One Ton Arbor Press

[Ferg]

One ton Arbor press from Harbor Freight, $45.00

Steel, aluminum, screws etc. $10 - $15.

Fully adjustable and very accurate.

Half inch hole drilled in arbor ram with thumb screw in front to hold tool in hole.

Aluminum blocks are bolted to table, have thumb screws through them to anchor table to arbor base.

Adjustable brackets on back of vertical are Bi-Fold Door hardware.

Any questions, I will try to answer.

ferg

Edited September 20, 2011 by 50 years leather

[Tree Reaper]

I like the adjustable fence idea, that should work well.

[whiteeugene]

Looks cool I'll have to give that a try I have the press and most of the other items, I wonder if you could glue a tape measure blade to each end of the table to make it easier to adjust it. How much pressure do you need to use to get a good imprint?

[Ferg]

You can buy tape measures, some are nylon, that begin with "0" in the middle. I am thinking of centering the "0" on the tool center.

Pressure? That is a relative thing I believe. I simply hold the handle down firmly. Makes great impressions.

Used it with Basket Weave. Takes a little practice but the impressions are very even.

Largest pieces I have used to press an image is about 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" . That takes some pretty good pressure.

ferg

  On 9/20/2011 at 3:13 PM, whiteeugene said:

Looks cool I'll have to give that a try I have the press and most of the other items, I wonder if you could glue a tape measure blade to each end of the table to make it easier to adjust it. How much pressure do you need to use to get a good imprint?

Tree,

Nice thing about the "rig", I can get more distance from the tools simply by moving the table back and tighten the clamps.

ferg

  On 9/20/2011 at 12:42 PM, Tree Reaper said:

I like the adjustable fence idea, that should work well.

[MBOGO]

Well done, and another great use for these presses.

[Decadence]

Thanks for posting pictures of your Arbor Press setup. I am thinking of doing something similar but to set snaps. I am just curious how easy it was to drill a hole in the Ram and how deep the hole is? I am not super skilled in metal fabrication but I am hoping that I am able to modify the press myself.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Decadence

[Ferg]

You need a drill press and a good material clamp so you can hold onto the Ram. I made the hole just deep enough so the stamps and snap hardware would be about 1/3 the length of the tool handle. Remember, you also need a threaded hole and a thumb screw to hold the tool in place.

I used mine for snaps. It is easy to clamp the snap button too tight. Takes a little practice, beats that mallet.

ferg

  On 3/9/2012 at 8:58 PM, Decadence said:

Thanks for posting pictures of your Arbor Press setup. I am thinking of doing something similar but to set snaps. I am just curious how easy it was to drill a hole in the Ram and how deep the hole is? I am not super skilled in metal fabrication but I am hoping that I am able to modify the press myself.

[ouchmyfinger]

I've heard of some people doing something like this to make a cheap clicker, has anyone done this. a guy at a gun show that makes holsters (not the best btw) told me about this. super nice guy but his work that i saw was lacking a few steps to really bump up the professional look. i don't think any of this was due to his homemade clicker though

[Ferg]

Probably could if you only wanted Concho size pieces. There isn't enough surface for a good clicker. Weaver has a hand operated clicker, very expensive I think, may work fine.

ferg

  On 3/10/2012 at 5:01 AM, ouchmyfinger said:

I've heard of some people doing something like this to make a cheap clicker, has anyone done this. a guy at a gun show that makes holsters (not the best btw) told me about this. super nice guy but his work that i saw was lacking a few steps to really bump up the professional look. i don't think any of this was due to his homemade clicker though

[MBOGO]

  On 3/10/2012 at 5:01 AM, ouchmyfinger said:

I've heard of some people doing something like this to make a cheap clicker, has anyone done this. a guy at a gun show that makes holsters (not the best btw) told me about this. super nice guy but his work that i saw was lacking a few steps to really bump up the professional look. i don't think any of this was due to his homemade clicker though

Offhand, it would probably be a larger one, with the bottle type hydraulic jack, like folks use for holster presses.

[ouchmyfinger]

  On 3/10/2012 at 4:33 PM, MBOGO said:

Offhand, it would probably be a larger one, with the bottle type hydraulic jack, like folks use for holster presses.

Is there anywhere that shows how it is built or a video of one in action. Thanks.

[MBOGO]

  On 3/10/2012 at 4:56 PM, ouchmyfinger said:

Is there anywhere that shows how it is built or a video of one in action. Thanks.

Excersizing my serarh-fu, how about http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=35165&st=0&p=217985&hl=+press%20+clicker&fromsearch=1entry217985 . Don't recall ever catching that thread, but about exactly what was rattling around my brain.

[niftycurly]

I've used my one ton arbor press for clicking - it better than nothing but isn't particularly speedy if you have a lot of pieces to cut. You have to press around the perimeter of the clicker die being careful that the die doesn't shift between presses. On my smaller shapes, up to 2" diam, it usually takes 2-3 presses to get around. On my larger envelope case steel rule die, about 6"x8", takes about 8 presses to get the whole shape cut.

The self ejecting dies (with foam or rubber inside the metal ring) are much harder to keep from shifting.

I tried putting a small steel plate between the small dies and the press ram to see if I could cut in one go but there just isn't enough pressure for a good cut.

[Sixer]

I've been wanting to do something exactly like this! I have the press, with a bore in the ram.... Any more details on the jig?

Thanks!

[niftycurly]

oh there is no jig. I just put down a piece of leather on a small poly cutting board from Ikea, put the clicker die on top and press the ram directly on the die. Move the cutting board with leather and die around under the ram until the cut is complete. I did replace that rotating anvil piece with small sheet of 1/4" steel to get more clearance under the ram. The cutting board on its own will just bend. Edited June 12, 2012 by niftycurly

[Sixer]

  On 6/12/2012 at 2:37 PM, niftycurly said:

oh there is no jig. I just put down a piece of leather on a small poly cutting board from Ikea, put the clicker die on top and press the ram directly on the die. Move the cutting board with leather and die around under the ram until the cut is complete. I did replace that rotating anvil piece with small sheet of 1/4" steel to get more clearance under the ram. The cutting board on its own will just bend.

That's good info on the the 1/4" steel. Sorry for the confusion... but I was actually referring to the "jig" in the OP... more info from 50yrs would be great!

[Ferg]

Sixer,

Did you see the original post I made with the photos? What other info would you like?

ferg

  On 6/12/2012 at 9:17 AM, Sixer said:

I've been wanting to do something exactly like this! I have the press, with a bore in the ram.... Any more details on the jig?

Thanks!

[Sixer]

  On 6/13/2012 at 2:12 PM, 50 years leather said:

Sixer,

Did you see the original post I made with the photos? What other info would you like?

ferg

Hi Ferg,

Just curious how the metal piece is secured to the press?

Thanks!