Leather-Ready Arbor Press

[Tree Reaper]

You can punch holes with it but you need to add a chuck in order to hold the punch.

I had the ram threaded and can install a keyless 1/2"chuck.

[El Paso]

I was wondering if you could use this press for punching holes into leather for lacing?

I have no idea, sorry. If you had the right size handle, or put holes and bolts in the ram, it would probably work, but I haven't tried it myself.

[TwinOaks]

The biggest limitation to arbor presses is the throat depth. Other than that, you can modify them pretty much any way you want. They are absolutely great for setting grommets and tube rivets.

Ann, when you get ready for a larger cutting board, skip Tandy and find a kitchen/restaurant supply store. I picked up a 16x24" poly cutting board for right around $20.

[WinterBear]

Steel plates can be found at most machinist's shops, and you can usually get a 6x6 inch cold-steel plate from most hardware stores that sell threaded rods and small angle iron. You can also ask the machinists about modifying the ram for holding different tools, or the tools to fit bushings in the ram, and see what their rates are (they usually charge er-hour + supplies). I plan on heading to the machinist's shop with a press when I get to that stage-can't be driving the neighbors bonkers by whacking away at stuff at 2am after all.

You might want to look at these two threads for some ideas from users who have modified their presses and tools.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34181

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=32770

[El Paso]

The biggest limitation to arbor presses is the throat depth. Other than that, you can modify them pretty much any way you want. They are absolutely great for setting grommets and tube rivets.

Ann, when you get ready for a larger cutting board, skip Tandy and find a kitchen/restaurant supply store. I picked up a 16x24" poly cutting board for right around $20.

My small board arrived and it is a perfect fit. I do have larger poly boards in my kitchen, but this is perfect for machine stamping which uses just a small space. For hand stamping, I bought a 1/2 inch marble board (about 15" x 10 ") from a kitchen items seller on eBay. It has six button feet and works very well. Not as expensive as granite, and a reasonable shipping cost.