Stamping With An Arbor Press

[Tree Reaper]

Ordered the snap in ramfoot, had it turned and threaded to fit my arbor press and tried a stamp on it.

It works very well!

Kevin.

[Rayban]

To Tree Reaper, and everyone......I'm researching an arbor press and how I may be able to rig it for various leather work usage.

I want to be able to install line 24 snaps, stamp, and have dies made for punching slots, etc.......is this the type of press I should get?

Or is a 1-ton adequate?

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-ton-a-frame-bench-shop-press-1666.html

Thanks!

Edited April 9, 2011 by Rayban

[philw]

6 ton is overkill - plus you'll be cranking away all day with the hydraulic jack. You need the arbor style press, which looks like this

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-arbor-press-3552.html

1 Ton should be fine for snaps etc, although you may want to bolt it down to a bench to stop it tipping forward when leaning on the handle.

Phil

[Shorts]

1T is more than enough for snaps. I think the 1/2T would do the job just fine and be a few less bucks. I've got a 1T arbor press I just put together and it's working fine. In this honeymoon phase of using it I've got a few new ideas in my head about converting tools/punches to fit the center hole of the ram. I'll be transitioning my makers stamp over to that as well. Right now I use the vise.

You definitely need to bolt or clamp the arbor press to the bench top. Otherwise it will tip forward at the vital point you pull the handle to make the impression on the item. I've got mine temporarily clamped but I'll be bolting it down this weekend.

Treereaper, I figure on doing a little stamping with the press. Glad to see the concept go to fruition.

Edited April 9, 2011 by Shorts

[Tree Reaper]

Treereaper, I figure on doing a little stamping with the press. Glad to see the concept go to fruition.

I've used it a few times now without any problems.

There is ample room to slide a ruler in to line up the work or get your fingers in there to move things around.

I just clamp it to a workmate and then stow it away when done.

Kevin.

[Mikewood]

Hey guys,

Though I would share.

Here is my harbor freight 1/2 ton arbor press with home made jig for line text stamping. As you can see it's very simple and while not very fast to use it's quite precise.

[Rayban]

Good idea Mike, thanks for sharing.

[Tree Reaper]

Great idea on the fence and use of the bungee Mike, now we need a method to index the letters along the side to get equal spacing.

You could leave the last letter in the impression to mark the next one but if you didn't have a spare letter set you would have a problem where two of same letters like ss were side by side.

Edited April 10, 2011 by Tree Reaper

[Rayban]

I picked up my 1-ton yesterday, now working on coming up with a way for it to accommodate the various size rams on the stamping tools I want to use on it.

As you all know, they can range from 1/2" to 1/4" or so....a friend suggested boring a hole up the rack at 1/2"+ dia. with a set-screw through the side to tighten....then make a sleeve for the smaller sizes. I'm digesting that one for a little while.

Thoughts?

Rg

[Shorts]

Rayban, about the sleeve, that's what I'm planning on as well for different sized tools. Haven't put it into actual practice yet but worth a shot.