Making A Clicker

[Bar C Leather]

Restricted by $$ and time.... I've had been planning on getting a hydraulic press to make into a clicker when my husband surprised me with a deal he found at the local equipment auction. I know that the "real deal" might be worth the investment but we are working diligently to get OUT of debt... not further in. So, here is my project....

It is a Soiltest CT-769 Compression Machine. This machine was used to compress soil samples for testing. Obviously old and no longer being manufactured.. all I could find online was a company that calibrates them. We cranked it up and with some work from my handyman hubby he figures we'll have no problem turning it into my clicker. For now I'll obviously be limited to smaller patterns but it is a start.

If you can read the dial this machine goes up to 250,000 lbs. NOT 25K but 250K! So, my concern is crushing a die on accident. I don't really think that with as slow as the ram moves, this will be too much of a problem but I've never used ANY kind of clicker. Does anyone know the max that most dies can handle. If we can figure that out, maybe my husband can put a "governor" of sorts on it.

I've read in some posts that many of you just lie the plate steel on top of your die instead of welding it or attaching it to the ram. If you had a welder handy, would you recommend welding it? Is there any reason not to?

What material is recommended to make the cutting pad out of? Poly cutting board?

[dirtclod]

You can get clicker pads from Weaver i think.

[somewhereinusa]

I'm not familiar with that machine, but I would think that there is some kind of relief valve involved somewhere. Perhaps it can be adjusted or replaced with something else. You could also just put some kind of stops at each corner so that it just cant go any farther than you need.

[TroyWest]

Most presses can push a die way past the breaking point. Just use common sense and pay attention, which you should anyway while using such equipment and you will learn when to stop. Looks like a great alternative to a clicker. The advantage to a clicker is that it can be set to push the die to the exact same depth every time.

[busted]

Get yourself a one inch thick Polly board made of the red material. The clicker die will work well below 30,000 psi.

You need to watch the depth of travel. That would be the same as watching the material thickness you are

cutting. Once the die contacts the material don't go to far beyond the thickness of the material. You will end up

cutting your backing board in two.

Hope this helped. It looks like a good one. Have your husband rig up a micro switch or two to stop the plunger within

range or your material thickness. I don't know how fast the plunger is you will have to figure that out as to when the

micro switches will shut off the power.

[busted]

Restricted by $ and time.... I've had been planning on getting a hydraulic press to make into a clicker when my husband surprised me with a deal he found at the local equipment auction. I know that the "real deal" might be worth the investment but we are working diligently to get OUT of debt... not further in. So, here is my project....

It is a Soiltest CT-769 Compression Machine. This machine was used to compress soil samples for testing. Obviously old and no longer being manufactured.. all I could find online was a company that calibrates them. We cranked it up and with some work from my handyman hubby he figures we'll have no problem turning it into my clicker. For now I'll obviously be limited to smaller patterns but it is a start.

If you can read the dial this machine goes up to 250,000 lbs. NOT 25K but 250K! So, my concern is crushing a die on accident. I don't really think that with as slow as the ram moves, this will be too much of a problem but I've never used ANY kind of clicker. Does anyone know the max that most dies can handle. If we can figure that out, maybe my husband can put a "governor" of sorts on it.

I've read in some posts that many of you just lie the plate steel on top of your die instead of welding it or attaching it to the ram. If you had a welder handy, would you recommend welding it? Is there any reason not to?

What material is recommended to make the cutting pad out of? Poly cutting board?

Yes, the cutting board should be Poly Board the red stuff. Don't operate the press over 30,000 when cutting with a clicker die.

Don't let the press go much past 1/8th inch beyond the thickness of the material. See if your husband can rig up a couple

of micro switches to stop the travel of the press. It is a good start for a clicker press. I hope this helped.

Success is not an accident it is an effort.