Posted by Sherman in Idaho [98.225.32.22] on Saturday, March 09, 2013 at 13:51:47 :
In Reply to: Re: Building hydralic press posted by Glen of Idaho [72.173.64.59] on Friday, March 08, 2013 at 11:59:19 :
I think? I have their beefiest one and it's been good for lots of things. I've pushed it hard and it hasn't broken. That said, the bottle-jack system is simple but harder to set up than one with a motorized pump. Also, there's a shop in town that has a two beefier ones (a 50 and a 100?) and they will press stuff for me for no charge if my HFT one won't do the job. The only time I've needed to resort to that was one of the Sno-Cat axle hubs that was really on tight.
I'd be leery of attempting to move the ram from side to side. The problem is the cross-rails, top and bottom, will always bend under the strain, sometimes quite visibly. If the ram is in the center, it will remain vertical, but if you move the ram to the side, it will tilt, and it will tilt more the more pressure you put on it. That seems like a really good way to break things, bugger up your work, or get things jammed. The strength needed in the cross pieces to keep the from bending appreciably (they'll always bend some) under strain would make the insanely heavy. I think you're stuck with the ram being centered.