toobroketoretire
Banned
A few years ago I noticed some 3" and 4" heavy wall channel iron lying on the top of my iron pile and got to wondering if I could use it for something. Then I remembered I had a seldom-used 12 ton bottle jack sitting under my workbench and got the idea to make a 12 ton hydraulic press. So I hauled it into my garage and started in. Three days and a can of Chevrolet Orange paint later I had it built. One week after I finished it I used it to press the rear bearing onto my new 3.70 pinion gear and then a couple of years later I used it to change pistons on my connecting rods. This morning I used it to straighten the bent flange on my Specter thermostat housing and that's when I got the idea to show you my press.
It'll handle objects up to about 12" X 13" which makes it dandy for home use. It has a crank adjustment that uses my old shifter knob and 3/32" cables to raise and lower it. I made the pins out of 1/2" grade 8 bolts with handles welded onto the heads of the bolts. After I got it built I made a bunch of various accessories (the yellow parts under the press) so I could perform most any pressing job. And when I need to use the 12 ton bottle jack for jacking I can remove it from the press in just one minute. The only expense was for the can of Chevrolet Orange spray paint and the $2 stencil kit to paint the "12 TON" capacity. Although a hydraulic press is seldom needed when you need one you really need one. Harbor Freight sells them for not much money so it's something you should consider buying if you do your own repairs.
It'll handle objects up to about 12" X 13" which makes it dandy for home use. It has a crank adjustment that uses my old shifter knob and 3/32" cables to raise and lower it. I made the pins out of 1/2" grade 8 bolts with handles welded onto the heads of the bolts. After I got it built I made a bunch of various accessories (the yellow parts under the press) so I could perform most any pressing job. And when I need to use the 12 ton bottle jack for jacking I can remove it from the press in just one minute. The only expense was for the can of Chevrolet Orange spray paint and the $2 stencil kit to paint the "12 TON" capacity. Although a hydraulic press is seldom needed when you need one you really need one. Harbor Freight sells them for not much money so it's something you should consider buying if you do your own repairs.
