Buy it or Build it

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I have been wanting a shop press say about a 20 ton model. Harbor Freight has these pretty cheap so I went to the local HF store and they have one there that is 20 ton but is nothing more than some 3" or 4" channel and a jack. After seeing that I thought man I could build that pretty easily buy a jack and maybe even add some additional bracing to add some strength. At any rate I was wonder what your opinions are buy it or build it? I know that I probably won't save any money by building it and probably end up spending more than I would to buy it, but I would know that I built it so let me know your thoughts.
Reply:What is the price?Me!
Reply:This is a good topic, and I'm sure there are lots of opinions.I think that there are a couple of key points to consider...in no particular order1. Are you going to build exactly what you will buy, or do you need custom features?2.Will there be any real savings if you do it yourself?3.Will you get enough satisfaction building it to make it worth your time?4.How rich/poor are you and how valuable is your time?I fight this one all the time. My tendency is to build everything myself, but in the last few years, as I make more money and have less free time (to enjoy with my kids and wife) I have found that sometimes it is better just to buy things. It is often less expensive, especially if you start to figure your time and "opportunity cost".The one caveat is the "custom feature" factor. If it is something that I can't find easily, or does not do just what I want,  well then ... food for thought.
Reply:Here is the link to the HF 20 ton press I was looking at:http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=32879It is $199.99. As you can see it is about 4 or 5 pieces of c-channel some angle for the feet and a jack. Right now I was pretty much going to build the same thing as shown. I may add some additional gussets just for some extra strength, but probably not needed. The only other thing I might add is some sort of adjustable leveling feet that could be screwed up or down to keep it steady. I am not a pro by any means so I don't need a high quality press, but I always seem to have some project going on and a press would be handy at times. Like I said buying it would almost certainly cheaper, steel, a jack, powder coating the frame and such I don't think I could do it for $200. But then again it might be a good project to say I did it. Keep the opinions coming and any suggestions on how to build it would be great too.
Reply:What daddy said...Price it up, build v. buyYou can always add the options you mentioned to the HF press. Depending on what you have for tools drilling the holes on the sides is not exactly easy or fast.Me!
Reply:Originally Posted by Me!What daddy said...Price it up, build v. buyYou can always add the options you mentioned to the HF press. Depending on what you have for tools drilling the holes on the sides is not exactly easy or fast.
Reply:i purchesed that same unit  there was afew things i didnt like about the unit 'not enough supprt on the bottom of the unit needed beteer feet also i work on cranes ,excavators,and large steel crusher cranes,balers  the problem i have is its just not big enough the distance between the channel would be better a 36" so i cut mine up and rebuilt it the way it would work for me mainly to starighten large guards on the equipment that seem to always get tore up  lol. but it was a good starting point it was a lot faster to modify than to build from scratch
Reply:Originally Posted by daddyThis is a good topic, and I'm sure there are lots of opinions.I think that there are a couple of key points to consider...in no particular order1. Are you going to build exactly what you will buy, or do you need custom features?2.Will there be any real savings if you do it yourself?3.Will you get enough satisfaction building it to make it worth your time?4.How rich/poor are you and how valuable is your time?I fight this one all the time. My tendency is to build everything myself, but in the last few years, as I make more money and have less free time (to enjoy with my kids and wife) I have found that sometimes it is better just to buy things. It is often less expensive, especially if you start to figure your time and "opportunity cost".The one caveat is the "custom feature" factor. If it is something that I can't find easily, or does not do just what I want,  well then ... food for thought.
Reply:IMHO, if you are going to build a 20-ton model, you might as well build a 50 ton. sure, the ram/piston will be harder to find and more expensive, but if you look at the prices for a 20-ton and a 50-ton from HF, the difference is huge. when i priced mine out, and engineered the bracing for a bench-top model, the only real difference between the price for building one was the piston. as long as your welder can handle the i-beams, you can build a 50-ton bench-top press for a fraction of buying one. the real problem that you have here seems to only be a problem when you are talking about the smaller models. besides, if you ever want to make a little press brake, it would be nice to have a 50-ton rather than a 20 ton for those 1/4" SS jobs Later,Andy
Reply:Seems like buying and then modifying to suit particular need would be the easiest/cheapest route.  The consideration I have is would I rather spend more to build it myself using American made parts, or buy complete and send my money to China?  Unfortunately, when money is tight, China starts looking better.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Originally Posted by DesertRider33Seems like buying and then modifying to suit particular need would be the easiest/cheapest route.  The consideration I have is would I rather spend more to build it myself using American made parts, or buy complete and send my money to China?  Unfortunately, when money is tight, China starts looking better.
Reply:I bought a 20 ton rated press from Post tool years ago. It's similar to the HF ones. With the ram and all, I would have spent close to the $200 it cost so I bought one. I've never been sorry. You do need to have a big drill press to buile one as mine has 1" rod to support the adjustable table. There are several settings with holes on each side at each level. I'm sure I could build one but it would be time-consuming.
Reply:ITC member price is $189.97.  Not much off, but you can get 2 gallons of diesel with that!