Arbor Press, how big a press is needed for...

I have a little project for which having an arbor press would be useful. I need to press in some steel pins into aluminum. 1/4" pins into 0.001" undersized holes. From what I understand, bigger is always better (at least here on HM) but I also understand that arbor presses often end up taking valuable space and end up being a pain to tuck away. I have a small and cramped shop as it is. I could foresee pressing up to 1/2" pins. Don't own broaches at this point. This is not a paying job, so I can't write it off or otherwise amortize it. I am retired, but too young to get my (full) SS just yet, so I am living off savings, which is a real life style crimp... We get by, but I do have to watch the burn rate.

With that in mind, how should I size the arbor press? I have no idea what is needed. 1T, 2T, 3T? Cost is a constraint right now, can't ever see buying a nice Dake 3 Ton with ratcheting handle, not at retail prices. For that matter, it would be hard for me to even lift it! Locally not much has come up, as far as listings. I see a lot of altered, missing pieces and screwed up arbors, but nothing approaching a clean specimen at prices I'd be willing to pay. As for how much I'd pay, don't really know, I'd pay more to get more value.

A 1 Ton is available at HF, so that represents the bottom end. I'd have to travel to get it, as my local HF doesn't have it in stock. And, well, it is HF, so it can be a crap shoot. They claim the mechanical advantage is 20:1, so to get 1T of pressure, I'd have to apply 100 lbs of force on the dinky lever. Seems like that would be hard to use. But I have no idea how much force is needed to press in a pin, so I don't even know how to size the tonnage required. Can someone help me understand what is needed?
If you are just doing pins, bushings and bearings you could get away with the small bench HF hydraulic press. It’s small light and more than powerful for what you’re doing. And in the meanwhile you can keep an eye out for a stray arbor press. I did that for many years until I ran into an ancient Jet 2tn arbor press. While I wanted something like a 3tn or bigger for the extra stoke for doing 3/8”/8mm broaching it did fine for <5/16” broaching.

If you do go hydraulic please don’t try and do broaching with it. Unless you don’t mind launching HSS missiles around your shop. Arbor press is bad enough but hydraulic has no feedback to know if the broach is cocked and you won’t know until it shatters if it’s stuck.

I know it’s sacrilege but I just don’t get the fixation on Grenard arbor presses. They have a round press shank so have no gibs for wear adjustment. I’ve also seen many with the casting broken out at one time another because of this where I’ve never seen a square shank with the head casting broken. Donning flame proof suit now……
 
If you are just doing pins, bushings and bearings you could get away with the small bench HF hydraulic press. It’s small light and more than powerful for what you’re doing. And in the meanwhile you can keep an eye out for a stray arbor press. I did that for many years until I ran into an ancient Jet 2tn arbor press. While I wanted something like a 3tn or bigger for the extra stoke for doing 3/8”/8mm broaching it did fine for <5/16” broaching.

If you do go hydraulic please don’t try and do broaching with it. Unless you don’t mind launching HSS missiles around your shop. Arbor press is bad enough but hydraulic has no feedback to know if the broach is cocked and you won’t know until it shatters if it’s stuck.

I know it’s sacrilege but I just don’t get the fixation on Grenard arbor presses. They have a round press shank so have no gibs for wear adjustment. I’ve also seen many with the casting broken out at one time another because of this where I’ve never seen a square shank with the head casting broken. Donning flame proof suit now……
Don't have a fixation on a Greenerd, press, although it might be nice to bring one home. Their factory started out in Nashua, and they still have a presence here. Their #3BR would be nice, but I am just daydreaming...

Hadn't considered a small hydraulic solution. Could hack together a log splitter like setup to get by. I will think about that. Local HF has no small hydraulic presses right now, not even the little bench 6T one.
 
I know it’s sacrilege but I just don’t get the fixation on Grenard arbor presses. They have a round press shank so have no gibs for wear adjustment. I’ve also seen many with the casting broken out at one time another because of this where I’ve never seen a square shank with the head casting broken. Donning flame proof suit now……
No sacrilege in my view! I know they are nice presses and generally desirable, but I have very little reason to want an arbor press at all in my shop. I've got one of the little 1/2 or 1 tons I picked up for like $7 at an auction and have never used it but it's there if I ever need it. I honestly thought about using it to press snaps and rivets in place when making a sheath or such out of kydex. Still haven't after maybe 2 years! Love the flameproof suit quip!
 
Unless you plan or need to do a lot of broaching or bearing installs, I think a small hydraulic press is more useful in a hobby shop than an arbor press is. I have a 1 ton arbor press and its useful for small jobs. It would work for those 1/4" pins, I think.

I also have a nice 10 ton Dake hydraulic press that sits on top of a Craftsman rolling tool chest. It is perfect for my hobby shop and has done all I've asked of it. You might consider this as an option.
 
the remark about Greenerd wasn’t about you guys, it’s kinda general. It was the name most mentioned when I first started looking into getting an arbor press. That’s why I looked at so many and noted the obvious and often crappy repairs of the heads. That’s when I realized they don’t have adjustment gibs and being round I guess they couldn’t. It was then I decided I wasn’t going to go that direction.

As with everything the kind of work you do will favor different kinds of tools. I had basically given up on ever finding a useful arbor press for a price I could afford when that old Jet 2tn(made in Japan!) came up local for $35. I knew I had to go get it. And it has turned into something I can’t live without. Besides pressing bushing,bearings, broaching etc I used it to precision straighten a little stroke adjustment shaft on my old shaper. Saved me some $$. Made a blade for making small bends in sheetmetal and wire. The same blade came in handy for straightening out and de warping sheetmetal after putting beads in it. Right now I’m adapting a 3” sheetmetal notcher to work on it. So even though I found a big 22tn antique screw press I can’t let go of the Jet, it’s just too handy.
 
the remark about Greenerd wasn’t about you guys, it’s kinda general. It was the name most mentioned when I first started looking into getting an arbor press. That’s why I looked at so many and noted the obvious and often crappy repairs of the heads. That’s when I realized they don’t have adjustment gibs and being round I guess they couldn’t. It was then I decided I wasn’t going to go that direction.

As with everything the kind of work you do will favor different kinds of tools. I had basically given up on ever finding a useful arbor press for a price I could afford when that old Jet 2tn(made in Japan!) came up local for $35. I knew I had to go get it. And it has turned into something I can’t live without. Besides pressing bushing,bearings, broaching etc I used it to precision straighten a little stroke adjustment shaft on my old shaper. Saved me some $$. Made a blade for making small bends in sheetmetal and wire. The same blade came in handy for straightening out and de warping sheetmetal after putting beads in it. Right now I’m adapting a 3” sheetmetal notcher to work on it. So even though I found a big 22tn antique screw press I can’t let go of the Jet, it’s just too handy.
Didn't think your comment was directed at any of us. Some people are into brands and stuff. Generally those brands are better. But for someone like me, at least at the moment, they are out of reach. Been looking for a solution to this kind of thing for a while. I'll have to be patient and some day one will become available to me.

I like the idea of a hydraulic press for some of my use. Don't think I have the right stock in my garage to just weld scraps up, but I think I can get my hands on a bottle jack and a visit to a steel drops place might work out ok. If course if I find a premade solution for not much, I wouldn't turn it away either.
 
Didn't think your comment was directed at any of us. Some people are into brands and stuff. Generally those brands are better. But for someone like me, at least at the moment, they are out of reach. Been looking for a solution to this kind of thing for a while. I'll have to be patient and some day one will become available to me.

I like the idea of a hydraulic press for some of my use. Don't think I have the right stock in my garage to just weld scraps up, but I think I can get my hands on a bottle jack and a visit to a steel drops place might work out ok. If course if I find a premade solution for not much, I wouldn't turn it away either.
It’s too bad we are at opposite ends of continent because I have a 12tn HF press hanging on my wall I’ve tried to give away. It would make a great donor for a benchtop press.
 
I may " possibly" be getting 2 and 3 ton presses in the near future if things go right . A 3 ton would be great if you could get one . No issues with broaching .
I would whole heartedly agree. I've had a Greenerd 3B over 20 years and use it on a regular basis. When I first "purchased" it I didn't have broaches, and mainly used it for pressing bushings and pins. A few years ago I purchased a set of broaches so now it gets used even more.

They can often be found on Craigslist and Facebook Market for more than reasonable prices. Mine came from a machine shop that closed down. It was purchased by a friend who thought he would have a use for it, but it sat in his garage foe a little over a year before he decided to let it go. He traded it to me for a 20 year old Toro lawnmower.

Here's a picture of the press:
 

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Unless you plan or need to do a lot of broaching or bearing installs, I think a small hydraulic press is more useful in a hobby shop than an arbor press is. I have a 1 ton arbor press and its useful for small jobs. It would work for those 1/4" pins, I think.

I also have a nice 10 ton Dake hydraulic press that sits on top of a Craftsman rolling tool chest. It is perfect for my hobby shop and has done all I've asked of it. You might consider this as an option.
For broaching a hydraulic press is really bad. No feel and is slow. Even for pressing pins and bearing a lot of times an arbor press can do it in a fraction of the time compared to setting up a hydraulic press. I have always had both available and the arbor press is an 8 ton Dake with quick adjust bed.

May I suggest

It is also in one of the HSM books, I don't remember is its ONE or TWO but I will look
 
All the used arbor presses I see have the ram smashed at the top from being beaten on.
I own a 1 ton arbor press but rarely use it. The H frame hydraulic press is the go too.
I vote for a small bench top hydraulic press.
It will do more in the long run without having to build a base to keep from tipping over when you lean on the bar.
 
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