Thread: Servex HP 30 Press

The local high school is down sizing their workshop, so I picked up a couple of new toys.

The Servex press is in a fantastic condition,it still has all the paint on the pump handle so it has done bugger all work. It is very solid and nicely made. The crank to raise and lower the bed and the thread on the main ram are both very useful features.

Most of the black on the paint work in 40 years of baked on oil and cutting fluid mist, which will clean up nicely.

Everthing seems to be working well, except the ram will not return home for the last 20mm. The ram had some dryed up oil on it so I cleaned that thinking that was the problem but it still is not returning...Any ideas?

Does anyone have a manual for a Servex press and know what oil I should use to top it up?

Cheers

Piers

Hi Piers,
Congratulations on the new toy, is that from the Etty St site? If so I reckon I would have used that press when I went to school there back in the 1980's when it was a Tech School.
I've got a pdf manual I can post up later tonight if one doesn't appear before then, it's only a couple of pages but they're a pretty simple machine.
Are the return springs still under tension when the ram stops short? It might be worth adjusting them a bit tighter to see if that helps.
I use ISO68 hydraulic oil in mine and it works fine, make sure you don't top it up with the ram extended or you'll end up with a nice mess.
Cheers,
Greg.

Servex recommend a light mineral oil approximately equivalent to ISO 32, so it's not critical what you use. 4.1 litres total.

Hi Piers,
It's more of an exploded parts list than a manual but hopefully this is of some use.

Servex HP30 Press Parts List.pdf

Cheers,
Greg.

Originally Posted by kwijibo99

is that from the Etty St site? If so I reckon I would have used that press when I went to school there back in the 1980's when it was a Tech School.

Are the return springs still under tension when the ram stops short? It might be worth adjusting them a bit tighter to see if that helps.

I use ISO68 hydraulic oil in mine and it works fine, make sure you don't top it up with the ram extended or you'll end up with a nice mess.
Cheers,
Greg.

Yes Greg, it was from Etty St. I have also picked up a Lincoln 250 AC/DC Tig welder that you probably used as well You were probably the only person using it as they have very little wear.... The guy I bought it off got it as a job lot. He also got a very nice Italian milling machine which I think has pretty much been sold.

the springs look to still be under tension but I will see if I can adjust them.

does your press have the original Vee plates and the pump handle extension? If yes I would be interested in some dimensions as will need to make them up as they are missing from mine.

Thanks very much for the Parts diagram.

Cheers

Piers

Got a picture of the tig? .

Originally Posted by achjimmy

Got a picture of the tig? .

p

sorry about the rotation. When ever I take a picture with my phone no mater what I do it doesn't come out the right way....

Cheers

Piers

Originally Posted by Piers037

The local high school is down sizing their workshop, so I picked up a couple of new toys.

The Servex press is in a fantastic condition,it still has all the paint on the pump handle so it has done bugger all work. It is very solid and nicely made. The crank to raise and lower the bed and the thread on the main ram are both very useful features.

Most of the black on the paint work in 40 years of baked on oil and cutting fluid mist, which will clean up nicely.

Everthing seems to be working well, except the ram will not return home for the last 20mm. The ram had some dryed up oil on it so I cleaned that thinking that was the problem but it still is not returning...Any ideas?

Does anyone have a manual for a Servex press and know what oil I should use to top it up?

Cheers

Piers

You tinny ar$ed Bar$ted, how I would like one of those, especially in that condition. At a place I worked at for some years, they had a 60tonne version, and it was a ripper, and is the one I would prefer over yours, as once or twice I was on the limit of the 60 tonnes before the part moved. That said a 30 tonner would do 99% of what I am likely to need now, and require less real estate as well. As for plates, just keep your eyes open for some 20 or 25mm plate, and cut pairs of plates,100 or 150mm wide and long enough to bridge the table. Also look out for heavy walled tube of differing diameters, to make hollow supports, into which pins etc can be pushed, while the workpiece is supported. Big sockets might fill the position in the meantime. I have just realised what you probably meant by V plates. If you want to fold sheet metal, or flat bar, you could make a V plate with some channel supported by suitable flat plate, and in the channel which would be open side facing up, lay some heavy angle iron also facing up. Just stitch weld together and your done. You still need a knife tool to be mounted on the ram so that you can push into the V, that design really depends on what you want to do.
As for the ram not returning all the way, are you sure that it is just not fitted with a longer shaft which still protrudes when the ram is fully retracted. Does it have enough travel to just exceed the distance between holes for the table support pins? If it does, my guess is that there is no problem, of course if it moves 130mm and the pitch of the table support pins is 150mm say, then there is an issue. In that case I would have a good look for some foreign object, a nut, bolt or bit of scrap stopping the return stroke before it got home. It is hard to imagine some internal fault in the cylinder being the cause, not impossible but unlikely I would think, so I would be looking for an external cause first. Good luck, but if it all gets too much, I think that I could squeeze it into my ute when I get over to the mainland in a few months time, and get it out of your way.
Oh if it is the same as the 60 tonner, you have a fast pump and a slow but higher pressure pump, and as I recall, there was provision for pipe extensions, they were never needed, but 1/2" or 3/4" pipe would have fitted I think.

I have just purchased a used SERVEX HP30ton press.

Does anyone have an operation or service manual of these they could share?

Also I need to know if the top LH wheel that the wire rope for the deck height adjustment system , should be bent in or is it parallel to the frame like the RH one?

Mine has been left outside and it has filled the oil reservoir with water , which I assume has been pumped through the system? Does anyone know the best way to clean the system out and how much oil and grade?

I only tested this the once before I purchased it and when the press was pumped down onto a solid block of wood with the pump handle the handle would rise and the pressure would back off on the ram. I couldn't get it to go much over a few tons on the gauge on top. Does anyone know if this is something wrong or possibly just the water in the oil?

Thanks in advance for any information.

EDIT - I forgot to add if anyone has any dimensions for the pump handle and info or dimensions on the bed plates (arbor plates) would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Ok I rang CEM (03) 9309 4822 who used to be SERVEX and they were kind enough to send me a operations manual and spare parts list on the HP30 , HP30MKII , HP60 & HP60MKII. (the MKII is the one you can move the head across on - man that would be a nice feature. Wonder if they can be converted??)

I tried to upload the file (1.9MB) but it said it was an invalid file. (too big???)

I was told MAXON MACHINERY Ph: 02 4950 6611 , were the people to buy parts from. (where do you all get your parts from??)

Originally Posted by carserv

Also I need to know if the top LH wheel that the wire rope for the deck height adjustment system , should be bent in or is it parallel to the frame like the RH one

I will take a picture next time I am out at my workshop.

Cheers

Piers

carserv, any chance of putting the file on here, someone else might be able to open it, plus I like seeing how things work.
Regards
Kryn

G'day caresrv, if there's water in the system the only way to get rid of it is to strip it down which is pretty straight forward. You want to get rid of any water before things start to rust internally. The loss of pressure could be dirt or possibly rust on a check ball in the pump.
When I rebuilt mine Bursons stocked a kit with cups for ram & pump and gland packing but that was probably twelve years ago.
Cheers,
Greg.

G'day Piers, sorry I never responded to your question, I missed the post for some reason.
I didn't get a set of V plates with my press, I just use a couple of pieces of 1.25" plate among a bunch of other random bits and pieces.
I think the extention handle is just 3/4" gal pipe or thereabouts, I haven't made one up yet.
Cheers,
Greg.

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

carserv, any chance of putting the file on here, someone else might be able to open it, plus I like seeing how things work.
Regards
Kryn

KBs in my earlier post I had advised I was UNABLE to post it.....

Best bet would be to contact Maxon Machinery Company on (02) 49506611 - Neil Adams was the guy I was speaking with.

Good Luck