Tools - Arbor Press Mod

Arbor Press Modification

Nov. 6, 2107

NOTE - See this related page for other arbor press mods : https://sites.google.com/site/lagadoacademy/machining---lathes-mills-etc/review---arbor-press

This is a quick and simple modification to a Harbor Freight arbor press, to improve usability. See here for the origin of the idea:

• youtube video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFfx2_bj104
• youtube video : https://youtu.be/hOy13DcjV-w
• Write-up by John Sparber : http://rick.sparber.org/TJAP.pdf

The modification is very simple - grind off two teeth on the arbor press rack to provide a "ratcheting" effect to enable easy handle angle adjustment (watch the video to see how this works).

I modified the idea slightly - instead of grinding off two teeth, I used a round-nose end mill to remove a section of the arbor press rack just below the bottom tooth. This gave me the same ratcheting effect without sacrificing any of the rack travel. Warning: I checked my arbor press before making this mod to be sure the rack would still function properly after the modification. Since not all arbor presses are the same, make sure ahead of time that this will work for your arbor press.

Also, I am not including any measurement details on this mod, as adjustment needs to b made for every type of arbor press. In my case, I made a conservative estimate, taking out a section about equal to the space of two teeth, and it worked on the first try.

Here are before and after photos of the rack showing the milled section.

Here's a close-up of the milled section.