A few years ago I did just what Grant suggested.

I bought a 1 ton and a 1/2 ton press for the plant. Then found a
length of scrap square steel tube that would fit over the end of the
ram. The wall as fairly thick. I drilled and tapped one wall for a
thumb screw. Then cut out a bottom plate to fit inside the tube and
welded in place. I made up several of these at one time.

When I needed to press PEM nuts into a circuit board, I drilled and
tapped the bottom plate of one adapter and screwed in the PEM nut tool
I made to actually contact the nut.

In other cases, I have machined a driver for various electronic cable
connectors and welded them to an adapter. This way, any of the
employees can easily put the correct tool on the press.

You will soon realize you also need to make fixturing for the other
side of the operation. That is when things begin to get interesting.

We never have used the 1/2 ton press.


Paul

Grant Erwin wrote in message ...
That's a very common thing to do. You might also consider milling off
(or grinding off) the very end tooth. That way, you can lift the ram
all the way up and then position the handle wherever you want and
then reengage it. It's a poor-man's ratcheting arbor press setup.

If you have welding skills you can also weld up fittings with square
sockets which fit over the end of the ram and clamp on -- that allows
you to avoid machining your ram itself.

Grant

Gene T wrote:
Hi all,
I purchased a small cheap arbor press to use around the house for odd jobs.
I would like to make different inserts that would attach to the end of the
ram. What would be the best way to do this. I thought of boring a hole in
the end to accept the shank of the insert and tapping a small hole on the
side to insert a thumb screw to hold the insert in. Does that sound like a
decent idea or is there a better way?