Show us your arbor press!

RTM · May 4, 2024

Here is my latest arbor press score. (I see I missed posting my second, will fix that later when I can fish it out for better pictures.) This one was a CL find, about 2 miles from home. Only markings are a big "No. 2" on the one face. I was hoping for one that was threaded for attachments on the ram, and the pix on CL showed it. So, upon pick up, I made sure the hole in the ram was relatively square to the ram, and away we went.

Anyone have clues on who might have made it? The square ram alignment bits all look like other images on the web, and all the easily accessible threads (arm lock, ram attachment, and the set screw lock for the ram attachment) all seem to be US threads. Weighs in at just under 60# without its 3/4" handle (seller guessed 40#). More detailed pix here. The chromed bits make me think its a bit newer. I don't think its a Dake, as their #2 is a compound action. Doesn't look Greenerd, as the "bar" behind the anvil surface is missing on theirs.

Edit: 8-1/4+” vertical clearance, 1-1/4” ram. The opening in the ram end seems to be 12mm, not threaded, 19” overall to the top of the arch, (vs 1” ram, 7-1/2” working, 15” height on my 1-1/2t Greenerd). The threads holding the ram plate ar 5/16-18, same as the set screw on the ram.

Any idea how long a similar sized press (capacity tbd guessing 2t), handle should be in 3/4" diameter? I think I may just put collars on the ends of this handle, instead of balls, as the handle is going to be a bit gangly even when left near its mid point when trying to store this.

Edit #2, just ran into a very similar looking even bigger Arbor Press in the back of a truck, at todays GS, had the same Chromed bits, the same extra rib under where the daisy goes, without the No. 3 cast in the body. His was a 1.5” ram, so guessing one size up, plus an extra 4” under the ram. Unfornately, a Made in China sticker in plain sight. But his handle was just a hair under 24” long, so I have a reference for mine.

Thanks all

Nutria · May 4, 2024

RTM said:
Anyone have clues on who might have made it?
Any idea how long a similar sized press (capacity tbd) handle should be in 3/4" diameter?

Congrats on a nice score. I'm thinking Asian, but others may know better.

The 3/4" diameter lever on my #2 Greenerd is 18" ball-to-ball.

mikeinri · May 6, 2024

Arbor press experts...

Can this be fixed (to make it usable)? It's a 3-ton press, cast base broke all the way across, looks like some sort of attempt was made to weld it.

Not mine (yet)...

Thanks.

Mike

whateg01 · May 6, 2024

mikeinri said:
Arbor press experts...

Can this be fixed (to make it usable)? It's a 3-ton press, cast base broke all the way across, looks like some sort of attempt was made to weld it.

Not mine (yet)...

Thanks.

Mike

Unless you get a killer deal, like free, or planned on cutting off that section to use it with a knee, I would walk away from that. Where it's broken is the point where the strain concentrates. That's how it got into that shape.

Fwiw, I have one like that, but it was cut off on purpose. My intent is to make a knee for it.

mikeinri · May 6, 2024

That's what I was afraid of. So, bolting what's left of it to a study table isn't going to work, either?

Mike

whateg01 · May 6, 2024

It can be made to work but unless that was your plan already, there are probably better options out there. It looks like what you're thinking is what they already tried with all those extra bolts through the base.

mikeinri · May 6, 2024

I'd be going from zero to one arbor presses, so other than getting a good deal on a USA unit, I don't have a "plan" LOL.

Primary use would be pressing bearings. I figured 3 tons would be good more for the clearances than the actual pressure.

Mike

whateg01 · May 6, 2024

You'd be better off buying a used import than that one then

RTM · May 6, 2024

mikeinri said:
Can this be fixed (to make it usable

I'm not an expert, but to make it usable, it would need to be securely mounted to something really stupid beefy. And by the time you got there, a better used one would be more cost effective.

I've only seen one with a cut or broken off base, and it was mounted to something that looked like a welding table, with a custom looking foot added. Did not ask about it

mikeinri · May 6, 2024

It's a Dake 1-1/2 B, ratcheting, BTW. Only $50, so it's close to a steal. I'm #2 in line, so it's probably a moot point.

Mike

whateg01 · May 6, 2024

mikeinri said:
It's a Dake 1-1/2 B, ratcheting, BTW. Only $50, so it's close to a steal. I'm #2 in line, so it's probably a moot point.

Mike

In that case, maybe worth the money for the parts but if you want a functioning arbor press, wait for a complete one to show up

454ragtop · May 6, 2024

Seems to me that could be made serviceable with a couple pieces of heavy angle iron. thinking 4" X 3/8", bolted on either side of the front opening pocket back to the main body. Will need some flat head socket cap screws for the machined area next to the pocket, rest could be reg. hex bolts. Then could weld splayed legs to the angle iron if desired.

F-22 · May 7, 2024

If you have a large enough mill, you could repair it quite well. Mill the broken piece flat, then mill out a steel piece sort of in a "⊥" shape. Bolt it to the base from the bottom and from the side, and make it thick enough... If the pieces are machined flat on the mating surfaces this'll hold more than well enough, maybe even add two locating pins and high tension screws so it's the actual friction of the mating surfaces holding it together, not just the interference of screws or pins.

But it's questionable whether or not that's cost effective to fix.

mikeinri · May 7, 2024

Well, there's another one for sale for around $600, so $50 and some repairs sounds pretty good. If it doesn't sell to the first guy, of course.

Mike

Ultradog MN · May 7, 2024

mikeinri said:
Arbor press experts...

Can this be fixed (to make it usable)? It's a 3-ton press, cast base broke all the way across, looks like some sort of attempt was made to weld it.

Not mine (yet)...

Thanks.

Mike

That is really sad to see.
And the bird poop welding just adds insult to injury.
Currently scrap cast iron is about 10 cents a pound. I would pay that much for it - minus the the cost of gas to bring it in to the scrap man.

Ultradog MN · May 7, 2024

Here's my Greenerd 3A that I bought last summer.
I cleaned it up last winter. The base it was on was shop built and rather crude so I cut much of it apart, straightened it out and sanitized it quite a bit.
I also had a new daisy wheel made for the press.

mikeinri · May 7, 2024

RTM said:
I'm not an expert, but to make it usable, it would need to be securely mounted to something really stupid beefy. And by the time you got there, a better used one would be more cost effective.

I've only seen one with a cut or broken off base, and it was mounted to something that looked like a welding table, with a custom looking foot added. Did not ask about it

454ragtop said:
Seems to me that could be made serviceable with a couple pieces of heavy angle iron. thinking 4" X 3/8", bolted on either side of the front opening pocket back to the main body. Will need some flat head socket cap screws for the machined area next to the pocket, rest could be reg. hex bolts. Then could weld splayed legs to the angle iron if desired.

F-22 said:
If you have a large enough mill, you could repair it quite well. Mill the broken piece flat, then mill out a steel piece sort of in a "⊥" shape. Bolt it to the base from the bottom and from the side, and make it thick enough... If the pieces are machined flat on the mating surfaces this'll hold more than well enough, maybe even add two locating pins and high tension screws so it's the actual friction of the mating surfaces holding it together, not just the interference of screws or pins.

But it's questionable whether or not that's cost effective to fix.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. If I do buy this, I'll start a dedicated thread to toss around some repair / mounting ideas.

Mike

mikeinri · May 9, 2024

Woo hoo! First guy was a no-show, so I picked this up for $40 tonight. It looks worse in person, LOL...

Dake is still selling these, BTW...

I'll start a dedicated thread momentarily.

Mike

ClappedOutBport · May 9, 2024

Bent, chipped teeth, and broken? What exactly are you planning to do with it? I mean I guess that's fixable, but damn that is close to scrap metal if I've ever seen it.

Nutria · May 9, 2024

ClappedOutBport said:
Bent, chipped teeth, and broken? What exactly are you planning to do with it? I mean I guess that's fixable, but damn that is close to scrap metal if I've ever seen it.

He's going to enjoy his project.

mikeinri · May 10, 2024

454ragtop said:
Seems to me that could be made serviceable with a couple pieces of heavy angle iron. thinking 4" X 3/8", bolted on either side of the front opening pocket back to the main body. Will need some flat head socket cap screws for the machined area next to the pocket, rest could be reg. hex bolts. Then could weld splayed legs to the angle iron if desired.

Here's what the PO did to repair this. Those are 1-inch solid bars (all views of the bottom).

This will probably be a long-term project, as this item won't see a lot of use. Worst-case, I get it functional, wait for a nicer one at a screaming price, and sell / scrap / part out this one.

Mike

F-22 · May 10, 2024

I'd dafinitely get that at 40$. It'll never be new, but it can be made entirely functional with a mill. Too bad it's bent but maybe you can buy such standard toothed racks by length?

mikeinri · May 10, 2024

Thanks.

I don't think the ram is bent, just a bad pic (I checked it again today, doesn't look bent in person). The handle is definitely bent. I'll get it apart and check it with a straight edge.

I'm kind of banking on getting the ram repaired by welding and machining. Worst-case, I'll price a new one from Dake.

Mike

ClappedOutBport · May 11, 2024

I would SiB with a tig or brass braze with a torch. Latter probably better. I would not use any fish plates or or anything else, the braze is stronger than cast. The rack is probably case hardened?

mikeinri · May 12, 2024

Thanks. I'd imagine the ram is hardened.

I don't know enough about arbor presses to understand how you strip teeth like that, especially ones that aren't adjoining.

Part of me feels badly for this thing, it's obviously lived a rough life, LOL.

Mike

Ultradog MN · May 12, 2024

mikeinri said:
Part of me feels badly for this thing, it's obviously lived a rough life, LOL.

MIke

I apologize for my earlier post on this. I could have been less sarcastic.
I too feel bad for the nice old tool.
Some guys could destroy an anvil.
I bought this old Greenerd earlier this spring. The top of it was damaged.
My guess is they had one guy pull down on the handle while another guy beat on the ram with a sledge hammer.
Not just once but many, many times.
Enough to mushroom the top of the ram and then crack the casting at the top.
I ground the mushrooming off and it is still serviceable. The ram was not hardened. If it were hard it probably would have shattered pieces off instead of mushrooming.
You could check yours with a file.
The missing part could also have been repaired. I thought about it - even had a piece of ductile cast iron I could have used but since I had bought it to resell and it still functioned fine I sold it as it was.
My guess on the one you have is that it is somewhat repairable but rather iffy.
Am doubtful it would ever be as strong as it was rated for again. Where it is broken is at the most critical point on the whole casting. I would braze it with oxy/acet but to make it strong you would need to braze it 100% all the way around - including the gussets on the underside.
That would easily cost $150+ in oxy/acet gas and another good chunk of $ in brazing rod.
Worth it? I'll let you make that call but it would not be worth it to me.

Ultradog MN · May 12, 2024

mikeinri said:
Thanks. I'd imagine the ram is hardened.

I don't know enough about arbor presses to understand how you strip teeth like that, especially ones that aren't adjoining.

Part of me feels badly for this thing, it's obviously lived a rough life, LOL.

Mike

P.S.
I had a similar broken casting last fall.

The base of a heavy gear head drill press. Probably was dropped (as I suspect your press may have been). I tried to weld it - did a lot of CI welding in the past - but it kept cracking. I knew I would Never have trusted it so I made a new base for it.

It cost me a bit but the drill was worth more than an arbor press so I thought it was worth the effort.
Good luck with whatever yoh decide
Jerry

ClappedOutBport · May 12, 2024

Never seen much sucess in welding cast iron. But yellow metals and cast go hand in hand. This is a tig braze repair I did, one of my first ever. I don't think it's quite as good as O/A brazing with brass as far as wetting in, but it's a good process for putting down a lot of material.

This tailstock remains uncracked.

mikeinri · May 12, 2024

My welding experience consists of a few failed attempts at stick welding stainless (1/4" square stock), around 35 years ago. My brazing experience (from the same job / time frame) consists of silver solder brazing of brass (same size range), using an oxy-acetylene torch, which I was pretty good at, but certainly no expert.

I currently own zero welding or brazing equipment. So that, combined with no skills, means I'll be paying someone else to do this...

Mike

mikeinri · May 18, 2024

No new pics, but it's out of the truck and I checked out the mechanisms. Runs up and down smoothly with the wheel. Ratcheting "system" (as simple as it is) also works properly. The whole thing obviously needs to come apart to be cleaned, inspected, lubed and adjusted, but I'm optimistic that the pinion gear is OK.

Of course, I'll need to get the frame fixed or come up with a different plan (bolt it to a stronger surface / table). And have those teeth repaired or just replace the ram.

Mike

mikeinri · May 18, 2024

Ultradog MN said:
I apologize for my earlier post on this. I could have been less sarcastic.
I too feel bad for the nice old tool.
Some guys could destroy an anvil.
I bought this old Greenerd earlier this spring. The top of it was damaged.
My guess is they had one guy pull down on the handle while another guy beat on the ram with a sledge hammer.
Not just once but many, many times.
Enough to mushroom the top of the ram and then crack the casting at the top.
I ground the mushrooming off and it is still serviceable. The ram was not hardened. If it were hard it probably would have shattered pieces off instead of mushrooming.
You could check yours with a file.
The missing part could also have been repaired. I thought about it - even had a piece of ductile cast iron I could have used but since I had bought it to resell and it still functioned fine I sold it as it was.
My guess on the one you have is that it is somewhat repairable but rather iffy.
Am doubtful it would ever be as strong as it was rated for again. Where it is broken is at the most critical point on the whole casting. I would braze it with oxy/acet but to make it strong you would need to braze it 100% all the way around - including the gussets on the underside.
That would easily cost $150+ in oxy/acet gas and another good chunk of $ in brazing rod.
Worth it? I'll let you make that call but it would not be worth it to me.

Ultradog MN said:
P.S.
I had a similar broken casting last fall.

The base of a heavy gear head drill press. Probably was dropped (as I suspect your press may have been). I tried to weld it - did a lot of CI welding in the past - but it kept cracking. I knew I would Never have trusted it so I made a new base for it.

It cost me a bit but the drill was worth more than an arbor press so I thought it was worth the effort.
Good luck with whatever yoh decide
Jerry

Thanks for following up. My guess is also that it was dropped. It's a deceptively heavy unit, and no great places to grab it, especially if two people are trying to wrangle it together. I may use my engine hoist when maneuvering it in the future.

What make / model drill did you have to rescue?

Mike

Ultradog MN · May 19, 2024

mikeinri said:
Thanks for following up. My guess is also that it was dropped. It's a deceptively heavy unit, and no great places to grab it, especially if two people are trying to wrangle it together. I may use my engine hoist when maneuvering it in the future.

What make / model drill did you have to rescue?

Mike

It is an Enco from the 1980s.
It is exact duplicate of a Swedish built Arboga E830 but built in Taiwan after they closed their doors. First 2 photos.
I kinda have a jones for drill presses.

mikeinri · May 19, 2024

Wow, nice little collection of impressive units there!

Mike

Patrickm82 · Sep 3, 2024

I’m wondering if anyone can help me identify this little guy. It had a tag on it but is gone now(I got this at a yard sale). I found one on eBay that has a worn out tag and is the same press . It’s a 1/2 ton bench top seems well made. Any help is appreciated.

whateg01 · Sep 3, 2024

Patrickm82 said:
I’m wondering if anyone can help me identify this little guy. It had a tag on it but is gone now(I got this at a yard sale). I found one on eBay that has a worn out tag and is the same press . It’s a 1/2 ton bench top seems well made. Any help is appreciated.

Looks like lempco to me.

Patrickm82 · Sep 3, 2024

whateg01 said:
Looks like lempco to me.

Thank you sir. I will look into that.

RTM · Oct 6, 2024

Hey all, here is an arbor press at the smaller end, maybe just larger than the watchmaker's stake , and on par with the circuit board press shown somewhere upthread. All of you with full ton, or multi ton presses don't have to worry about this one.

Grabbed this from a shop cleanout in July, with plans of repurposing it to be a snap press for MLW's hobby, sewing doggie bandanas. Looking into it a bit more, I have no idea who made it, and only a guess at when. Vertical travel on this one is only 1-3/4", and throat depth is only 7/8". It is set up to have a changeable base plate, and the ram is drilled to mount a die on the end. The ram itself if 5/8" diameter, and the handle hole can take a 5/16" diameter handle.

The only markings on it are on the left side.

The body says
BG
M402
A

And the side of the base looks like it says

7 46 (so maybe an age, model, or serial number)

Any clues on the manufacturers or age? I've gone through the manufacturers list 4.c put together, and don't see a BG pairing

So far, all I've done is taken it apart to clean the pinon and teeth on the ram, remove, clean and lube all the threads.

The hole in the down end of the ram is 19/64 for a tight fit (9/32 or 1/4" nominal?), a 1/4-20 is sloppy in the hole. The bit that is in there looks like a bit of drill rod turned down, and then roughly ground to have a flat spot. The die hole in the floor is 7/32", with threads in the bottom, holds a set screw with an 1/8" allen head (so 1/4-20?), guessing to force a die out, and the mounting holes look like a 1/4" socket head cap screw would work nicely, and stay flush. Looks like it can take a plate, or a pinned die mounted on the centerline of the ram (best choice?)

So to mount the dies I'm finding available easily, based on the oddball shape, I'm thinking a thick block of metal, with the new die mounted in the centerline of the press, to avoid trying to drill the base, and a locating pin. I would need to open up the hole in the bottom up to 12mm or larger, depending on how many adapters I want to pursue to avoid the plate.

RTM · Oct 28, 2024

Ok, here is progress on setting up the mini arbor press to work as a snap setting press for MLW's doggie bandana making hobby. I found a set of jaws (and really cheap snaps) at KAMsnaps.com. These are the same snaps she has been buying in small expensive packs at a major chain, for ~1/10th the cost.

The upper due was threaded, just a hair larger than the hole in the ram. I knew I didn't have enough meat left to actually cut threads, so I checked it up in a big Jacob's truck and put it in my wood lathe and filed off the tips of the teeth. Took off a hair more than I wanted so I didn't get a press fit so I wrapped the threads with Teflon tape to tighten up the fit just the hair.

The bottom plate was a scrap salvaged from a garage sale somewhere. It was thick enough to support the whole height of the base of the die, and still leave space for a centering pin below. Cut the block with my swag portaband combo (didn't give me a great cut, & it's drifting about 1°). Drilled the centering bit hole after marking with a transfer punch, then drilled back from the top with the larger bit. Deburred the holes, and realized I had a hair off plumb, didn't think to check prior.

Seems to be a theme here.

Used a short length of old drill bit for the centering pin. Fit it all together, found out a Proto #3 Phillips is the right diameter for the handle, and we're good for a test run. Only thing left is to add a larger base so it can be clamped to her work table.

Killed a few hours, and made the hobby work a bit easier, win win.

SkyPuncher · Jan 12, 2025

Found an old Famco "E" in an old barn. Rusty and crusty but it isn't froze. Has several tags on it, the neat one being "The Magnavox Company of Kentucky Equip No. 2109" a tag that was next to it but came off U3536 and a tag on opposite side 4200

motorcitykid · Jan 25, 2025

1920’s P.A. Geier No.2 Arbor Press.
Picked this up yesterday, works well but plan to clean it up a bit. (Rough guess on the date based on his other tools from the time and catalog’s available on archive.com)

Show us your arbor press!

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