wonder material "TEFLON" and I thought that it would be the ideal material for the valve because of its low friction. I realised that it might grow due to centrifugal effects at high RPM so I inserted what amounted to a small knife in the lower part of the housing to trim the teflon to the size that it wanted to be. It worked too well. The teflon grew and the knife trimmed it, then the teflon grew and the knife trimmed it, then the teflon grew and the knife trimmed it.......................
I then replaced the teflon with thin steel, hard chromed. That worked well. Here is a pic of the steel version, I have none of the teflon.

Attachment 42209 Click image for full size.

we had a kawsaki 100 with the 10 speed trans(high low) it had the rotery valve. the jug was dead.we also had a suzuki 125 I think it was probably tm or ts, the trans was dead. so we put the suzuki cylinder,piston&head on the kawasaiki...reed valve + rotery valve. that sum bitch would fly. it used both carbs. and the sound wasent kaw or suzy... we did a lot of off the wall **** back in the early 70s' living in okinawa japan there were lots of that stuff to mess with after the GI's got done effing it up. I think thats where I learned that brands dont matter, it's what you do with them. hell my bug always got parked with the vipers&vettes at cars&coffie, one day a vette guy asked my why I was parking it there I told him it cant read it thinks it's a viper. and those vetted wish they were......but in reallity the vettes dont know that they arnt vw's.

i do have one of those china wannabee arbor presses too....used it a few times, had it probably 25 years. we had a dake at work long ago,I think it was 5 ton but possiably a 3. I have no clue how old it was but it got a work out daily.