Anyone here ever restore a Dake 501 Arbor Press?

[hammernanvil]

I’ve been working on stripping the paint
off mine and I’m to the point where I
want to remove the two swing-out arms.

I guess both arms and the solid rod sit
In the pocket at the base, but my
question is about the Lead, that’s been
poured on the top of the arm that covers
the top part of the rod, and whether or
not it’s affecting the removal of the arm
that bolts to the main body of the press.

I believe it’s lead, seems too soft to be
babbit bearing material but then I don’t
really know how soft babbit is.

There is one set/locking screw in the
bottom pocket, other than that I see no
other locking screws, just the lead in
the top arm.
Any help is appreciated.

[hammernanvil]

[nickel-city-fab]

All of the big Dake presses that I've seen (not many) had the lead to catch whatever was being pressed out and avoid chipping or damaging anything. It shouldn't be too hard to remove. Worst-case scenario, melt it out and collect it. Re-pour it back in when the job is done. Easiest scenario: undo and screws and lift it out.

[gambler]

I have no good advice, however, I use my 4 ton arbor press so often I can't imagine not having one.

[Tundra Twin Track]

On my Dake 6 25 ton the pin is fixed to top support no set screw but with Lead or Babbit and bottom has eccentric for adjusting if needed with set screw.The 2 tables pivot on shaft which also are Lead or Babbit filled,the filling is bonded to cast tables but rotates on thru shaft.

Does yours have serial # , mine does not but I know it’s between 1946-1955 as it’s Dake Engine Co. Dake Corp started in 1956 to present.

[hammernanvil]

It has one number on the side but It doesn’t appear to be a serial number.
it’s: Z12CS

other than that just the Dake 501
and Grand Haven Michigan.

[hammernanvil]

I noticed that yours has the abbreviation “Mich”
Where “Michigan” is spelled out on mine.

[Tundra Twin Track]

I looks like Corp directly above Haven in pic,I was assuming Dake Corp.

[hammernanvil]

It’s been a while since I started this thread and
the Press has been done for 2 or 3 months I
guess, maybe more so I figure I ought to post
a couple completed pics minus the name tags.

[Tundra Twin Track]

Nice Job Hammervil,highlighted letters stand out looks Brand New.

[hammernanvil]

Thanks, and the Hand wheel and brake knob/wheel are both powder coated.

[hammernanvil]

Unfortunately when you zoom in on the paint it
doesn’t really look that good but, I completely
stripped every bit of old paint off of it, so the crap
you see in the paint is the casting itself.

[mattthemuppet]

that's a beauty, I bet it's a joy to use! I've often wished for a bit more oomf than my smaller 3 ton can give, but less than I get from my hydraulic press...

[hammernanvil]

that's a beauty, I bet it's a job to use! I've often wished for a bit more oomf than my smaller 3 ton can give, but less than I get from my hydraulic press...

A job to use? It’s a 15 Ton compound press.
By sliding the pin from the left to the right or vise
versa, you can go from 7 Tons to 15 Tons, so it’s
not hard to use.

[oxford]

Unfortunately when you zoom in on the paint it
doesn’t really look that good but, I completely
stripped every bit of old paint off of it, so the crap
you see in the paint is the casting itself.

It’s looks good. If you get that far on a project you should have just smoothed the casting out with body filler and doesn’t take much work to get it 80-90% better.

This is common practice on machine tool castings.