Hide in the Sound

At the local steel shop they have both A36 and A572 carbon steel. I think they used A36 for my plates, which are a 1/2" plate on the bottom and two 1/4" plates on top. So far the press is working much better now that I have a 1/2" on the bottom rather than the 1/4" I started with. I am sure if you use 1" you'll have a good set up. If you're getting one of those Harbor Freight presses (orange, made in China), which is the kind I bought, there is one other thing you may want to plan on. The press comes with a two-piece jack arm, which you insert into the jack and pump up and down. Well, the two-piece is quite short and has very little leverage. I bought a 1" steel pipe that is about 2.5' long and put one piece of the jack arm inside of the pipe and use that to operate the jack. My die is a steel rule die with rubber inserts and is quite large, which requires a lot of force to press out the leather, even though it is quite thin for my work. So, if you're die cutting will require a lot of force, you may want to plan on some method of increasing your leverage with the jack arm. The leverage comes in handy on the last couple pumps.

The die sits flat on the HDPE with the steel plates beneath that. The die is a steel rule die, and it has a wood backing into which the cutting blade (circular, 11.5" diameter) is mounted and a center hole punch is also mounted. On the outside and inside of the cutting blade there is a rubber-like substance that is mounted, presumably to protect the blade and allow for easy extraction of the cut leather. Now, it's true that the press' ram pushes down right above the punch, so it is probably getting more pressure than the circular blade, but that's why I'm using 1/2" of steel above and below, so get the force to spread out.

I put two, 1/4" pieces on the bottom and top and it cut through nicely. My only problem now is the center punch must be mounted too low as it is cutting way too far into the cutting board. Rather than just punching the hole, it is punching and driving through. I think if I could grind a couple millimeters off the top, it would work fine.

That's good info. I, too, have a steel rule die. I am only cutting 2-3oz, so it should be a lot easier. Does your die have the rubber pieces around the cutting blades? I am thinking about removing mine, as I think it is contributing to the difficulty in pressing out the leather.

Half inch steel, eh? Why so thick?

I recently bought a 12-ton press to use with a steel rule die I had made by some local folks. It's an 11.5" circle with a center hole punch. Anyway, I set up the press and put down a 1.25" thick piece of HDPE (13"x13") on top of which I put my leather (2-3oz), then the die, which has the rubber pieces around the cutting edges. The die has a wooden backing, as well. On top of the die I put a 1/4", 12.5"x12.5" steel plate. I brought the ram down and began pressing. I didn't know how hard I would need to press to cut the leather, so I used some scrap pieces. I quickly discovered that there is an issue. The way a shop press is designed, there is the "bed" onto which you place items you want to press. This bed is only 6" or 7" wide. So when I put the cutting surface down, it hang over on each side of this bed. I thought using a steel plate would distribute the force evenly over the die, but that wasn't the case. The die cut the leather only where it was supported beneath by the bed. So, at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock (as you look at the die) it was cutting, but at 12 and 6 o'clock it wasn't. The only explanation I can think of is that the hdpe is somehow flexing under the force, and only cutting the areas supported by the shop press bed. My idea now is to get another steel plate and place this between the shop press bed and the HDPE. Do you think this will work? I tried to make do by rotating the whole cutting "sandwich," but somehow things got out of alignment and I ruined a piece of leather. I am also surprised by the amount of force to get through 1.5 mm leather. The die is brand new, so it is quite sharp. So...I'm still in trouble-shooting mode. Any suggestions and wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks.

I've received a quote for $99 for the die and TCD also sells manual clickers for around $450. I am thinking I could easily make a clicker like theirs from a shop press, which I can buy from the local harbor freight for about $120. Thanks for the advise, electrathon.

Hi everyone, first post here. I have a very small business where I sell circular leather mats that are 11.5" in diameter with a 5/16" hole in the center, and the leather is less than 2mm thick and very pliable. I only need to make about one per day. I have been having the mats cut by laser, but I want to be able to control all aspects of the production of the mats. Is there a manual die cutter/press that would allow me to make these mats from 12"x12" pieces? I have tried to use a compass cutter I bought from mister art and the big problem was bunching of the leather as I cut it, which caused the mats to get out of round. If I could find a suitable manual press that would be great. I plan on buying a die from Texas Custom Dies. Thanks for any help you can provide.