Hand Press Die Cutter?

[NewYorkerInSydney]

Hello folks,

I get tired of cutting the same old stuff over and over and would like to have some dies made that I could put onto some kind of manual die cutter that will cut out the pieces I need out of my leather. I make wallets and ipad cases etc. out of 4-5 oz leather. My workshop is home, so I cant have a huge machine in here, but its ok if it takes up a small amount of space, thats fine. I just want something quality and strong that will cut out my pieces. Anyone have any suggestions where I can find something like this? I prefer if it wasnt powered, but can look into it if it is economical and small enough to have at my home workshop. I really look forward to your ideas and suggestions.

Kind regards,

NYIS

Edited September 28, 2012 by NewYorkerInSydney

[Northmount]

Try this link. http://www.tools4leather.com/01_ma_series_III_clicker.htm I think they are expensive, but it is small and can sit on your bench.

CTG

[stelmackr]

http://www.tools4leather.com/01_ma_series_III_clicker.htm

[Tree Reaper]

I just bought a shop press for that purpose.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=42672

[cem]

If you are still in Sydney you want this place http://lucris.com.au/ it's the manufacturer and they are in Queensland. I don't have the press but I have had clicker knives made by them and they are very good quality. Weaver in America also make one but you will need an ABN number to deal with them (again if you are in Oz), but by the time you pay for postage it's going to be close to the Lucris price anyway.

The other alternative is a shop press they are cheaper but take up more room, they also need to be modified a little bit and the ones sold in Oz are hit and miss when it comes to quality. I went this way and my shop press is crap, can't stand using it I will probably get a Lucris once I have all my sizing worked out for the rest of the knives I need. If you want to have a look at them do a search for shop press some of the threads will be able to explain the modifications needed better than I can.

Hope this is of some help

Cheers,

Clair

[Horrrk]

Hi New Yorker..

Reading your post brought something to mind..not sure if it'd help, but it depends on what your other options are I guess..

I used to work for a laser company in the service department, here in the UK, repairing the systems and one of our customers was an Indian company based, I think, in Delhi..

They made their own cutters, from chunks of plywood, by cutting a thin channel in the shape required, with enough depth to slot in some steel band, as would be found on packing crates and leave a few millimetres or so proud of the surface.

The workers would flip it over and place this rough and ready cutter over the material then hammer it through.. If it ever distorted, they would simply replace the metal banding..

I always thought it was a simple, but cost effective idea myself.. Maybe with a rig up to a simple press, it could cut out shapes (ie. the outer shape of wallet or iPad parts) easily in leather and certainly be less repetitive?

Of course, this company had their own lasers for cutting the channel into the plywood, but maybe that task could be farmed out for little cost..

Food for thought, hopefully for someone..or perhaps a wildly stupid idea.. lol

Regards

Phil

[Mijo]

I inquired about the press offered by creative leatherwork, link posted by stelmackr, several months back and it was over $1000 usd. The shipping and custom fees put it out of my budget but its smaller than the one weaver offers, which is a plus b/c I don't have a space either. I'll make do w/o until I can justify / afford the cost but it really seams ideal if you don't have a lot of space.

If any one has that manual click press from creative leatherwork, I'd be interested in what they thought about it. I read some okay comments about the weaver version from members on a different thread.

[cem]

Mijo there is an American distributor for them http://www.barplate.com/machines.aspx I know one of the holster makers here bought one from there but it was awhile ago.

[NewYorkerInSydney]

Hello friends,

Thank you all so much for taking the time to answer my question and providing such interesting links and information. At this point I think I may go with a 12 ton shop press. Not 100 percent sure, but that is where Im leaning. Do any of you know the maximum size dies for cutting out 5oz leather that I can use with a 12 ton shop press? Thank you so much again!

Cheers,

Nyis

[bruce johnson]

I inquired about the press offered by creative leatherwork, link posted by stelmackr, several months back and it was over $1000 usd. The shipping and custom fees put it out of my budget but its smaller than the one weaver offers, which is a plus b/c I don't have a space either. I'll make do w/o until I can justify / afford the cost but it really seams ideal if you don't have a lot of space.

If any one has that manual click press from creative leatherwork, I'd be interested in what they thought about it. I read some okay comments about the weaver version from members on a different thread.

Mijo,

I know a guy not too far from you that has the Lucris III press and likes it. PM me and I can put you in touch with him.