My Harbor Freight 20-ton press was just taking up much needed space in the shop and I decided to make it into an effective tool. Over the course of two months or so I did the following:
Welded a base frame on
Installed Castors
Made a plywood bottom
Welded together a finger press break kit.
Made some pin extenders and a mount for them
Altered the beam pins for safety
Swapped out the manual 20t jack for an air/hydraulic one
Primed and painted everything
I am most proud of the extension pins and the pin holder. I did some initial concept sketches and then opened AutoCAD for some part design. Next step was to have SendCutSend cuts my parts out. The parts arrived in 4 days and a week or so later, I welded/bolted everything together on a Saturday. I don’t show it in the video, but the bottoms of the pins are drilled and tapped 1/2”-13 so that I can bolt in snapped dies and also smaller diameter pin extensions for pressing out u-joints and such
Total cost was $610 for all the parts, material, paint, castors, hardware, hoses, and foot pedal. Not the cheapest option, but this thing is MINE and will last me the rest of my working life. I also feel that in the month since I finished it, that the press has finally earned its real estate in the shop, seeing action a couple times a week.
Harbor Freight Jack:
https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-air-over-hydraulic-jack-95553.html
SendCutSend:
https://sendcutsend.com
SWAG Finger Press Break:
https://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-20-TON-Finger-Brake-Heavy-Duty-DIY-Builder-Kit_p_86.html
SWAG Gooseneck Dies:
https://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-Gooseneck-Dies-Fit-The-12-Ton-20-Ton-205-Finger-Brakes-Only_p_120.html
Machined Arbor Plates:
https://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-Machined-Arbor-Press-Plates-Pair_p_7.html
Air Foot Pedal:
https://www.amazon.com/Pneumatic-Position-Threaded-Pressure-FV320/dp/B07P41RSG7/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiOjGpoKC8AIVqwutBh2s8wbmEAAYASAAEgJB6PD_BwE&hvadid=338633598896&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9033317&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9408607185054717764&hvtargid=kwd-302712527218&hydadcr=980_9642350&keywords=air+operated+foot+pedal&qid=1618550462&sr=8-5