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05-31-2024, 11:06 PM
Sorry for the confusion, it's the bore of the ram not the bore of the adapter bushing that is crooked. I thought that the ram came stock with a bored hole so I didn't check for bore squareness when I bought it used. It appears now that the ram bore isn't stock, and it was DIY'd.
As to why I'd have the hole in the ram squared, it was in part a pre-emptive measure so that if I think of anything to do later with the press (you mentioned flanging captive nuts?) I can put whatever tool I need into the squared hole. Also, I thought it might be easier and cheaper for the machine shop to square the hole first before making the custom staking tool. Otherwise the custom staking tool will need to have a kink in it since the portion of the tool sticking out of the ram will need to be at an angle to portion inside the bore of the ram, and I'm not sure how easy that would be to mill/spin on a lathe. Since the exterior of the ram is square from the factory, they could just(?) chuck the ram into the lathe/mill and start cutting. But, I'm not a machinist so what do I know. Figured I'd ask the shop what they recommended cost-wise.
The other thing I was thinking was to shim it, like you mentioned. In this case since the bore of the ram is what's crooked, that'd mean using a drill to add some play to the fit between the bore and the bushing and then adding the shims between the two. If that doesn't work out though, them I'm left with a too-big hole, and not being a machinist I don't know how fixable that would be.
As to why I'd have the hole in the ram squared, it was in part a pre-emptive measure so that if I think of anything to do later with the press (you mentioned flanging captive nuts?) I can put whatever tool I need into the squared hole. Also, I thought it might be easier and cheaper for the machine shop to square the hole first before making the custom staking tool. Otherwise the custom staking tool will need to have a kink in it since the portion of the tool sticking out of the ram will need to be at an angle to portion inside the bore of the ram, and I'm not sure how easy that would be to mill/spin on a lathe. Since the exterior of the ram is square from the factory, they could just(?) chuck the ram into the lathe/mill and start cutting. But, I'm not a machinist so what do I know. Figured I'd ask the shop what they recommended cost-wise.
The other thing I was thinking was to shim it, like you mentioned. In this case since the bore of the ram is what's crooked, that'd mean using a drill to add some play to the fit between the bore and the bushing and then adding the shims between the two. If that doesn't work out though, them I'm left with a too-big hole, and not being a machinist I don't know how fixable that would be.
