ifitgoesfast

I have to decide whether or not to buy one, since the heavily discounted sale ends this weekend. Is it really worth it to get one?

Here are my top 5 reasons to get one, although I could just buy the specialty tools (which in total cost more):

1) press in/out rear wheel spindles/bearings

2) press in/out control arm bushings

3) pressing out the small dent in my oil pan

4) crush soda cans

5) crumble cookies for my ice cream

Is it really worth it? What else could you use it for? Don't really want it taking up space since I'm not into clutter in the garage.

Roger Walling

Just don't let your wife find out how much you spend at the sale or she might just crumple your cookies.

ifitgoesfast

Normally, that's good advice. But she's the one offering to buy it for me (late b-day present: May). She's into classic muscle cars and fixing things. She also never asked me to sell my sport bike when we got married. However, if it's not that useful, neither of us wants the clutter.

6) press in/out water pump bearing/impeller

dserge

7) Loan it to your friends so they can do 1 through 6. ( This also means they store it for you )

Mike Geary

Until I decided to take on a Muncie rebuild --I got along without one for decades.

Getting one, though, then equipped me to rebuild a couple of -326 water pumps I had sitting around.

So it has more than paid for itself. Fun tool.


Just thought of another use I put it to: rolling over the metal cushion cups on the leaf spring. Got them started with a ball pein hammer and then used a old shift **** to complete the roll-over.

ChattanoogaJSB

Fwiw I've never been temped to buy one. How often can you possibly need to rebuild a water pump or trailing arms? Just my thoughts.

jjbravo1

I bought one years ago at a shop that was going out of business.
Best $100 deal ever.

biggd

You can find them cheap on Craigslist. Really no need to buy a new one. The one above is overkill but for $100 it's a steal. I have a 20 and it does everything I need it to do.

GTOguy

I've been doing without forever, and have always had multiple old cars. Have a 6" bench vise at home. BUT, I have access to presses that friends have, so I can use them when I need to. If I found one on the cheap, I would probably get it. Up against the wall, not a real space-taker.

project63

They are handy to have and once your have one, you find yourself using it all the time. I've used mine to arch brake shoes, R & R u-joints, straighten bent stuff like anti sway bars, lawn mower blades, bumper brackets etc..

If you fix stuff, you need one. If you just buy new and throw out the old, not so much.

tc

wonderful

Man, you stole that press. I see a occasional press at auctions. Will get one eventually. Lots of things to do with it: pressing in/out bearings/gears, bending tubing, etc.

4 Speed Dave

This falls under the category of "when you need it you need it" tool. You might not need to use it all the time but when you need to use it you have the press at your disposal to use whenever you want. And yes I have had one for years. My wife thought it was a crazy purchase but has now understood the value to it.

nassau66427

If you can afford the floor space, it's a tool well worth having.

Also, as dserge said, you could 'loan' it to a nearby friend.

DZAUTO

THAT IS EXACTLY CORRECT!!!
I went for MANY years without a press and often though it would be nice to have one, but somehow, I managed without one. Now, I don't know how I ever got along without one! I bought an el cheapo 20ton at Harbor Freight about 20yrs ago, one of the best tools I've ever bought!!! One of my more common uses is for axle bearings on early Chevys and Vettes. Muncies are next.
For removing/installing axle bearings, you also need a split bearing plate, which is also useful for other tasks.

59BlueSilver

Does I take a 20 ton to do most jobs or will a 1 ton do?

DZAUTO

A 1 ton won't hardly do anything.

Bill32

I bought a 12 ton off of Craig's list for $65.

It's done everything on my 67, trailing arms, struts, sombreros, etc.

Mr D.

I have a 60.000 lb press and have used the crap out of it during my 65 frame off restoration.

Buy used.

GUSTO14

I don't have one, because... I'm fortunate enough to have a few friends that have them!

Quite seriously, if you have one you will find lots of opportunities to use it. Oh and anytime I do use a friends press, I make sure that any little projects they have waiting around for the time to do them, I do them at the same time.

My Dad has a press like the one JJBravo has (awesome deal by the way) and it took 10 tons of pressure to remove the bearings from one of my rear spindles and 30 tons of pressure to remove the other one! We bent a 1" steel plate we were using on his press in the process. The good news was that we flipped the plate over and straightened it out!

Good luck... GUSTO

cardo0

The problem with buying just one press is one press doesnt do all the jobs u need it to. Sometimes u can make adapters to get it to do your latest work. But buy too big a press and u cant do the small jobs needed.
I kinda want a arbour press all the small stuff like pins and small bushings. Then there are more than 1 size of arbour press too. And for rod bolts i need a hydralic unit with adapter for pushing them out then a different adapter to press them back in. And when reworking the rods u want to R&R the stock/original bolts twice before final install of new bolts. Press in piston pin nothing special but u want the press close enough to the rod heater/oven. List goes on for nearly every job u a specialty adapter or entire different press.

Yea i want one press but not six presses with a dozen adapters. Just thought id share that as while a press can be a useful tool no mentioned they can be limited in use(s).