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Other than blowing north of ton on a unior or park headset press. Anyone seen any decent ones for a good price? Or do I just need to bite the bullet?
I squeezed my angleset in with a threaded rod and washers last night but I want something to make the job a bit less sweary next time. It's done me a few headsets but the washers are all bent up now and I use it far more often than I expected to.
I've got the X told one, was about 40 quid. Find zs56 even though it says it won't. Really good, so much better than washers, bar, and hammers.
A length of M12 threaded rod, 3 nuts, 2 big flange washers and a couple of drilled wood leftovers.
You're welcome
I’m in the market for something proper as well, used threaded bar with washers, nuts and wood before and I don’t think it’s a good way of doing it! I’ve even used m18 bar and made washer from sheet steel. If I had a lathe maybe I could make top hat washers to use but that’s not an option! Be nice if one had the ability to do bottom brackets as well!
Was recommended this one on here a while ago and having used it I’d recommend.
https://www.bearingprotools.com/products/headset-cup-press
Found this...
https://www.bearingprotools.com/products/headset-cup-pressThat looks a step up from what I was using by virtue of having proper drifts that fit the bearings. Seen a few others at decent prices but only 1-1/8.
@submarined - xtools one looks good, but does it have drifts that fit a 1.5 bottom cup properly? That is my issue with washers - they move.
I've got the X-Tools one. More than good enough for 'hobbyist' use.
I've got the Bearing Pro Tools one linked above and I've mixed feelings about it. I should point out it's the only headset press tool I've used so I've nothing to compare it to and I've only used it to install two headsets.
I bought the version with bearings and drifts as it seemed like a better option than washers and spanners, they seem nicely made and work well but as the bearing and washer stack is loose it can be fiddly to thead onto the bar and it's easy to drop a washer. It's by no means a deal breaker though.
My biggest issue is that the drifts for me at least were a slightly loose fit in the headset cups, so the cups always seemed to start going in at a slight angle rather than perfectly square. When I installed a 1 1/8" hope headset this was less of a problem, but fitting a Selcof headset into a tappered steerer it took me a few attempts to get it in square and I ended up starting fitting the cups with the press then gently correcting any misalignment with a small rubber mallet when the cup started going in at an angle. This worked well but I expected a press to negate the need for doing this.
I've not fitted many headsets so it could be user error and I was able to fit the headsets without any damage but it was frustrating.
The beauty of the Bearing Pro Tools setup though is that they sell drifts for other bearings too, so once you've got the bar and handles you can just buy the drifts you need. I bought a set for hub bearings when I got the headset press and they've been great. I've also used the headset drifts and old bearings as drifts when fitting new bearings to a different hub that I didn't have the drifts for, so the press has proved more versatile than I thought it would.
The Bearing Pro looks good especially as I already have the T handles
Know any toolmakers/ machinists? Those presses are an easy peasy job , made from scrap bin material. If you cross their palms with beer, fags or whatever their poison is, I'm sure they'd knock you one up in a jiffy.
Agree with Dress I bought that press and struggled more than my homemade press which has had massive use, I could not get the head cups to sit square, actually bent the thread rod.
I've got the park one and it's great to use much better than my old Cyclus press, but, not for angle sets...they twist, can't be helped. So I use the gentle hammer and wooden block method for those.
I squeezed my angleset in with a threaded rod and washers
Not sure how you managed that. I've just got an angleset, and wasn't able to press the cups in because of the, er, angle. The press was trying to push them in squint. I had to resort to using a hammer. I was trying to fit one cup at a time - thinking about it now I wonder if it would have worked better with both cups in.
I've got a press, I've got a humungous vice, I made a homemade press... I use a rubber mallet.
Theres a serious lack of presses that can centre a ZS56 lower cup, how hard can it be to make an attachment that replicates a 52mm bearing but with an ID to match the rod.
I'm happy with the Cyclus press I bought. It's the 1" & 1/1/8th" version but if you hunt around a variety of other press ring sizes are available.
@sl200 it needed some assistance with a mallet and an additional clamp to straight it up. So not press alone. It sounds like even with a good press I would have the same issues with an angleset. But I do enough headsets to warrant a decent one anyway.
Isn't that BearingPro one just for the bearing installation, not for the headset cup installation?
Isn’t that BearingPro one just for the bearing installation, not for the headset cup installation?
The bearings in every headset I've worked on just push in by hand. It's for the cups. The stepped press should ideally match the size of the bearing that would fit the cup to encourage the cup to go squarely into the frame
That's my experience too, but if you read the blurb it refers to pressing the bearings in, not the cups. Obvs if someone's used it and it works fine, ignore me, but if it's not being marketed as cup press, is it suitable?