Small component work - bearings, bushes, pins, terminals and instrument parts - carried out at a comfortable working height rather than at floor level. It is the tool for the many small pressing jobs that a large floor press handles slowly and awkwardly, and it earns its bench space in any shop doing them regularly.

An arbor press is mechanical, driven by a hand lever, and is faster and cheaper for very light work but gives no force readout and less control near its limit. A hydraulic bench press applies force progressively, can hold it, and shows what is being applied on a gauge.

Modest, and deliberately so - these are sized for component work rather than for straightening or heavy interference fits. Attempting a job beyond the rating either fails to move the part or damages the press, so the capacity should be matched to the small end of the work honestly.

Because alignment is most of the skill in pressing, and aligning a small component at eye level with both hands free is far easier than reaching into a floor frame. On repetitive small work the time difference over a day is substantial.

Yes, for anything beyond the lightest work. An unsecured press can shift or tip when a component releases suddenly, and the reaction force has to go somewhere. Bolting to a solid bench also improves accuracy, since the press is not moving while the work is being aligned.

Press plates or V-blocks to support the work, and arbor and bearing adapters sized to the components. Pressing a bearing on its outer race when it should be the inner, or without proper support beneath, damages the bearing regardless of how carefully the press is operated.

Yes, with the right support - a bearing splitter or suitable plates to bear on the correct race while the shaft passes through. Removal often needs more force than fitting because of corrosion, so it is the operation most likely to exceed a small press's capacity.