# 3 ton Arbor Press Stand



## Brent H (May 2, 2021)

So I have a 3 ton arbor press and it is a pain to broach keyways with as it need a place for the broach to push through.  I grabbed a 12” hunk of I beam 8” wide and chopped a piece off of a 5-1/4” I beam 2 feet high and cut some 1/2” sill angle (1/2” x 3 x 5-1/4”.  





















may need to bolt it to the floor if things go crazy but seems to be solid!  Will need to paint it at some point.


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## Dabbler (May 2, 2021)

Are you sure it will be sturdy enough?


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## Dusty (May 2, 2021)

That's a whopper of a stand for your press, somehow doubt it would require bolting to the floor. Paints essential to finishing a project.

Try bright pink for mother's day! LOL


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## 6.5 Fan (May 2, 2021)

Gives me ideas for my arbor press, it's sitting on the quonset floor waiting for a stand.


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## DPittman (May 2, 2021)

Very nice. (Even without paint)


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## Brent H (May 2, 2021)

I guess I should have changed the title to Arbor press stand that weighs 3 tons. LOL.  Always gotta build for the unknown.


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## YYCHM (May 2, 2021)

Do these things need to be bolted down?  I've had need for one numerous times in the past, just can't figure out where to store it.


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## Brent H (May 3, 2021)

@YYCHM : storing it was part of the reason for the stand.  It is bolted to the stand at the back (2 bolts) so you can use some force on the handle.  
I already modified the press with the addition of the hand wheel and the ratchet handle.  
The big I beam has the slot to allow you to pass a broach through as before I had to over hang the work bench and clamp it at the back so it wasn’t 100% stable and supported.  Since it is on the stand it can sorta be moved if necessary but where it is now is mostly out of the way of anything.


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## DPittman (Jan 6, 2023)

Hmnn I need to make a stand for my 3 tone arbor press but it has to also be a storage cabinet at the same time.  Does any one have a arbore press that is on a stand with rolling wheels? Would that work?
I'm also going to be modifying my press so it will have ratcheting abilities and a handwheel.


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## Tom O (Jan 6, 2023)

That conversion should be interesting


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## phaxtris (Jan 6, 2023)

Hey looks good ! Very aesthetically pleasing for a stand made from scrap! Are you sure you shouldn't be on one of those metal art forums 

Just needs some paint now!


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## DPittman (Jan 6, 2023)

Tom O said:


> That conversion should be interesting


Well I'm not being too unique or original with it as it appears many have already done it before me.  I'm going to weld on a portion of a 3/4" drive socket to the end of the shaft so I can use a 3/4" ratchet and then on  the other end of the shaft I hope to make some sort of stub shaft to attach a 8-10" handwheel (when I find one).  It looks like Brent above did something similar to his press?


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## 6.5 Fan (Jan 6, 2023)

I got mine built this summer, pretty much the same as what Brent H built. Bloody heavy, kind of over kill as i use mine to press in bearings and cones. Not real hard work for a 3 ton press. Wheels could be added but the base would need a larger foot print if on wheels in my opinion.


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## DPittman (Jan 6, 2023)

6.5 Fan said:


> I got mine built this summer, pretty much the same as what Brent H built. Bloody heavy, kind of over kill as i use mine to press in bearings and cones. Not real hard work for a 3 ton press. Wheels could be added but the base would need a larger foot print if on wheels in my opinion.


Ya I'm thinking about a cabinet about 20" square


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## 6.5 Fan (Jan 6, 2023)

DPittman said:


> Ya I'm thinking about a cabinet about 20" square


That should be big enough. It will also depend on the type of work you do with it, i also have a large hydraulic press for large rough work


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## DPittman (Jan 6, 2023)

6.5 Fan said:


> That should be big enough. It will also depend on the type of work you do with it, i also have a large hydraulic press for large rough work


Well I don't do alot with it but I also don't have a hydraulic press so once j  a while I'll be hanging on the bar.  I'm thinking the extra weight of storage drawers below will be helpful.  I'd kind of like wheels on the cart but I'm leary of them for the arbor use.


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## Brent H (Yesterday at 7:17 PM)

Sorry for delay in responding- i added the hand wheel - made that and then bored the end of the spindle for use with a 3/4 ratchet.  That came from Princess Auto.  The ratchet worked like crap until I took it apart and filed the ratchet gears.  Now it works fine.  

Storage underneath could be accomplished by adding an ammo box or something similar depending on amount required.  

I would like to machine up some dies, rods, spacers etc when I complete the move.


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## DPittman (Yesterday at 8:38 PM)

@Brent H 
Your stand looks great, mine won't be as heavy duty as I don't have any material as heavy as you used, and l would have to mortgage the house to go buy something similar to that at a steel yard. 

I like your wheel, what diameter is that? I'm thinking 10" would be good and 12" maybe better?  I'm on the lookout for handwheels on old ancient farm machinery that used to use that sort of thing.  

Just picked up materials today for making my stand/cabinet.  Already making mistakes as I cut material.  My "plans" sort of evolve to accomadate the latest mistake/over sight.  I usually have an idea of what my finished product sort of looks like but what I actually end up with is often a wee bit different.  Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes not-so-much.  But it is usually a surprise...and surprises are fun, right?!?!

I really need to learn how to use a CAD program of some sort.


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## jcdammeyer (Yesterday at 8:44 PM)

Brent H said:


> So I have a 3 ton arbor press and it is a pain to broach keyways with as it need a place for the broach to push through.  I grabbed a 12” hunk of I beam 8” wide and chopped a piece off of a 5-1/4” I beam 2 feet high and cut some 1/2” sill angle (1/2” x 3 x 5-1/4”.
> View attachment 14502
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> ...


Well I'm just plain envious.  I wouldn't know where to even find scrap that size to build a stand.  My 3T sits on the end of the bench with just enough sticking out so the bucket underneath with the old towels can catch the broach.


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## 6.5 Fan (Today at 4:41 AM)

jcdammeyer said:


> Well I'm just plain envious. I wouldn't know where to even find scrap that size to build a stand


A lot of the steel i use comes from scrapped farm machinery. I also got a bunch of heavy H beams from the scale in a grain elevator. If your in farm country then auctions can yield a lot of good heavy usable angles, flats and beams.


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## Susquatch (Today at 5:59 AM)

jcdammeyer said:


> Well I'm just plain envious.  I wouldn't know where to even find scrap that size to build a stand.  My 3T sits on the end of the bench with just enough sticking out so the bucket underneath with the old towels can catch the broach.



I'm with @6.5 Fan . You won't believe what you can find at farm auctions. The sale price is very often the highest that a scrap metal guy will pay given the cost of getting it their yard and the need to make a profit. Buying it at their yards is also a possibility but the cost sky-rockets. Thick plate, thin plate, beams, box tubing, bar, spring steel, soft steel, hard steel, castings, forgings, etc etc - it's all there for the bidding. Sometimes you can even meet a farmer at the auction with his own scrap yard..... "Jezz, I only want this cuz I need that 1/2 inch 6x6 box beam to make blah blah blah." You might be pleasantly surprised when he says to drop by his farm, bring your torch, and get it off my land before winter comes.


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## Dabbler (Today at 6:28 AM)

@6.5 Fan that's one very nice stand!!


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## historicalarms (4 minutes ago)

My 2 ton arbor press stand is bone -farmer-simple....does that surprise anybody. The press is simply bolted to a 2" thick bench top that is also bolted to the wall. I bolted a couple of 2 x 6's together that are a friction fit from under the bench to the concrete floor for a brace that supports the whole thing . about the heaviest chore I've used that press for was to bend some 11 gauge flat iron into an angle. The bench/ arbor press worked ok for that force wise but was slower than I wanted so a home built Hyd bending press became a reality. 
    That arbor press gets used sparingly now with the hyd bender and also have a 20T hyd shop press


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