# Finished refurbishing my Greenerd 3A arbor press



## Axismatt (Jan 9, 2021)

I bought it at auction for $80... seemed like a steal.  When I arrived, it was way filthier than the lot photo showed, which is normal.  It had a fair amount of surface rust on all unfinished surfaces, and the grease was so old that it was bound.  Took it home, hit it with some purple power, freed it up and went to work on the surface rust.   In the end, it needed nothing but a deep cleaning.  I polished and/or blued all unfinished components, painted it to match the rest of my tools in the shop, and voila.  

The first two pics are after I scrubbed it down and got the ram out.  It has an original Greenerd stand.  All in all, I'm happy with it.


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## Braeden P (Jan 9, 2021)

Nice steal on that!


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## NCjeeper (Jan 9, 2021)

Came out nice.


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## akjeff (Jan 10, 2021)

Nice job!


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## Janderso (Jan 10, 2021)

Yeah,
You really do suck. $80? Are you serious?


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## Axismatt (Jan 11, 2021)

Janderso said:


> Yeah,
> You really do suck. $80? Are you serious?




My bad... It was $85 plus hammer fees.  Still, I think $109 is a bargain.


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## Janderso (Jan 11, 2021)

!! $109, that's more like it. (sigh)


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## 7milesup (Jan 11, 2021)

That is awesome.  I love the color.  Hard to tell though if it is red or orange.   My brother (now deceased) painted a LOT of stuff in his shop Hemi orange.  He loved that color.
I am in the process of restoring a Wilton bullet vise.  
What parts did you blue?  I have a nickel anode coming.  Going to try my hand at nickel plating.


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## Nogoingback (Jan 11, 2021)

80 bucks for a 3 ton?  You stole that thing...


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## Axismatt (Jan 11, 2021)

7milesup said:


> That is awesome.  I love the color.  Hard to tell though if it is red or orange.   My brother (now deceased) painted a LOT of stuff in his shop Hemi orange.  He loved that color.
> I am in the process of restoring a Wilton bullet vise.
> What parts did you blue?  I have a nickel anode coming.  Going to try my hand at nickel plating.




Really, the only items I blued instead of polishing, were the button head bolt and washer that keep the drive from sliding out.  Those items were not worth the trouble to polish, but raw metal color just wont do.  The ram, handle and drive were polished.  Not a lot of parts to it.


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## Axismatt (Jan 11, 2021)

7milesup said:


> That is awesome.  I love the color.  Hard to tell though if it is red or orange.   My brother (now deceased) painted a LOT of stuff in his shop Hemi orange.  He loved that color.
> I am in the process of restoring a Wilton bullet vise.
> What parts did you blue?  I have a nickel anode coming.  Going to try my hand at nickel plating.




I agree with you on the color being less than ideal for a resell item.  On all the other tools I find a sell, I color match the factory colors... like Sail Blue for Kurt vises, dark grey for Dake arbor presses, etc.  I chose this color because it matches my shop.  I'm a bit of a dork about my work space.  I've always liked it to be part shop, part operating theater, as it doubles for a man cave and reloading room.  Here's a few pics.  It's not as tidy as usual, but I received a pile of tools to turn and it has been a frenzy of stripping and cleaning stuff.  Attached are a few pics. including a Dayton buffer I finished last week, before and after.


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## RJ-Jr (Jan 12, 2021)

Real nice press! A definite steal for $100. The stand is solid too. I have a Greenerd 3 press and seeing yours makes me want to paint it! Looks like we both are missing the wheel plate. I contacted greenerd and they wanted around $100 for a replacement


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## Toolmaker51 (Jan 14, 2021)

All the compliments offered apply; terrific paint finish and all.............arbor presses are under appreciated, their rams beat by clumsy apprentices with steel hammers, handles bent with cheater pipes, never lubed...... This detracts nothing from the work so far, but there are so many improvements [for this or most of our equipment] completely within scope of a home shop. 
Yes, at same time I'm a thorn in the side of less than full usability.
Paint is no issue, a great reminder to use things with care. Cart mounted too, I fully understand all the restrictions imposed by walls.

1] The mount location is less than optimum. Notice it's 'feet', underside toward front of base. That is the normal protrusion from edge, allowing increased sizes from underneath; like pressing an axle bearing, while the wheel flange doesn't impede alignment. Whatever tonnage, the extension's casting has sufficient reinforcement.

2] I don't know why a stop clamp isn't standard equipment with arbor presses. Easily made for square arbors, round identical, just a different approach. Depending on tooth size [pitch] measure that spacing over 2 rods at least 1 tooth apart. Deduct one diameter, that's  center-to-center distance, of 3 pitches in this case. Use cap or hex screws, long enough so threads don't land in teeth. Make a 2 piece clamp [milled if square, bored if round] large enough for a vertical stop adjustment screw. This enables work like building a nesting fixture, keeping pins at equal height.

3] You'll get good use adding the slotted platen as suggested in post #12.  For $100 bucks though, better off turning out your own, probably 4 at that price and rolled not cast material. Measure throat from the pin hole back for diameter, and pin forward to arbor centerline.  Widest slot just bigger that in base, intermediates all your choice, or research common sizes offered. Largest possible diameter will need a small chamfer underneath to clear fillet where table meets upright. Drill those center locations, saw or mill out remainder.
Many users have a fixture plate as well; rectangular by depth and width of choice, retained by 2 SHCS [socket head cap screw] counterbored below flush. Flat head, not best choice. Great in shaft straightening, not juggling V blocks and part; without sprouting added appendages. Not to mention wardrobe issues, lol. 

4] During heavy use, casters might be troublesome, locking trucks might help. The best combo of maneuverability switches out front two for equal height stand-offs. Add two removable or extendable wheelbarrow type handles, usually tubing within tubing. Roll out when and where needed, steer back into it's minimum parking spot.

5] Well yes, of course there are more!


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## Axismatt (Jan 14, 2021)

I appreciate your critique.  There's always something to learn, but...

1]  The stand is the original Greenerd stand that came with the press.  I completely understand what you are saying about the "feet"... the ridge of casting that elevates the press a bit from the deck, but I am simply using the factory mount holes.  I would actually prefer to drill new mount holes forward of the stock ones to accomplish what you are saying, so that I can install a vise behind it, making the vise mobile with the press, as well as adding a bit of counter balance to the back of the unit.  Just not done yet, but moving the press forward will give me about 8" to work with back there... more than enough for a small vise, or maybe a grinder with wire and scotchbrite wheel, which get used a lot in my shop.  

2]  Funny you mention a stop clamp, as I just found a collar that I plan to use for just this application.  The ram is about 3/4 of a full round, minus the teeth cut in the back, so a collar will work perfectly for this.  As usual, I have packed some leather wads behind the grub screw to eliminate metal to metal contact... I just haven't picked up a matching knob like the one I used for the handle lock, whish also has leather wads under it.

3]  I've got my eyes peeled for the slotted platen.  I'm not in a hurry, as I have a variety of dies that offer support and clearance for whatever I need to press.  If I strike out finding one, I have a nice slab of 1" plate I have considered machining for this application.  My thought was to mill several varying slots (maybe 8 to 10, in increments) to accommodate more diameters, rather than limiting myself to the standard 4 or 5 slot platens you generally see.  There's more than enough meat to pull it off, while still having ample strength.

4]  On to the castors.  All the castors I buy are full lock style, so the wheels AND the swivels lock.  Every piece of equipment I own is on them, and they are all rock solid and stable.  I simply roll it out, kick the castors into the position that gives me the largest foot print (even bigger than the actual stand would offer), and lock them.  There's nothing better than being able to spin a machine in it's own shadow to give you the best use of space, especially when working on something clumbsy or stupidly long.  Even on my current drill press and air compressor, the castors (when locked) give me better stability and there's no vibration in the floor.  It's amazing how quietly I can work at 2 a.m. without waking the family.  Also, cleaning the floors is a cinch when everything can be pulled away from the walls.

5]  Well yes, I'm sure there's more.  There's always room for improvement, and I love that everyone here is so helpful and respectful.  Thanks for your notes... if not for me, for others who might read them and be inspired to make improvements in their own shops.


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## Axismatt (Jan 14, 2021)

Also, I was thinking about building a pilot wheel.  Any thoughts on this idea?  It's rare that I am pushing this unit to it's limits, so a wheel seems like a cool feature for general use.


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## Toolmaker51 (Jan 14, 2021)

> _I appreciate your critique.  There's always something to learn, but..........<snipped>
> 
> 5]  Well yes, I'm sure there's more.  There's always room for improvement, and I love that everyone here is so helpful and respectful.  Thanks for your notes... if not for me, for others who might read them and be inspired to make improvements in their own shops_



Yes happily, always more. If anything gets me going, is to bust my mentor groove. Often my posts support OP with personal experience, yet address entire readership. Well into an all new project that extends my personal shop goal; starting a teaching environment.

I missed the wheel locks, despite checking, the post is press centered, not casters.

I find pilot wheels bothersome, that interferes loading of parts. Also, when I run across one so equipped, it's always over-priced or over-bid. Next stop is a restaurant entry way or goofy steampunk loft decor.  More below.........

A collar is a reasonable stop, can be set a little easier than my set-screw. I press pins to height using low-grade pins as gauge blocks, to set the stop.
Another taps a good sized hole at the ram's business end. Special tooling, such as forming, can be attached and interchanged simply.

How about the bar handle? I like a row of shallow drill-point pockets retain desired leverage position, without so much tension on the set screw.

One more for the road. Some presses have a pinion long enough that it can be withdrawn sufficiently to get handle angle as you like it. Normally a barrel extension, hand wheel, a coil spring, a slotted washer; or other means to allow movement not falling out and re-engaging the rack and pinion. Just a step under ratchet handle for convenience.


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## Axismatt (Jan 15, 2021)

"I find pilot wheels bothersome, that interferes loading of parts."

I hadn't considered this.  I thought the wheel would be nice because there's always a handle at the best position, or close enough.  Which leads me to: "Some presses have a pinion long enough...".  No, in order to change position, I'd have to remove the bolt and washer.  But it gives me an idea for adapting a spring, almost like a light valve spring, sitting in two cupped washers on a long shoulder bolt, in place of the existing bolt and washer.  I could then pull the handle outboard until the teeth are disengaged and turn to suit.

"How about the bar handle? I like a row of shallow drill-point pockets retain desired leverage position, without so much tension on the set screw."  My favorite solution is a plug of leather, say 1/4" thick at most, shoved down the threaded hole between the bar handle and the grub screw or knob.  Leather is firm enough to positively hold the bar, soft enough to slide smoothly when the knob is backed off a tish, and there's never any marring.  At worst, the leather polishes little stripes in the bar.  This works on almost any grub screw application, especially when you run the risk of the grub screw burring threads (like collars on machine vise lead screws, if you've ever lost the thread protector that the factory installs in them.

This conversation has been fun, Sensei.


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## Toolmaker51 (Jan 15, 2021)

You've the right idea on retracting the pinion, long spring and shop-made bolt, with a counterbored and slotted washer makes a neat trick. Best of all, no rules. That kills inventiveness, then creativity faster than anything I know. One kind of fun for me is relaying design info via text, without a drawing. Written clearly it only points, without leading. A signature of mine, used on another forum says _"We learn more wandering, than by searching"._

Yes, a leather plug works. Plastics; no. Non-ferrous materials, usually, I like aluminum the best. Next, some find lead works too, not as hot on slick chrome sometimes.

Lol, I'm no Sensei; just lots of history under astounding mentors.


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