I purchased a cheap Chinese crystal press when I took up watch repairing/refurbishing a few years ago, this was one of the lever operated type with nylon dies. This has served me very well, but there are some jobs that a screw type of press is far better for because of the more sensitive control.
Being a canny Scot, I kept an eye on eBay for a second hand Robur or Horotec and stumbled across this antique home made press for £14 delivered.
The engineer in me immediately saw the potential, all it needed was stripped down, modified to take new dies and repainted.
The other thing that was required was a set of new aluminium dies, so after a search on AliExpress I purchased these for £26 delivered from China.
Right, down to business.
(1) Modify the lower die holder to accept the 6mm threaded alloy dies.
(2) Make an adaptor to fit the bottom of the ram with a 6mm thread to take the dies.
(3) Machine the lower end of the pillar to give clearance for the largest die.
(4) Accurise the dies to ensure that the faces are parallel. Many were slightly out of truth.
(5) Remove paint and rust from press, paint and polish.
(6) Reassemble.
Total cost of complete set £40.................well pleased!