Northmount Report post Posted April 15, 2012 I have a 2 ton arbor press similar to the Harbor Freight one you are discussing and find it very adequate for my needs providing I use an extension bar and crank it down nice and hard. The down side is that the press needs to be VERY firmly anchored to the bench... yup, I turned mine over lol! Ray What is the largest size plate you use for embossing? I have a customer that has a specific logo they will be using on all their products. So I've been waffling between a 2 and 3 ton arbor press. Thanks CTG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UKRay Report post Posted April 15, 2012 I have used a three inch disk but got best results with smaller. I mainly use it for 1.5" x 1" oval stamps for logos Ray Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DFWLeather Report post Posted November 25, 2012 Seems like an awful lot of machine for a small stamp. I suppose if you have the room and want to save some money... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lwleathers Report post Posted November 27, 2012 I have used a three inch disk but got best results with smaller. I mainly use it for 1.5" x 1" oval stamps for logos Ray Indeed, larger stamps of regular thickness (around 8mm) tend to crook after prolong pressing by small arbor press. Smaller stamps under 1.5x1.5 inches will be perfect. We now provide thicker material (20-25mm) for larger stamps to avoid the problem. But still, it's better to have a larger arbor press (with a larger pressing head) for more even emboss. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EmbossingDieCompany Report post Posted November 29, 2012 I don't know if I'm old school or just cheap, but I just use a table top vice that I bought at Harbor Freight for $20 (see picture attached). It takes 10 seconds to emboss a piece of leather and I get a deep, crisp, perfectly placed impression every time. The vice takes up less than 1 sq ft of shelf space.......much less than the 20 ton A-frame......and no compressor is needed!! And trust me, I'm not the Hulk, so you don't need to be super strong to crank this up. I'm attaching a few pictures of bigger embossing dies that I have made......so anything under 2" should be no problem whatsoever. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ammodawg321 Report post Posted April 8, 2018 (edited) And to resurrect the thread... :-) First of all, thank you to everyone above for your thoughts and insights; those, coupled with a few other threads on this forum helped me out with deciding whether or not to get an arbor press to emboss a "US" logo on a holster (approx 1 1/2" x 3"). I ultimately did, and here's the details. I went with a 1-ton Dayton from Grainger. (https://m.grainger.com/mobile/product/DAYTON-Press-4Z328?breadcrumbCatId=5418) What sold me on this one is that it already has a 1/2" hole drilled in one end of the ram to insert various arbor bits (held in place with a small magnet). Coincidentally, the handle for the "standard" stamping sets and 3d stamps at Tandy has a 1/2" shaft. :-D I picked up a small sheet of steel plate (~4"x12"?) at the local Lowe's to distribute the pressure over the stamp and bodged up a base from scrap lumber. Tried it out today and it came out pretty well. May not work on everything, but for $85, not too shabby. Best regards and happy leatherworking to you all! Edited April 8, 2018 by Ammodawg321 Multiple copies of same message Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
