Nice addition to the workshop Mr Tweed. Years back I was running a 121 Volvo bought from the scrappy, it failed the MOT on the steering (worn bush). I took it into work to strip down and turn up a new one but couldn't get it apart even using the 5 ton fly press. A West Indian guy I worked with said I'll get it out. He got me to support it on the big anvil and took a mighty swing with a sledge hammer and out it popped. We didn't have a hydraulic press, it would have been gentler if we had but I was lucky and nothing broke. That whole video was nuts.😁 Thanks for sharing.
Hello, I've just bought one of these too. It took ages to purge of air but have got it going now. My accessories are different to yours, I have more mandrels (8) but am missing the bracket plate (and dipstick). I get the impression that things start getting dangerous at the 5 ton mark; those bed plates are slippy and not pre drilled like yours seem to be for bolts. The plates actually start flexing at this point too, so wouldn't want to take up to 10t (that would take some effort as well, unless my gauge is wrong). The spring circlips are unreliable too..prone to slipping off and coillapsing the bed. I'll need to modify to make safe but I think it'll be a useful when done. Thanks for the vid.
My pleasure, yes the effort required pass the 5 ton mark gets progressively harder, and those spring clips get really annoying to take off when fishing behind the press to get at them but it is proving really useful ( used on the crank and engine rebuild of the Excelsior in the latest videos and used it for straightening a bent irreplaceable brass throttle lever which it done with ease and if I'd attempted it in a vice and brut force would probably have snapped it ) , thanks for tuning in🙂
I'm not boasting but I've got a big one and a small one! And I'm looking at a possibility of another project where the press would be needed...just wondering if i can hide it from Mrs Tweed 😉
It's fine Rock, she has a nice new hydraulic press she can use ;-) , it would be nice to expand the workshop but the logistics of having to move the machines, tools and vehicles, then store them whilst building a new workshop is just too impractical, so I´ll have to get imaginative with storing stuff.
Very good addition to the workshop ! And of course, an Opinel. The lower bed looks a bit lightweight, but I am sure you will make a heavy duty one when you need it, quite a fast acting cylinder really, I thought a hydraulic cylinder would be very slow, a thing I keep wanting to buy, but my 7 ton fly press does most of what I need, and it is handy for flattening, (and crushing Walnuts), although the Red Squirrels get most of mine! thought sprayed in hydraulic oil for our enlightenment there Allan. Chris B.
Hi Chris, I thought the same thing but on examination it does have extra bracing on the inside so I think it will be up to the job, nice to have Red Squirrels around, we just have the Greys.....or rats with good P.R. as I like to call them .
@@TweedsGarage Ha Ha! Rats with good P.R. That is a good description, our Red Squirrels love to raid our Walnut trees and bury the Walnuts all over the field for later, of course they forget where they bury them and we now have dozens of trees springing up all over, they in turn get stripped of bark by the deer and round it goes, luckily there are no tree rats for 3 hundred miles but we still loose most of our Walnuts, to a good cause though! Stay safe! Chris B.
I had been looking to purchase a second smaller press. Thanks for the review and close-up view which sealed my choice of purchase. I did investigate this UK unit, its better than the majority of small bench top presses out there world wide. However it is a bit pricy compared to a similar version available in Oz made by MetalMasters which is laser cut and robotically welded in an off white colour. I don't like black painted equipment it tends to hide the defects in welds and material quality. The MetalMasters has a siding RAM which is highly desirable normally only available in very expensive presses like my big 35 ton floor unit, high quality hydraulics, and press blocks with guide blocks preventing them sliding off the table. Best of all its considerably cheaper than your SGS press, so I bought it. Sadly I looked and it doesn't seem to be anyone importing MetalMasters hydraulic presses into the UK, so you got the best deal available.
My pleasure, glad you found it useful . Once you get one you wonder how you ever done without one, i've pushed in and pushed out bearings, gently straightened irreplaceable old brass parts, steel shafts bearing shields .......and getting into walnuts of course 🙂
I bought mine a good few years ago now, unbranded, Made in China (not the best quality...), very similar to yours, but bright red, I have been surprised at how often I have used it, pressing things in & out, straightening out bent metal, it has proved its usefulness! I always wear eye protection, just in case... I did think about replacing it, as the gauge is not now functioning properly and replacement cost (for what is basically junk) was not cost-effective and I did think about getting one that is smaller but these are just the car jacks with springs, imho, really not up to the job, so stayed with what I got, but would like to have a working gauge (well it moves a bit but does not return to zero).
yes I´ve got a couple of things to straighten out lined up for the press already so I´m sure it'll become indispensable , and you are right with eye protection Gary as things go with a bang.....and those walnut shells are sharp :-)
Another great and informative show... although at one point I got sidetracked and could only think about walnuts. I expect the next show will be you completely disassembling it, redesigning it, bringing to NASA spec and reassembly. Cheers from the shed
oh don't think about walnuts Randy otherwise you'll be heading off to the supermarket in search for them....and we know what a bad mood you get into going to the hardware shop so man almighty knows what would happen if you had to deal with staff in the local Supermarket !!!!
I'm glad you've done this review, I've been thinking about buying one of these for a while to replace (or to supplement )my fly press - fly press weighs a flippin' ton and it's always in the way. I've got a couple of things from SGS and found them to be decent quality. I might invest in one of these presses. Cheers
I had a fly press, they are a lovely thing but have quite a restricted height capacity compared to the hydraulic press and it's proving really useful for pressing things in and out and straightening stuff ( to be seen in future video ) , glad you found it of use.
@@TweedsGarage Good stuff my brazil cracker is a ratchet that presses the nut end onto a small cutting blade exactly like your press. Hold handle and press with care though.
Hi Ed, so far it is proving extremely useful pushing bearings/crank assemblies in/out, straightening out bent rods, arms, sheet metal pressings etc. I haven’t had to load it up with big assemblies yet but its pretty capable for a bench top press and i don't regret buying it . As stated in the video if you needed to put long item in it once in a blue moon you could always have a hole in the bench below the press to gain extra clearance, but if you were pressing a lot of bearings off of drive shafts etc then the floor standing version would be a better option.
I've had one of these for the past 2 or 3 years and really pleased with it
It has become an invaluable tool in the workshop, don't know how I've managed so long without one
Nice addition to the workshop Mr Tweed. Years back I was running a 121 Volvo bought from the scrappy, it failed the MOT on the steering (worn bush). I took it into work to strip down and turn up a new one but couldn't get it apart even using the 5 ton fly press. A West Indian guy I worked with said I'll get it out. He got me to support it on the big anvil and took a mighty swing with a sledge hammer and out it popped. We didn't have a hydraulic press, it would have been gentler if we had but I was lucky and nothing broke.
That whole video was nuts.😁
Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure Colin, glad he missed your fingers with the sledge hammer 😁
AH NUTS, that will be a great addition to the shop. Great video
I think it will be one of those " i don't know how i done without tools " once i start to use it Glen.
Hello, I've just bought one of these too. It took ages to purge of air but have got it going now. My accessories are different to yours, I have more mandrels (8) but am missing the bracket plate (and dipstick). I get the impression that things start getting dangerous at the 5 ton mark; those bed plates are slippy and not pre drilled like yours seem to be for bolts. The plates actually start flexing at this point too, so wouldn't want to take up to 10t (that would take some effort as well, unless my gauge is wrong). The spring circlips are unreliable too..prone to slipping off and coillapsing the bed. I'll need to modify to make safe but I think it'll be a useful when done. Thanks for the vid.
My pleasure, yes the effort required pass the 5 ton mark gets progressively harder, and those spring clips get really annoying to take off when fishing behind the press to get at them but it is proving really useful ( used on the crank and engine rebuild of the Excelsior in the latest videos and used it for straightening a bent irreplaceable brass throttle lever which it done with ease and if I'd attempted it in a vice and brut force would probably have snapped it ) , thanks for tuning in🙂
Another great episode, very informative. Looking forward to more shenanigans in Tweed’s Garage
Glad you enjoyed it, there will be more but the below zero temperatures have slowed progress
Looks like a good addition to the tool crib. I have an opinel from when I was a kid. Has done 30 years and still going strong!
I'm not boasting but I've got a big one and a small one! And I'm looking at a possibility of another project where the press would be needed...just wondering if i can hide it from Mrs Tweed 😉
Very nice, I think it's time to buy the wife some roses, and build out the workshop a bit. Cheers.
It's fine Rock, she has a nice new hydraulic press she can use ;-) , it would be nice to expand the workshop but the logistics of having to move the machines, tools and vehicles, then store them whilst building a new workshop is just too impractical, so I´ll have to get imaginative with storing stuff.
Very good addition to the workshop ! And of course, an Opinel. The lower bed looks a bit lightweight, but I am sure you will make a heavy duty one when you need it, quite a fast acting cylinder really, I thought a hydraulic cylinder would be very slow, a thing I keep wanting to buy, but my 7 ton fly press does most of what I need, and it is handy for flattening, (and crushing Walnuts), although the Red Squirrels get most of mine! thought sprayed in hydraulic oil for our enlightenment there Allan. Chris B.
Hi Chris, I thought the same thing but on examination it does have extra bracing on the inside so I think it will be up to the job, nice to have Red Squirrels around, we just have the Greys.....or rats with good P.R. as I like to call them .
@@TweedsGarage Ha Ha! Rats with good P.R. That is a good description, our Red Squirrels love to raid our Walnut trees and bury the Walnuts all over the field for later, of course they forget where they bury them and we now have dozens of trees springing up all over, they in turn get stripped of bark by the deer and round it goes, luckily there are no tree rats for 3 hundred miles but we still loose most of our Walnuts, to a good cause though! Stay safe! Chris B.
I had been looking to purchase a second smaller press. Thanks for the review and close-up view which sealed my choice of purchase. I did investigate this UK unit, its better than the majority of small bench top presses out there world wide. However it is a bit pricy compared to a similar version available in Oz made by MetalMasters which is laser cut and robotically welded in an off white colour.
I don't like black painted equipment it tends to hide the defects in welds and material quality. The MetalMasters has a siding RAM which is highly desirable normally only available in very expensive presses like my big 35 ton floor unit, high quality hydraulics, and press blocks with guide blocks preventing them sliding off the table. Best of all its considerably cheaper than your SGS press, so I bought it.
Sadly I looked and it doesn't seem to be anyone importing MetalMasters hydraulic presses into the UK, so you got the best deal available.
My pleasure, glad you found it useful . Once you get one you wonder how you ever done without one, i've pushed in and pushed out bearings, gently straightened irreplaceable old brass parts, steel shafts bearing shields .......and getting into walnuts of course 🙂
I bought mine a good few years ago now, unbranded, Made in China (not the best quality...), very similar to yours, but bright red, I have been surprised at how often I have used it, pressing things in & out, straightening out bent metal, it has proved its usefulness! I always wear eye protection, just in case...
I did think about replacing it, as the gauge is not now functioning properly and replacement cost (for what is basically junk) was not cost-effective and I did think about getting one that is smaller but these are just the car jacks with springs, imho, really not up to the job, so stayed with what I got, but would like to have a working gauge (well it moves a bit but does not return to zero).
yes I´ve got a couple of things to straighten out lined up for the press already so I´m sure it'll become indispensable , and you are right with eye protection Gary as things go with a bang.....and those walnut shells are sharp :-)
A great shop addition!
and I´ll need it for rebuilding the crank on the Excelsior ( its as though I bought the bike with that in mind ;-)
Another great and informative show... although at one point I got sidetracked and could only think about walnuts. I expect the next show will be you completely disassembling it, redesigning it, bringing to NASA spec and reassembly. Cheers from the shed
oh don't think about walnuts Randy otherwise you'll be heading off to the supermarket in search for them....and we know what a bad mood you get into going to the hardware shop so man almighty knows what would happen if you had to deal with staff in the local Supermarket !!!!
@@TweedsGarage The last time I was in the supermarket things got pretty shouty.
I'm glad you've done this review, I've been thinking about buying one of these for a while to replace (or to supplement )my fly press - fly press weighs a flippin' ton and it's always in the way. I've got a couple of things from SGS and found them to be decent quality. I might invest in one of these presses. Cheers
I had a fly press, they are a lovely thing but have quite a restricted height capacity compared to the hydraulic press and it's proving really useful for pressing things in and out and straightening stuff ( to be seen in future video ) , glad you found it of use.
Excellent prezzy for the workshop Mr Tweed. Does it do brazils as well!
Yes it does Mr B ....but you definitely need eye protection for those buggers
@@TweedsGarage Good stuff my brazil cracker is a ratchet that presses the nut end onto a small cutting blade exactly like your press. Hold handle and press with care though.
Hi, how are you finding the hydraulic press. Any limitations discovered yet. Regards Ed
Hi Ed, so far it is proving extremely useful pushing bearings/crank assemblies in/out, straightening out bent rods, arms, sheet metal pressings etc. I haven’t had to load it up with big assemblies yet but its pretty capable for a bench top press and i don't regret buying it . As stated in the video if you needed to put long item in it once in a blue moon you could always have a hole in the bench below the press to gain extra clearance, but if you were pressing a lot of bearings off of drive shafts etc then the floor standing version would be a better option.
Thanks for your reply. I am looking at getting a similar unit here in Australia.Cheers
What did you do with the steel ball??
Just stored it away, it is only in there to keep the oil in the ram during transit, it is replaced with the seal and pressure gauge.
I have this press and the piston doesn`t fully retract - it stops at -2.5" is yours the same?
Run the tape measure over mine and the piston has about 2" of the piston that doesn't retract into the cylinder .
@@TweedsGarage Thanks for the reply.
You need to buy the correct tool for the job. Did no one advise you that it's a sledgehammer to crack a nut?
crushed nuts all round