PALMGREN 9661051-1/2 Ton Arbor Press w/Depth Stop

I see a lot of complaints about things like "ram came installed upside down". In all honesty, it did not come installed upside down. This is an old school tool shop arbor press. These types of arbor presses were made to press parts together, bearings into place, or drift pins in or out of things. Leather working, ring making, and other uses are from people who found they could make use of these presses instead of buying expensive, dedicated presses for their specific work. Yes, this press comes with a ram with one end drilled to hold common bits for leather or light metal punching. But it wasn't designed for that use. It comes with the ram installed "upside down " because the majority of people who get a press like this are going to use the machined, flat end for tool shop needs, and not punching needs. Also most people who need a press like this, know that they need to disassemble it, clean it, and grease it internally before reassembly and use. A common and long standing method to help give friction to the arbor on a press like this, is to add a bit of sheet brass to the area behind the face plate. You will see a couple of bolts in the center of that plate. When you tighten those bolts, they press into the ram to add friction and prevent it from slipping. However the bolts are made of the same hardened steel as the arbor, so they tend to slip because of that. Place a strip of sheet brass in that area and it will greatly enhance the the effect of the two bolts and prevent gouging the face of the ram. This method has been in common use for over a century with these presses, and its not a fault. This press is of great value to tool shop users who need less that 3 tons. It's built to impressive standards for its price, offers useful extra features, and has a reasonably well finished work surface. If you're looking to use it for punching leather or metal work like ring or knife making, it will get the job done, and do it well. You will have to do a bit of extra work in its setup for those needs, but it's still way better than the cheaper arbor presses that are being sold for those uses.

This is a heavy duty arbor press....that says it all. Very smooth to operate. Zero "slop" anytime during the press cycle. We'll made...AND when you register for the 3 YEAR warranty, they will send "curved jaw pliers" (basically vice grips)....free. I mounted mine on a piece of 3/4" oak board, just laying around, trimmed to the footprint of the press, painted it grey to match the rest of my tool mounts. (Got the paint from Walmart that was mixed wrong and headed to a recycle plant, such a deal.) It's quality thru and thru....!

The press arrived well-packed, all parts included and it looks exactly like the picture. It was oiled enough to prevent rusting, but not excessively so. A quick wipe-down was all that was necessary to remove it. As others have mentioned, the ram is installed upside-down, but it's a five minute job to flip it over. It was easy to remove virtually all of the play from the ram at both ends of the travel. The edges of the cutouts in the plate are somewhat rough, so I'll need to do a little file work, but that's pretty much it. This is not a piece of precision machinery, but it's built well enough for its intended purpose. I'll be putting it to work next week after I make some custom tooling for it.

Does exactly what it was designed to do. I use it for making impressions on my leather work. Works way better than hitting the stamps with a hammer. Well finished without a lot of messy grease. They did neglect to send me the free pair of vise grip pliers as stated on the warranty card. I emailed them and had a reply next day and my free pliers came UPS in four days. Pretty good customer service if you ask me.

This small arbor press seems like it should be up to the task. I just have some concerns about QC at Palmgren. There is a stop collar that is secured with two Allen setscrews. In the picture you can see that only one has the hex socket required to actually tighten it. It is a minor detail and other than securing the collar does not affect the operation of this press but how does something like that slip through? UPDATE: Called C. H. Hanson, the manufacturer and was told that 'hardware items' are not available and that they could provide specs for it but I would need to obtain the setscrew from a hardware store. Waiting for a follow-up from the company.

For the price point, the quality is superb. I simply wanted to use one, not get berried under it. This press is way better than I expected, and is a lifetime investment (properly cared for), also, as a hobbyist, there is no reason to think my son wouldn't continue to use it long after I'm gone. If a fellow hobby person can use one of these in their ring making, I would definitely recommend looking into one.

I use it for leather stamping. The magnet in the ran is a great idea. I tapped a hole in the front of the ram and threaded a bolt in it. It helps hold the stamps steady while working.

I originally got this press because I reclaim pallet wood and other construction lumber, much of which can be old and before surface planing getting nails out was tedious and sometimes prying or pounding screwed up otherwise good wood - made a small block on my mill that fits into the press hole with a hole that accepts the end of a nail and just presses it out nice and easy - pull a pallet apart and you’ll find out just how many nails they tend to use, spirals are a pain too but not with the press, not to mention having pressed bearings and bushings already - one of those tools that once you have you find lots of uses for.