That is also EXACTLY the technique I have used, but I want to at least try the arbor press to see if it works better/smoother/easier...
There are lots of times that I use a press tool outside of the press, striking the tool with a soft faced hammer. I have leather, rubber and brass hammers for exactly this purpose. It is important not to strike a tool with a regular hammer. Some say the tool can splinter. I don't know about that, but the tool can be distorted. Any distortion or burrs on the tool can cause it to get good and stuck in the ram.
I have a shelf full of different shaped blocks of metal that I use as anvils or as forming tools for shaping sheet metal. I also have a block that holds the press anvils, and allows me to use them outside the press.
