Poor Man's Clicker Press? Arbor press?

[MtlBiker]

As a hobbyist and relative newcomer to leather working, I'm not ready to invest in a clicker press, nor can I afford one.  But it would be nice to have some dies to cut repeating leather pieces.  (And I have no idea how much it costs to have a die made.)  And I'll certainly not ever be a high production maker.  Is it at all feasible to use an arbor press with a die to punch out some small shapes?  I can get a 1-ton press here in Canada for about $90, and 2-ton for $220.  (Canadian)  If I ever decide on a company name and logo, maybe I could also use that to press it into my leather.  I'm not talking big dies... maybe 4" x 6" max?

Or is it maybe possible to just put a die on top of the leather and use a mallet to push down and cut the leather?

Am I dreaming?  Is there a practical step between cutting entirely by hand and using a clicker press?

[TomG]

A lot of folks have easily modified these to act as a manual clicker. They add a cutting block and plates.
This is the 20 ton press. They have a 12 ton for less.
At one time, they also had a pneumatic model, but I didn't see it on my quick search. But, it sure would make it faster to do repeated cuts.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-shop-press-32879.html

 

[Dwight]

2 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

As a hobbyist and relative newcomer to leather working, I'm not ready to invest in a clicker press, nor can I afford one.  But it would be nice to have some dies to cut repeating leather pieces.  (And I have no idea how much it costs to have a die made.)  And I'll certainly not ever be a high production maker.  Is it at all feasible to use an arbor press with a die to punch out some small shapes?  I can get a 1-ton press here in Canada for about $90, and 2-ton for $220.  (Canadian)  If I ever decide on a company name and logo, maybe I could also use that to press it into my leather.  I'm not talking big dies... maybe 4" x 6" max?

Or is it maybe possible to just put a die on top of the leather and use a mallet to push down and cut the leather?

Am I dreaming?  Is there a practical step between cutting entirely by hand and using a clicker press?

Here is a video of one fellow's way of doing it

May God bless,

Dwight

 

 

[fredk]

7 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

. . .

Or is it maybe possible to just put a die on top of the leather and use a mallet to push down and cut the leather?. . .

Yes you can, or the other way up; put the leather on the die and use a bit of scrap wood between the leather and the mallet, to save the mallet face from damage

I have the Tandy press. [https://www.tandyleather.world/products/tandypro-r-hand-press?_pos=4&_sid=6f995a4f4&_ss=r]  Its 1.25 T. I use it for a 'clicker press'. With some items I  need to move the die around pressing it down area by area, with some smaller items just the one go does

A couple of dies I have are

a simple key fob;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402349765586

I got this to cut key fobs out of scrap pieces

and this valet tray die, with this I've used a mallet and my press, its one I have to around and do each side and corner in turn

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154533000463

on the smaller side, I have some circle dies which I use to punch out circular bases for game pieces. I can do them quicker with the die than with a regular hole punch, but more importantly, I can do them quietly at night

[MtlBiker]

@TomG - Great!  So it's not that far-fetched an idea.  I'm going to give it a try.  I'm sure I'll be able to use the press for other things too, but I'm really hoping that I'll be able to get some dies made and use the press for that. Now I need to find a local source for dies and find out what I need to give them for the design.  I don't have a CAD program but do have lots of graphics programs.

@Dwight - Super!  Thanks very much for pointing me to that video.  Exactly what I needed.

I've ordered the 1-ton arbor press.

Cheers!
 

[MtlBiker]

4 hours ago, fredk said:

Yes you can, or the other way up; put the leather on the die and use a bit of scrap wood between the leather and the mallet, to save the mallet face from damage

I have the Tandy press. [https://www.tandyleather.world/products/tandypro-r-hand-press?_pos=4&_sid=6f995a4f4&_ss=r]  Its 1.25 T. I use it for a 'clicker press'. With some items I  need to move the die around pressing it down area by area, with some smaller items just the one go does

A couple of dies I have are

a simple key fob;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402349765586

I got this to cut key fobs out of scrap pieces

and this valet tray die, with this I've used a mallet and my press, its one I have to around and do each side and corner in turn

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154533000463

on the smaller side, I have some circle dies which I use to punch out circular bases for game pieces. I can do them quicker with the die than with a regular hole punch, but more importantly, I can do them quietly at night

Great info Fred... Thanks!  As you'll see from this thread, I've ordered a 1-ton arbor press.  I do have a rivet press, and I'm happy with it but don't think it's as good as the Tandy one you have.  Mine is the DK93 from Kamsnaps.  I hadn't realized that you could actually buy some pre-made dies... thanks for pointing that out.  All I need right now is to make some rectangular ring holders that I'll rivet on my bag.  Up until this one bag, I've just made a simple strap which I've enclosed within the outer and inner bag, or sewn something right on the gusset.  But this design is going to look much better with a leather piece that is sewn and riveted wrapping around the inner and outer edges of the bag.  And I'm really planning to make several like this so it's worthwhile to get some kind of die for quality and consistency.

 

[fredk]

1 hour ago, MtlBiker said:

. . .  All I need right now is to make some rectangular ring holders that I'll rivet on my bag.  . . .

See that key fob? It can double up as a strap attachment on a bag. I've not used it as such, but its one reason why I bought that one. Heck, even round key fobs can double up as strap attachments on bags

Edited April 12, 2022 by fredk

[MtlBiker]

12 minutes ago, fredk said:

See that key fob? It can double up as a strap attachment on a bag. I've not used it as such, but its one reason why I bought that one. Heck, even round key fobs can double up as strap attachments on bags

Yes, I saw that, and also thought it would work for my purpose.  I've been checking Ebay Canada as well as Etsy, and haven't yet found one that I like enough to order.  And I'd really prefer one that doesn't punch stitching holes.  I know, I know... I'm hard to please. 

Thanks again!
 

[fredk]

1 hour ago, MtlBiker said:

. . .  And I'd really prefer one that doesn't punch stitching holes.  I know, I know... I'm hard to please.  . . . 

That key fob and several others were available with and with out the blades to cut the stitching holes. I opted for the one with

Keep lookin

PS; the metal of the die is only pressed into a bit of wood. I / You can actually pull out the blades quite easily

Edited April 12, 2022 by fredk

[Brooks125]

I use a 6-ton shop press from Harbour Freight, less than $100.  I got a couple 3/8" steel plates from a friend of mine that does metal work for the top and the Weaver red base plate on the bottom.  I use it to cut the back pieces for shoulder rigs.  Weaver made the clicker die for $125 from my drawing.  Clicking makes it much easier to use up smaller scrap and I can batch the labor and do a lot of pieces at once.  Like FredK said, I sometimes move the die around and hit it in a couple shots, but they come out clean.  I would advise against hand-pounding dies, though.  You'll do more damage beating them up than you would save in time or cost.

Edited April 13, 2022 by Brooks125

[Hags]

I use a 1 ton arbor press from HF. 2 foot cheater bar. And it works ok if I use one side then the other on up to 9/12 HO for a 4 inch round coaster. I have also broke one off at the base with the cheater bar trying to do it all at once. 

[dikman]

I tried it using a 2-ton arbor press but didn't have much success. After watching that video Dwight posted (thanks mate ) I think I see where I went wrong. I'll make an attachment for the press and try casing the leather first.