...hey man so glad you are here...my question refers to the high five manual press...had mine since oct 16..don't use it weekly...maybe couple times a month...but it has been sweet...I lubricate mine all time.. the moving parts ...I have seen no evidence of degradation ...should I be concerned?...above the normal existential concern I feel anyways?...thanks man.
That is a very good question man. I am also happy to see you here at our new haunt :D
For those who are not aware, I think we need to bring in my friend
@SamuraiSam (when he gets a moment) to the discussion to share his buddy's experiences with the teeth on the arbor press section. If I recall correctly, this component (a metal rail with interlocking teeth which serves as the tightening mechanism on the press) appeared to have been constructed out of inadequately strong metal and during use, the press snapped off some of these metal teeth violently. Sam, please correct any aspect of this account that I may have gotten wrong.
This is a very concerning issue to emerge with a press. In an arbor press that was not being used for rosin, this would be no less concerning.
@turk Do you do smaller, or larger presses yourself my friend?
If you stress the components more trying to press a lot of material at once, you are more likely to experience breakage of course. This is only an issues I have heard of in the one case admittedly, but this is a very serious issue (there is a risk of sharp pieces of metal being sent flying outward from the press at the user or anyone else nearby). I would exercise caution and I would at this stage recommend users to try something else if they are looking to buy now (just in case!). However, we cannot be sure if this is a one-off problem or a fundamental design issue and so as Sam recommended, I do suggest wearing safety goggles while you use the press just in case.
The following is one of
@SamuraiSam's buddy's photos of the damage:
Be careful brother, I don't wanna hear of you catching shrapnel from your press!