Shop Press Adapters

[dgbreggin]

I was recently inspired by several YT videos about Shop Press Accessories.

Like many people, I often use mechanic's sockets as hollow press feet in my shop press.

My shop press has a removable foot on the end of the ram. It is held in place by a set screw. I made a duplicate of this foot with a 5/8" hole in the center for holding the socket adapters. I included a set screw for securing the adapters in place.




I made two adapters. One is for 3/8" sockets and one for 1/2" sockets. Since the sockets are not being rotated, the alignment stud was left round for simplicity. I added a groove and an O-ring to retain the socket during setup.



I also milled a flat on each adapter for the set screw so that any burrs raised by the set screw would not interfere with installation or removal of the adapter. (Please excuse the poor surface finish. )


Here is a picture of the 1/2" adapter installed, and another with the socket in position.





Notes:

I have an older HF 12T shop press. These same adapters and a corresponding foot could be easily made for use on other brands / models.

I made all of the parts with wide, flat shoulders to reliably transfer the force. I cut nearly-square inside corners and slightly chamfered the hole in the foot for full engagement with the shoulders. The holes in the backs of the sockets are already chamfered.

Additional adapters could easily be made for future needs.

It is not necessary to excessively tighten the set screws. They are not under stress during pressing. They only have to hold the pieces in place during setup.

One of the YT videos I watched showed using a socket extension as an adapter. Socket extensions are not designed for high forces along their length. The shoulder is often rounded or chamfered, and the square hole in the socket usually has a large chamfer. These features make for fast and simple assembly, but I would be concerned that using them together in a press may cause the socket to split under high load.