Does anyone own the Harbor Freight 20 ton press?

sixdogs · May 12, 2015

Can anyone comment on their 20 ton press? It's on a coupon sale for the lowest I've seen it---$153--and that's enough to push me over the edge. Any advice to go with this or other commentary? I want to bend angles in steel with it. Any advice appreciated.

20 Ton Shop Press - Hydraulic Shop Presses on Sale

dfkrug · May 12, 2015

I have had it for maybe 10y. Works fine, and that price is about what I paid. I also have a custom-made
brake for it.

Teachu2 · May 12, 2015

I've had mine a couple of years, no problems. It's not exactly a complex machine...

Stimw · May 12, 2015

Had mine for over 10 years.
I do a lot of pulley, bearing from shaft removal with it and metal straightening in my business.
I also use it to cut seals out of neoprene (pressing softly).
I upgraded mine to the air operated 20 jack and find it worth the cost because I use it often enough.
I also put an old boat winch on it to raise and lower the table. Makes changing height a lot easier!

Code54 · May 12, 2015

I have had one for about 5 years- not a precession piece of Eqpt but it has worked great for my home shop needs

Billrog · May 12, 2015

Had a $99.00 20 ton shipped to my dr. 18 yrs. ago and I haven't broke it yet. It's come in handy many times .

Blueforester · May 12, 2015

I have had one for several years. Although I do not use it daily. It has done everything I have needed it to do with no problem. For hobbist/DIY mechanic and private work I do it is perfect. Caught on sale and/ with coupons got for a little less. But that is still a good price.

Blue

stans1 · May 13, 2015

I bought mine about 2000-2001 and it has performed without any leaks, breakdowns or problems. I had to rebuild mine, not because it had any problems but because it did not have enough space between press and table, so I lengthened mine. Here are a couple of pictures:

dragoneggs · May 13, 2015

Just bought mine less than a year ago... with the coupon it is an especially good deal in my opinion for a home shop. Get model #60603 (new and improved) vs. the #32879. Did my research but can't remember what the exact difference was... but I believe if you read the HF reviews you will find some comment on the specifics. I also bought a 20ton pneumatic bottle jack press and modded the unit so I can run off my compressor. The hand lever on the manual one gets tiring real quick! And too slow too. I also tried to add a HF inline oiler for the air but my old unpowered air compressor must be lacking because it really bogged it down. Will re-install it when I upgrade my compressor. Bottom line... I love it with pneumatic action.

Baby Grand · May 13, 2015

Got mine for $180 about 4 or 5 years ago. Needed it to press bearing out of brake drums and knew I'd find other uses for it. It's been reliable and vey useful. The one thing that I do need to address is the "end effector" - that piece of round stock welded to the sliding frame; directly under the cylinder. Mine got welded on at about a 5 or 10 degree angle, so it generates side force, which get scary when the press load starts getting high. I get worried that the work piece will "squirt out" and take a piece of my mid section with it. Because of this I have taken to the habit of always standing behind one of the vertical I-Beams when really bearing down on anything. A simple, removable wire mesh safety cage would probably be a good precaution.

My idea to fix it is to cut the round stock off and weld on a short section of threaded pipe coupling. Then I'll be able to thread on different size & shape end effectors to suit the job at hand.