Erich's Benchtop Gear Hobber Project

Thats neat! Though quite expensive to ship. I'll have to see if there is anywhere local that sells stuff like that.

165lbs. It's not a light weight. Mine shipped freight...
 
Hydraulic presses are not ideal for broaching.
 
Yeah, but sadly arbor presses big enough for broaching aren't ideal for budgets haha :)
I'm sure it can be done hydraulically, but it is not safe. You will have no idea if the broach is about to explode on you. The flying pieces could hurt or kill you. Broaching with an arbor press requires feeling that the broach is cutting properly. If it isn't, you need to back off and readjust it. If I were to consider doing it with a hydraulic press, I'd put up a really thick ballistic grade barrier between myself and the press. That's just me talking with not that many broaches under my belt. I have a 3T arbor press. Your experience may differ.
 
I'm sure it can be done hydraulically, but it is not safe. You will have no idea if the broach is about to explode on you. The flying pieces could hurt or kill you. Broaching with an arbor press requires feeling that the broach is cutting properly. If it isn't, you need to back off and readjust it. If I were to consider doing it with a hydraulic press, I'd put up a really thick ballistic grade barrier between myself and the press. That's just me talking with not that many broaches under my belt. I have a 3T arbor press. Your experience may differ.
Well, yall jerks have lived up to your reputataion, ya'll don't disappoint. I ordered the Vevor 3T (and a flammables cabinet), which looks like it'll be plenty big. I'll have to weld up a stand, but that should be easy enough.
 
Well, yall jerks have lived up to your reputataion, ya'll don't disappoint. I ordered the Vevor 3T (and a flammables cabinet), which looks like it'll be plenty big. I'll have to weld up a stand, but that should be easy enough.
I'm disappointed you feel that way and apologize if I was overbearing with my opinion. I admire your work and progress on this project.
 
I'm disappointed you feel that way and apologize if I was overbearing with my opinion. I admire your work and progress on this project.
Oh, no, I'm joking. You were right, an arbor press is a better idea. Just the (self-embraced) 'reputation' of this forum is "The solution to all problems is to buy more tools!" that I was teasing you for ;) I feel like we are the world's worst support group :D
 
I'm sure it can be done hydraulically, but it is not safe. You will have no idea if the broach is about to explode on you. The flying pieces could hurt or kill you. Broaching with an arbor press requires feeling that the broach is cutting properly. If it isn't, you need to back off and readjust it.
I see this opinion expressed here frequently, and I wonder how much actual experience is talking. I have broached many keyways with both a 20T HF press and a small bench arbor press. It is very feasible and necessary to sense the pressure with both tools…not just that, there’s also an alignment issue, and keeping an eye on the shims. If you can’t do all that, it matters not which press you have...you will have trouble, maybe get hurt.
 
I see this opinion expressed here frequently, and I wonder how much actual experience is talking. I have broached many keyways with both a 20T HF press and a small bench arbor press. It is very feasible and necessary to sense the pressure with both tools…not just that, there’s also an alignment issue, and keeping an eye on the shims. If you can’t do all that, it matters not which press you have...you will have trouble, maybe get hurt.
It's surprisingly easy for the broach to hang or get stuck due to shims falling out or the broach getting a bit misaligned. Manually, it's obvious when this happens, because the level of effort increases a lot.

Of course you can do this hydraulically, if you are careful and always on your game. I'm usually careful, but can't say that I'm always on my game. So I take it slower, using an arbor press, where there's more obvious signs that the broach is cutting correctly or going awry. It works for me.
 
Oh, no, I'm joking. You were right, an arbor press is a better idea. Just the (self-embraced) 'reputation' of this forum is "The solution to all problems is to buy more tools!" that I was teasing you for ;) I feel like we are the world's worst support group :D
That's how I used to feel about HM, but it seems that the Borg has consumed me. "We" are quite the tool enabling bunch.
 
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