My Arbor Press For Embossing. Trying To Post Photos Too.

[Tallbald]

Hello all. I'm a new person to leather crafting, but have really learned a lot with the help of web forums. I have arthritis and was not able to make the constant pounding movements needed for edge embossing and hole punching, so I modified my Harbor Freight 1 ton press with a center hole in the end of the ram and a tapped hole for a retention bolt in the side. A little workbench fiddling and I came up with an adjustable guide to give me even spacing from the edge, and the removeable table surface is cut from an old plastic cutting board made smooth so texturing on the board doesn't transfer to the cased leather when embossing. The tabletop and support block lift out and the factory plate can be used for other pressing too. A little after these photos were taken, I was able to add a wood drilled block to the back corner to hold various stamping tools handy close too. Boy it sure is a nice quiet affair to use on my kitchen table. A harbor Freight magnetic base work lamp stuck to the side out of the way lights everything well too. Looking forward to learning from the talented folks here, Don.

[TwinOaks]

Nice set up, thanks for sharing the pics.

[Tree Reaper]

Nice work on the base, not quite sure how the fence works.

I'm working on an adjustable fence for stamping straps and belts over a poly board.

[Tallbald]

The fence is a strip of stainless steel mounted to a sliding piece of oak I can move forward or backwards and tighten in place with the nut on the threaded rod the oak slides on. The pointed guide is mounted to the strip of stainless and is just a little above the table so it can slide and let me set the distance from the stamp. Hope this helps. Don

[Tree Reaper]

Thanks for the explanation Don.

I like the sliding adjustment, nice work and good idea.

The biggest two problems I find are getting the impressions square to each other and spaced properly.

Kevin.

[Tallbald]

Thanks for the explanation Don.

I like the sliding adjustment, nice work and good idea.

The biggest two problems I find are getting the impressions square to each other and spaced properly.

Kevin.

Hi Kevin. That was my trouble too. Arthritis and other conditions have caused me to have to deal with my hands going numb and becoming stiff when grasping, and having trouble locating a stamp before striking. Using my press has made all the difference in the world to this novice (if I can even rate myself at that high a level!). Don

[McJeep]

nicely done - I too find myself adapting things for messed up hands - filing this idea away for future reference - Thanks!