HF 12 ton press or 20 ton press?

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 11:34 pm

I want to buy a press for my small home workshop. Mainly will use for motorcycle & misc stuff, not car/truck repair. I'm looking at the HF 12 and 20 ton models. 12 ton is 16 3/8" wide, 20 ton is 22 1/4". The extra $40ish for the 20 ton is not the issue. The 20 does take up more space than the 12..

From what I'm reading online is that the 12 ton is Ok for most every job and these posts were on car sites. I know it's better to have too much press than not enough... I just don't want to 'over buy' and get the larger 20 ton if the 12 ton works for 99% of what I'll be doing.

I want to be able to press out a triple tree stem, bearings, etc.. Do you have a 12 and wish you bought the 20? Or do you have a 20 and really only needed the 12? What do you have and is it enough for your routine motorcycle stuff..

Thanks,

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 12:35 am

Good question (for future plans!!).

Steve

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 1:12 am

Get the 20 ton model. I have one and use it often. Some wheels will fit in between on the larger model, so you'll be able to press in bearings as well. It's a great deal and you'll be glad you have it. Ask if they have a returned/open box model out back. They'll usually mark it down even more but it will be complete. I got mine that way and practically stole it.

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 5:25 pm

Am considering this myself. Found these yesterday which may interest you:

https://youtu.be/KLo19mDKvls

https://youtu.be/oC63WyaoXN0

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 6:09 pm

Get the 20.
A friend and I bought our presses the same day. I bought the 20 and he got the smaller Teepee style 10 ton to save room in his garage. The next day he calls me complaining that now he needed to go return it and get the bigger one. The top of the press bent the first time he used it. Did he try to do too much, does he not know how to properly use the tool or is it just a weak design??? IDK get the 20. Mine is 15 years old now and never failed me. I would like to add air to it to speed things up. I also took 1” wide x .100” thick strips of aluminum and bent them in half. Then I slid those over the guide rails on the press. This makes it so the press rod stays more centered like a professional press. You could even go further and build some brackets to hold bearings. That would make it much more precise but not needed for my needs.

Peace, Jim

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 6:25 pm

Thanks for the replies. I'm just going to go for the 20 ton. It was what I was going to buy but after seeing them side by side the 12 looked like it would fit my space better. I'll just need to use more space...

Tom made a good point that you can get some wheels in the 20 ton for pressing in bearings. Also, it will be bigger and more accommodating for larger projects in the future, if they arise.

Jim, check out this link from Bucko. It's about someone adding an HF air bottle jack to their press..

https://youtu.be/oC63WyaoXN0

Thanks!