Arbor Press

[maxwell_smart007]

Going to the big city soon, and since many people seem to use an arbor press as a pen press, I'm going to pick one up and give it a try...

Anything specific to look for? 1 ton should be plenty, eh?

 

[wolftat]

I bought one a while back and my pen press has about 3" of sawdust on it. I am using an ancient beat up one ton and won't ever go back.

 

[loglugger]

1/2 ton is enough.
Bob

 

[bradh]

The opening distance is more important than the tonnage. Some people go with a larger arbor just because they open further.

 

[PenPal]

007 I agree with Brad the tonnage who cares but the opening gap matters.I mounted mine at eye height for my sit down bench so I can line the pen parts by eye when pressing,this saves splits etc also you can control the depth of the winding mech better.
Having said that by chucking away the anvil bottom you can recess the new centre base to create more height. Also the weight and price difference may astound you.
When buying check the squareness of the throw on the pressing part,I had to reverse mine to acheive squareness and resleeve the centre housing to acheive a reasonable accuracy.
Some have artificial housing bolts,I prefer actual ones to set the travel smoothly.
Lastly I fit 1/4 inch Corian to the anvil and the bottom of the arm to protect the pen parts.
Have fun Peter