Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

[Jim V.]

I have been looking into shop presses and I find myself amazed by the choices.....A frame, H frame, C Frame, 12 ton, 20 ton, bench-top....yada yada yada... Being space and dollar impaired I am tending towards a Torin 12 ton H frame from Pep boys (Chinese). I am just looking to do the usual kinds of press work with it....T/As, bearings, rebuilding water pump...etc. Is a 12 ton adequate? Seems a 20 ton would just make it a lot easier to more damage than good.

Thanks

[David B.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Jim,

My 12 ton press wouldn't remove the bearing retainers from my C-1 axles, even with heating the ring. But, it did a great job pressing new ones on. It did fine on two Muncie trans pressing off and on the shaft. I kind of doubt a 20 ton would have removed the axle bearing retainers either. Like you say, it probably would have just damaged them because the length of the axle makes them vulnerable to bending under that load. The 12 ton is very versatile if you don't want to spend a lot. Mine is Harbor Freight. Once you have a press, you find lots of uses for it.

David

[tom444634]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Jim,

I bought a 12 ton one a couple of years ago and there were a few times I wish I had put up the extra money for the 20 ton version. Had trouble getting the gears off of the main shaft of my Muncie. My friend's 20 ton press had no trouble...........

Even though the 12 ton one did 90% of what I needed a press for, if I had to do it again I'd go 20 tons. It would be nice to have the extra "umph" when you need it.

If you are really pressed for room (pun intended) then the 12 ton should take care of most jobs.

Tom

[Greg L.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Hey Jim, I'd go with the 12 ton one too. For the odd time that you might need the 20 ton I'd just take the part to a shop that has one and have them take it apart. I used the 12 ton one at work for my water pump and trailing arms and it worked just fine. I even tried it to see if it would sqweez a ball joint rivet and it flattened it like it was butter....just in case you decide to do ball joints as well

[Tim E.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

I bought a 20 ton from Harbor Freight only because they were out of the 12 ton models the day I was in there. As it turned out, I'm glad I did because of the bigger frame size of the 20 ton which allows be to maneuver around much larger pieces that wouldn't fit in a smaller press. You'll also find yourself inventing all sorts of pushers, receivers, and holders! I use an old kingpin from a '59 Corvette all the time! Sit back with a cold beverage and let your wife do the work......

[Jim V.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Greg, David, Tom....thanks. Think I will save the $150 bucks and go with the 12 ton. Greg....good to hear a water pump story. Did it go pretty much as planned? I will be using the corvettemagazine Jan 2006 article as my guide.

[Jim V.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Your a lucky man Tim. Hey...looks like the HF 20 ton has a welded H-frame compared to a bolted frame on the Torin Big Red. Suppose each has its benefits...the bolted would be easier to break-down and transport while the welded frame a bit more stout. Also, the HF ram seems quite a bit longer which should improve part visibility. Hmmmmm...

[Tim E.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Don't know what the current price is but back in 2003 I bought the Harbor Freight 20-ton press on sale for $151.54. In Houston, they put them on sale pretty often. Tim

[Jim S.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Tim,

You have been very helpful to me in the past and I will probably use your advise in the future as well. The detailed pictures you sent me have been invaluable !

However ,I've noticed a pattern statring to develop with most of the pictures you have sent me and displayed here that causes me to ask , did you do any of the restoreation yourself , or did you just supervise while your wife did "all" the actual work ?

Jim

[Chuck R.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Harbor freight has a twenty ton "A" frame for $199.00 plus freight.

Depending on how urgent your need for the press is, both Cormier and Cummings tool road shows make the rounds quite frequently with some pretty good deals on presses.

I picked up my twenty ton H frame press from Cormier for $179.99 plus tax.

There have been times that I thanked the car gods that I went with "Big Orange" and the rear spindle bearings are a prime point. I actually just walked away from the press after applying all the pressure I dared and after about ten minutes, the bearing gave with a "Bang" It would be doubtful a twelve would have done the deed. Pressed in ball joints on Rangers and Dakotas are another real "treat" that requires extra hydraulic muscle.

As far as doing more damage just because it's bigger only happens to those who either don't know what they are doing or haven't had enough seat time under their belts working with presses. To me the big pneumatic jobs are the destroyers as you can't feel the pressure that's being applied.

For what it's worth Jim,

Chuck

[Tim E.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Jim - Now what on earth would lead you to believe that she does all the work........

[Jim S.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Tim,

If you ever wind up in a court situation , under "no circumstances" should you consider defending yourself !!!

Defence Rests !

Jim

[Greg L.]

Re: Buying Shop Press....12 ton or 20....?

Hi Jim...the water pump story...hmmmmm.

Well in regards to how well did the press work for taking it apart I'd say quite well indeed. I still don't have the pump together though... I bought the kit from ZIP(sorry Doc) and used the instructions that they link to on thier web site and it seemed like a no brainer. However the instructions refer to a longer groved end of the bearing assy when in fact it has a SHORTER groved end. SO as Murfy would have it I put the wrong end in first and then damaged the seal taking it apart again. Zip was quite good in admitting that the instructions they linked to were for a SB and not a BB so they sent me another seal...went to install it last week and it was wrong...too small OD where it presses into the pump housing. E-mailed them about it and now they kinda suprized me in that they are really dragging their feet to correct their mistake this time. They are a few very short steps away from the service that I got from Paragon just after my LAST order from them so I hope it works out in the end.

Anyways, the moral of this long story is, yes the press worked just fine on the water pump. Just make sure you have the proper instructions and parts to go with it the seals aren't that easy to come by!

[Jim V.]

Bought a POS...

Update....just got back from Pep Boys with a 12 ton Torin Big Red. Based on my post-assembly assessment, I think they ought to rename there company "Roarin Big Crap". Geesh...what ^*&)(+_ quality. The press bed is warped causing it to rock on the support pins...and...the jack plate ram is welded cockeyed (off line) with the press force. Both of these quality issue would make work alignment a hazardous nightmare. Anyhow...we'll see how Torin deals with the issue before I tote it back. I may just head over to HF tomorrow and pick up a 20ton to compare workmanship quality or lack thereof. Seems the old adage holds true..."ya get what ya pay for". Paid $86 out the door.

[Tim E.]

Re: Bought a POS...

Sorry to hear about the quality issues with the model you ended up picking. My HF press is no "made in America" tool either but I've been happy with the quality of it in the 4 years I've used it. The only thing I've noticed with mine has to do with play in the fit of the horizontal press bar....the bar that the bottle jack sits on. That bar rides up and down on the vertical side bars and there is noticeable side-to-side play in the way it fits (maybe 1/8"). It's never been a problem with the press "loaded up" since the force is down and not to the side. Short of rollers on a rail to improve the precision, I'm also not sure how they could even remove the slop.

If it turns out you end up shopping again, you might check to make sure you select one that comes with the 2 1" thick base plates. They're the 2 odd shaped black pieces in the photo above that give you flexibility to create a base. As I recall some models included them and others did not.