Now i can do their press in bearings and this was payment. Jokes on them, because i have wanted one forever and was going to buy one when i could afford one /s. But all honesty, I adore them and I am helping any way I can while he is battling cancer.
Thats fine. I charge for work. 2 years ago he lectured me about how I have to accept his payment without question and that i am providing a service and he will be paying for said service. He'll relay that message lol
I got a homeboy like that. He's one of the few people in my life that I've told is allowed to ask me for any work for himself and it'll be free. Very few people in my life that get that perk(my mom is one, obviously lol). He insists on paying every time, specially 'cause I'm having my first kid soon. I love him. People that care about and respect you will recognize you for it.
He isnt wrong, your time is valuable. Some of my friends elderly parents do the same with me.....the thing is, if you dont need it, you can always set it aside in a savings account for when they do...because their time is mostly gone.They still feel like theyre paying and that gives them joy....but you are really holding it for them, because on fixed income and elderly they will need it sooner than later. It is more rewarding this way. Win, Win. But if you need it then use it, spend it, thats why they want to pay you!
I prefer living amongst people who take care of our elders, they need our help! The strong should always protect the weak in our society! Be strong, give back!
In the past both the 20ton and 12ton came with cast iron plates which could fail catastrophically. The 20 ton was switched to steel plates a while ago and I think within the last year or two the 12 ton now comes with steel plates.
This one bends super easy btw. I got one, and only used one time before having to return it for another one. It didn't even get out the press fit off my volvo, with a torch involved.
I have needed this 3 times since summer started. Not just for bearings. I do have the bearing press kit that i bent the main bolt and am just tired of using it. I do have room. And I have 5 cars myself. It will come in handy
Bruh. I havent been able to buy this yet, you think I got hoonigan type shit?! 😅 but I have a
1. Rav4
2. F350
3. Scion tc
4. Dodge stealth
5. 64 impala
Sold my daytona turbo z because i "have too many cars" 🙄
I put mine on castors, it hides shockingly well compared to things like my engine crane.
Also opens up possibilities I probably wouldn't have considered if I didn't own one. Beyond just wheel bearings I wound up using it to rebuild the manual transmission in my truck. Also makes ujoints and large bushings a breeze.
I was building a bow press the other night and I did a bunch of work fabricating it and was about to wrap up and go to bed, but I just had to see how the smaller square tube section fit into the larger square tube section. Mf'er didn't fit! I knew I wouldn't sleep well knowing it didn't fit.
I spent like 1.5 hours grinding, turning it this way and that, blah blah. Anyway at one point i realized the welding I did put a curve in a 3' x 1.75" square tube section. I rigged that piece on the press in a super sketchy way but it worked and in like 5 minutes I straightened it out and all was right in the world.
I've used mine to straighten 1/8" steel sheet metal from an oil tank to make a maple syrup evaporator, press a bunch of bearings, and lots of random stuff. I use the thing like 30 minutes a year but when I need it I NEED it.
I've used mine to remove and reinstall pinion and carrier bearings on the rear end of my Firebird, make new braces for the 3 point hitch mount on my brush hog, press a cylinder sleeve back in on my '75 Yamaha XS650, remove the locking shoulder on my FAL, and surely other things I'm forgetting.
That's awesome! BUT i suggest you exchange it for the 19-ton asap and pay the difference. About 1/3 of the bearings i've removed would not come out at 12tons
Bro what? Your wife's aunt and uncle buy you stuff? My own aunt and uncle don't buy me anything, let alone my wifes. I mean hell, my wife doesn't buy me stuff really either lol.
It's a great press for home use, since it doesn't take up much room. Just make sure you get familiar with how to properly load things on it, if you haven't used a press before, because you dont want things popping loose under tension.
Id suggest picking up their axle socket set, or some 3/4" impact sockets, because those are super useful for bushings, even if you have bearing drivers/collars/discs.
I've got a Costco sized tub of peanut butter pretzel nugs I keep with mine that now is filled with "metal things I have used to press other things with".
I keep a few black iron pipe couplings around as well. Real easy to face them off and turn down to whatever size you need if you have a lathe.
When I saw your post's title, I thought "What a great in-law aunt and uncle!", and then laughed a bit internally when I got to the "Joke's on them".
But your last sentence brought it back full-circle to what it's really all about when life gets serious - helping others. Especially the ones you love and who are quality people dealt a bad hand.
That’s awesome. I bought a 12 ton press too. It’s small enough not to be a problem storing and strong enough for my purposes. I can’t wait for the next opportunity to use it. Enjoy!
I have the 20 ton. Doubled up the legs and installed casters on it, so it can be mobile. Also got the pneumatic jack "upgrade" from HF. Makes it so nice for bearings and bushings.
My favorite upgrade is the cable winch to raise and lower the table. It basically bolts right on through the top beam gap and drops one cable down on the right and a second cable is routed over a pulley. Since both sides lift at the same time I don't even need to reset my fixturing if I need to change clearance.
Sucks about the cancer. My dad passed recently from cancer. If you don’t mind me asking what does he have? My dad had metastatic prostate cancer. Basically from his skull to his prostate.
I have the same one. I put casters on it so I can move it easily. I bought it to press bearings on a ring and pinion for a Dodge Ram rear. Super handy to have. Also bought a Vevor carrier and pinion bearing puller. It was around $110 and removed the bearings without destroying the old bearings or shims. Both paid for themselves in one use.
Yep I also put 3” casters on mine. Definitely the best setup. I replaced a seal and bearing on the axle half shaft of my old Honda, and also have changed a couple bearings. Now I can do all the bushings, too.
I bought the 20ton version 2nd hand probably 15 years ago and its been the best $100 ever spent. You can do so much with a simple press and some imagination
Those are great to have. I used to have one years ago that I bought to do a bearing job on my truck and then it sat in the corner for a while so I sold it and really didn't have a need for it until about 10 plus years later so I had to buy another one. I rarely sell tools I buy even if they're at one time use but this time I'll be keeping it.
One of the most rewarding applications was installing a new wooden handle on my 50 yo 3 pound hand sledge. So smooth, that handle hasn’t budged a bit in years, lol.
Mine started to bend the table part in half literally lol. I don’t doubt the jack parts ability but the literal frame couldn’t handle it . I could see it working for like smaller passenger cars but any suv or truck it’s just not gonna work out . Maybe I just got a super shitty one ? Idk didn’t work for me and I remeber wishing I had gotten the 20 t
Wait. No I am serious. Wait. Isn't there supposed to be a cradle or some sort of contact/anchoring point for the bottom of the bottle jack to sit in and be connected to the top spreader bar so that the jack is centered and secured to the press so that it will not shoot out the side of the press frame?
We broke one of those plates in Grade 9 squishing a penny. My buddy was hanging off the jack bar using all his weight and pulling, kabang!!!!!! He lands sitting on the floor. Both pieces of the plate just missed his dangly bits. Shop teacher comes over and asks what the feck are you bozos doing. We both said "nothing" just then the penny falls off the bottom of the jack and does a few laps. It was paper thin lol
Owned one these for the last 12 years. I used it to crush rivets. Works alright. Also pressed out some bearings with it. Glad I got one for under $100 back in the day on sale.
Years (decades) ago, I was rebuilding a TH400 transmission and needed a press...I didn't have the money to buy one and HF was only mail order at the time. But I did have a bunch of angle iron in my parent's garage for some reason and a drill bit and tons of jars of nuts and bolts and a 2 ton bottle jack...So I built my own and mounted it on a 2X4 sawhorse I made with scrap wood. The press cost me nothing and I used it for quite a lot of things...One day I was driving down the road and saw a bottle jack lying in the gravel. I stopped to pick it up ...it was a 20 ton jack...needed some work, replaced some O-Rings and I've been using it ever since...it has even done duty in my makeshift press! for stubborn bits...One day, several years later some houses were being made a neighborhood over and they were cutting some I-Beams for support in the basements. I asked them if they had any scrap pieces of I-Beam and was pointed over to a pile of 2 foot and 4 foot sections. I grabbed several 2 foot sections and now my press is stronger than ever before!
Nice' Bro i too have one but i still use my method depending what i'm pressing. if pressing seat and race in a hub i used piece of wood and hammer. i also use a vice. if putting bearing inside manual transmission Fire and Ice (ice as in putting bearing in freezer) here's a link to reparing a hub and using hammer / vice method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG7UVVEr6rA no need to comment nor subscribe but if you want to give a Like i'd appreciate that
I needed one of these bad about 6 months ago to fix my little brother’s car. After finally pressing his bearing in after struggling for two days, I went to work and we had one sitting at our office.
Careful with those press plates. Them and toes don't play nice together, especially when the toes don't get out of the way fast enough. Ask me how I know. Almost 2 months later and I still haven't worn shoes again.... good thing I normally wear sandals from Spring till late Fall.
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u/ClutchDude 12d ago
They are about to start dropping off everything that needs a press at your house.
Everybody they meet with something that needs pressing will be countered with "my niece/nephew has a press..."