Is the Vevor 3 Ton Ratcheting Arbor Press Good?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ส.ค. 2024
- Yes, it's good for the price. I recently picked this up from eBay (link below) to replace my tiny Harbor Freight 1/2 ton arbor press. Overall, I think it's worth the price, compared to the 'professional' brands like Dake, Palmgren, etc. For most hobbyists, this will be more than sufficient with a few little tweaks.
Vevor 3-ton Arbor Press (eBay) - www.ebay.com/i...
Dayton 1Uh15 Arbor Press Stand (eBay) - www.ebay.com/i...
Bakelite Handwheel - amzn.to/3HsmnbQ
Rubber End Caps - amzn.to/3tERTxC
Thumb Screws (1/4-20) - amzn.to/3mUNfrj
My Favorite Tools - www.amazon.com...
00:00 Intro
00:57 Specifications
02:03 Ratcheting Mechanism
02:32 The Base/Table
03:02 Casting Quality
03:35 Modifications (handwheel)
04:21 Modifications (handle improvements)
05:33 Press Plate Woes
06:29 Size Comparison (1/2 ton)
07:12 Dayton Arbor Press Stand
08:18 Conclusion and Final Thoughts - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Got mine today. Mainly 4 inch round coasters. 10oz vegtan. Mine without the wheel. First tried dry veg with a single pull. Barely put a dent into the leather. Then soaked the leather and gave it about 10 good pops with the ram. That worked but left a dark burnish on the edge. Will experiment and see what happens. Miracle worker no but glad I got it.
Update on 10 ounce veg round coaster. I cut a 1/4 inch thick steel plate into 5 inch octagon for a top plate. By going around my die on the edge at four spots I was easily able to cut the leather. That was the trick. Work the edge, not try to press just using the center of the top plate. No need to soak leather or bang up and down with the ram. Now it’s fun.
Another update. 16 ounce vegtan took two passes at four spots on the die.
Another update. Didn’t like the banging when the rod would slide up and down on the spindle. Went to Ace and got 2 O rings, Stk# 35732 B. Also Rubber Leg Tips Stk# 51247 for the rod ends. Quieter and much more comfortable to use.
Another update, Found a Weaver replacement board and an 8x8x1/2 inch plate for the bottom. Also a set of round dies from Amazon. The die set is surprisingly good quality and cheap.
@@larrycumba2741got a link to the die set? The cheap ones I have are junk
I just received this to my door because of your video. I like it. It's my first arbor press ever. I don't know how a Dake would be better. Thank you for the video.
Really glad to hear it! It's a great tool for the price, I think.
I would definitely watch a video about you remaking the arbor press spinning table.
Yeah? I'd probably just get the bulk of it plasma cut and then finish it off on the tormach.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video. If you ever try to adjust the ram, you may discover that the original bolts are an unidentifiable size. I have the same press & couldn't get a metric or SAE wrench to fit them. A simple replacement of the metric bolts from the hardware store cured this problem. My ram was a bit too tight & I discovered this bolt head dilemma while trying to make an adjustment. I do agree that this arbor press is a good value for the money. I'd like a Dake or Famco but just don't have the budget for either. Thanks again.
Huh, interesting. I'll have to look at that next time I mess with it.
That's strange, mine were all metric heads, maybe a 14mm? Check your wrenches, wouldn't be the first time one was incorrectly stamped
"Sometimes you wanna feel things" is the emo lyric I didn't know I needed.
I'm glad someone caught that. When I edit, I sometimes find myself saying strange things out of context...
I'm delighted I found this comment first, and was able to watch for it in the video. The Emo lyric I didn't know I needed seems to be a hilariously funny summation of that line. Great writing and editing Robert, and thanks for pointing this out @OP
Take a Dremel (or the like) to those sharp edges. And glue a piece of rubber/foam to that bottom corner of the ratchet unit so it won't bang against the press's frame every time you let the handle go on the upside.
I'm glad I stumbled across this, as I've had some questions about the Vevor units. I don't really have either the room or the need for a 3 ton (famous last words), so I'll be picking up a 1 ton unit.
I didn't add rubber because you don't want to get in the habit of letting go of the handle! It should be loud and jarring every time it slams against the frame, to prevent you from doing that! But glad you liked the video, I've been using the tool quite a bit lately and I really like having a nice arbor press, it's well worth the money.
I gave $250 for my equivalent 3R Famco about 5 years ago. Famco hasn't been made for many years. Dake makes an equivalent size, but you will have to pay Dake prices. I can't imagine that this unit compares well to a true industrial machine, but the price is enticing.
I purchased a 50 ton H frame press a few weeks ago for $150. The hydraulic pump was supposed to be bad. The 3 HP motor had been replaced by a handyman and it had the wrong pulley and V belt, some goofy handyman wiring. Less than $130 had it running properly and most of that cost was purchasing a new pail of hydraulic oil.
If you are too impatient to wait for a good "used" deal, this import machine is a tempting alternative for the cost. I remain happier with true industrial machines. I have been watching for a Dake 2 1/2 for 30 + years.This not only has the handwheel and ratcheting function, it has a built in adjustable ram brake, the stroke is considerably more and the compound leverage function hugely multiplies pressing tonage. The compound yields 6 ton on the multiplier function. This was the standard shop press when I was employed. I tried to get a surplus unit begore I retired, but I couldn't get them to sell.
The longer stroke makes this a true broaching press.
Personally, like many others, I just started to look at Arbor Presses. I have a hydraulic press that can apply significantly more force, but for speed and feel I am not sure you can beat an Arbor Press. I am very glad you did this review. I have looked at several "used" Arbor presses in my area and all of the ones I could afford are broken in the Arbor. My guess is someone thought they could out smart the designers and used a cheater bar to apply more force than it was designed to handle, thus cracking the arbor. Not good.
I have been wondering about buying this brand due to it being so relatively inexpensive. Thanks!😀
My Dad used to work in a couple of foundries in Canada. The last one he worked in specialised in stainless steel only. He mentioned that its not uncommon to use casting filler to make things look better, so never judge casting quality when things looks really smooth cause it's probably filled, like most Chinese castings. If it's got a textured, sand like finish than its mostly a true raw casting, when the quality can truly be evaluated.
Makes sense.
Ordered mine. Can't wait to check it out. I look at things like this as semi-finished. They are cheap because the manufacturers cut out the finishing work. If your willing to do that work things like this can be pretty nice. You couldn't buy the raw materials to make one for the price this is and really most of the work is done. Just needs a little more elbow grease.
I think you'll like it. I got it and immediately though "it's what I expected, but a bit better!". It's totally fine and does what it needs to do and the price is great. Let me know if yours showed up any differently.
@@RobertCowanDIY Will do. I did notice in the picture that it had 2 set screws to keep the handle from falling out. We will see if it actually arrives like that🤞. Not a big deal if it doesn't though. I'll do the same thing you did with a knurled thumb screw.
Hi Robert, I have a 20 ton hydraulic press but I will never part with my Atlas ratcheting arbour press. It’s beautiful to use and is excellent for quick repeat work like stamping or cutting our shapes in leather ect. Also, it was made prior to 1943 because that’s when Dake bought the arbour press division of Altas. Dake made very few changes to the Atlas presses and Dake parts still fit my old Atlas. Who knows how it ended up in Australia. Cheers mate, Stuart 🇦🇺
I had decided I was going to buy one of these & went looking for videos, Thanks.
I've got an older 20 ton hydraulic but it takes me forever to broach a few parts. I've got a job to make a few dozen parts with D holes. I'm going to make the broach set for them & heat treat in my shop.
Thanks for the review! I'm glad I went with a one-ton. The three-ton would have been too big. I'm happy with my one-ton Grizzly.
"too big" isn't something that happens often with arbor presses!
Grizzly has a video where they show all their arbor presses on a workbench together. It's scary how perfectly they scale up in size. Without that video, I'd have had no idea how large or small the things actually are. Me, I think the 1 ton size is about perfect for my needs, whereas a 3 ton Dake ratcheting beast would be perfect for my wants. :D
Hello Robert, Thanks for the review ! Having seen the Vevor on E-bay I was unsure of the quality from the photos, it was nice to find a non-sponsored honest video. It should fit my needs well and appears to be in much better condition out of the gate then the used models that show up in my area. I look forward to it's arrival. 👍
Just got this exact same setup! Thank you!
Nice! It's a good amount of money, but well worth it I think.
@@RobertCowanDIY thinking in making it into a leather clicker press i think it will be perfect with some modifications👍🏻
Hi Robert, get something like a Norbo hand deburring tool and run it over those edges on the press plate. You could improve the surface finish of it in a lathe if you feel that's necessary. I would not worry about the finish on the main body, it's a press tool after all. Needs to be strong, not pretty. Nice to come across my namesake on a channel!
Yeah, I think I'm just going to make my own press plate. I'm not sure how well a deburring tool would work on this, unless you're thinking of something very different than I am? I think making a custom plate wouldn't be too hard, I could just get it water-jet cut and then clean up the edges.
Thanks. Wish you had actually press something hard with it to see it in action.
Great info Robert
Good stuff. Love the custom handwheel. Lame colour, though: I’d definitely go through the trouble of repainting it to my taste.
Yeah, fair. If I had a good spraying setup, I would have done that too. It would need a good de-greasing first though.
Nice video! I need one of these!
I'm pretty happy with it so far! It's MUCH better to use than the little arbor press, which was mostly useless because of the size.
Great review! Will order mine.
Was the play of the ram dialed in for before this filming? It looks pretty loose compared to the Greenerd and Dake machines I've used. Was wondering if it gets any better than what you show here.
The play is adjustable. I have it a bit loose, but you could easily add some brass shims or something and adjust it more. Really, the play is up to you, if you adjust it out, it won't have any play. For MY purposes as a hobbyist, it's more than good enough and there's no way I could justify the cost of a Dake.
Thanks!
I always get concerned when the reviewer uses the "for the price" qualifier too many times but I have to recognize that my 6-Ton USA made Drake, that cost me $3000 is NOT 10 times better than this one. Thanks for the review.
Ha, totally. FOR THE PRICE, it's the best arbor press in the world. But sometimes spending the extra money is worth it. But for a hobbyist, this one is great.
My Vevor unit came semi-functional with missing parts, aesthetic flaws, design issues and machining errors. It's more of a 90% complete arbor press kit. In some ways it's better than I expected "for the price", but the truth is that it was not functional as received due to several flaws and it drew blood and frustration within 5mins of being unboxed. If I was hoping to unbox it and start working with it I would have been sorely disappointed
I'll need to spend about $75 in parts and $300 in Western labour hours to make it workable for my uses, and even then some of the materials and the casting is still questionable. If I was using it professionally for high force applications I would be looking for a used press from a higher quality supplier
Value is subjective, but I'd say a
That actually looks not too bad all things considered. My 5 ton hydraulic virtical press with integral stand probably cost more than all of that 35 years ago when my father bought it (NO inflation). No joke. And on yours there is not much that can fail on it. I can also see modifications that my father made to mine over time as well, allowing for larger opening and to handle more than 5 tons of pressure. So having to do a little finishing on a cheaper unit is nothing to worry about really.
About the thing I have been spoiled by with a hydraulic press is i find it much more precise, with the ability to hold a continuous press. It is equally or better than my little 1 ton arbor for small things too. Its downsides are its much slower if you are doing a lot of lighter fittings. Then the mechanical is really good for such. I also get what you are saying about the "feel" of the pressure. But I haven't really ever found that an incentive for me to use the small arbor for most things.
What little I have used mine anyhow though if I didn't have a hydraulic, an arbor like this would be more than enough for what I use it for. And a good 5t press like I have goes for a couple thousand now.
I like having an arbor press because it's just a bit easier to get setup for smaller jobs like popping out a bearing really quickly. My hydraulic is manually operated and doesn't have a very long stroke, so I find myself always having to adjust the plates or find pieces of stock to stack up the part.
@@RobertCowanDIY Yeah that can be a great thing as those arbors use less shop space so it is not so bad keeping them set up, even in a shop as small as mine. There is no doubt this would be the case if I needed a press more often. Mine has become buried over time. And my vertical sits in a pretty convenient spot. I think the last time the virtical was used, was my 14 year old son trying to refit the wheels on his scooter this spring, so it doesn't get much use either way. Unless you count it being used to hold loops of electrical cable, air hose, jackets, or other stray things that get set about.
Nope, check that, it was used last month to squish a mcsdonalds cheeseburger we found which had been left out for a while. We didn't try to find out if it improved its flavor.
CAN STINGRAY LEATHER BE DIE CUT ON ARBOR PRESS
I’m waiting for a 3 ton delivery. How do you make a proper alignment of the ram to the bottom plate?
Mine was aligned from the factory. There's not a lot of adjustment other than the set screws.
The way it comes from the factory, you would have to hand file the housing opposite the adjustment bolts. Despite having two points of adjustment on each side, there is no plate inside and the bolts simply press the ram into the opposing machined surface
Question: I'm hoping to use the wheel do do relatively light presses, but for my use-case I need to keep pressure on the workpiece for a couple minutes. Can I leave the handle in the up position and use the ratchet to hold the ram down?
The wheel and lever arm work fairly independently. You can just use one or the other if you want. As long as the lever is in the up position, you can use the handwheel on its own. You don't get a lot of force out of it, but enough for smaller projects. I use it like that a lot.
The handwheel on the Vevor machines is just for raising/lowering the ram, it doesn't have a large "ship wheel" type wheel like some old presses. The radius to the handle isn't really a large enough moment arm to impart much force on a workpiece compared to the long handle on the ratchet side
Depending on how much accuracy you need and how much pressure you need to maintain, a hydraulic press may be simpler as they will hold pressure. You could use deflection of a sprung base to somewhat accurately apply a fixed pressure if requried. On the Vevor arbor press you would need to either weight the arm or hook a spring to it to hold the pressure on the workpiece
NB: the Vevor press ratchet mechanism acts similarly to a hand tool ratchet used for sockets etc; without force applied on the lever no force is applied to the workpiece
Hello, quick question, do you know the width dimensions of the opening in the front legs (bottom of ram) cant seem to get an answer from the seller
On mine, it's just shy of 60mm.
hi. can u say ram tooth depth?
Mine doesn't seem to have a way to keep the large main pin from walking to the right. It will stop once the handle goes into the casting bore, but surley something is missing?
Your new handle would probably act as a stop since the hub diameter is larger and has a flat bearing surface. But did your original wheel have a large washer or something to keep the pin from moving to the right?
Thanks
I was able to see it on another video- it's missing a large washer
Huh, interesting. Should be easy enough to replace though. I still think for the price it's a bargain. It's 1/4 the price of a dake.
@@RobertCowanDIY
Oh yes it's an insane value. I honestly have no idea how they can make it and ship it for that price and not loose money. I just added a washer I had, thinking about getting a thrust bearing instead. My comment wasn't a dig on the press, just trying to figure out what was missing as it didn't seem right.
I made gib plates for the adjustment bolts as well so the bolts are not directly digging into the ram.
@@mitchell5828 Gotcha. Yeah, I really like having it around. I might get around to adding thrust bearings too, but it's working pretty good for me.
Mine has a large washer between the handwheel and the housing, and a small washer on the end of the shaft with a retaining bolt
The design/machining is incorrect so the retaining bolt cannot be tightened or it binds the whole system
I want to add a longer handle. Mine is only 20 inches. How long of a handle do you think I could use without over taxing the ram? Mine is the Vevor 3 ton without the wheel. Looking for more torque to cut 14 ounce vegtan.
That's a really hard question. I would think longer than 20" would be fine, but maybe not TOO long. You'd probably just bend the rod though, I doubt you'd hurt the ram? But that's a hard question to answer. Maybe just get a longer pipe/tube and see what happens?
@@RobertCowanDIY Added an extra 11 inches to the handle. That did the trick and no damage to the press.
@@larrycumba2741 nice! glad it worked out.
I'm wanting to add a handwheel to my 3 ton arbor press. What size of wheel is that and would say that it is the right size? I'm thinking bigger is better?
Check the description, I literally have a link to the one I used. And it's the perfect size.
Do you have any idea how much pounds of pressure it can put out. I'm very curious because after seeing your video I'm interested in buying one
It's rated at 3 tons, so in theory, 3 tons.
Like if you're a fan of the Arbor Freight harbor press.
words hard.
I do want
You should get.
So if you remake/rework the entire press, it's a decent press 🤣
If you've got more time than cash, that's a perfectly reasonable tradeoff. You'd pay a lot more for a used Dake, Dayton or Greenerd if you're able to find one locally. A mediocre tool you can afford is better than a good tool you don't have, particularly if you're a hobbyist or the tool will only get occasional use.
I often buy cheap Chinese equipment on the expectation that I'll need to fully rebuild it, because it'll cost less than buying the raw materials to build one myself. I don't mind if I have to do a bit of cleaning and deburring or re-machine a part that doesn't quite fit. Occasionally I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality, but the value is still compelling when viewed as a part-finished kit.
A comparable Dake 3ton ratcheting press is $1.2k on sale
I had a search setup for 2 years to find a decent used arbor press. There aren't any, at least not in my area. Every time they went up for sale, someone thought they gained value with age and priced them above retail.
Yep! And for most hobbyist uses, I fail to see how the Vevor would perform worse.
CAN STINGRAY LEATHER BE DIE CUT ON ARBOR PRESS