Hand Press Die Cutter?

[Hide in the Sound]

With the force you need to cut the leather just a slight deflection of the steel plate will result in incomplete cut.

ferg

I put two, 1/4" pieces on the bottom and top and it cut through nicely. My only problem now is the center punch must be mounted too low as it is cutting way too far into the cutting board. Rather than just punching the hole, it is punching and driving through. I think if I could grind a couple millimeters off the top, it would work fine.

[billymac814]

Does the die sit flat on a flat surface or is the punch too long. It could be that the center of the press is more sturdy and the outsides of your plate are flexing some. I have 1/4" plates that I use in the same press for molding holsters and they are bent from the pressure.

I put two, 1/4" pieces on the bottom and top and it cut through nicely. My only problem now is the center punch must be mounted too low as it is cutting way too far into the cutting board. Rather than just punching the hole, it is punching and driving through. I think if I could grind a couple millimeters off the top, it would work fine.

[Hide in the Sound]

Does the die sit flat on a flat surface or is the punch too long. It could be that the center of the press is more sturdy and the outsides of your plate are flexing some. I have 1/4" plates that I use in the same press for molding holsters and they are bent from the pressure.

The die sits flat on the HDPE with the steel plates beneath that. The die is a steel rule die, and it has a wood backing into which the cutting blade (circular, 11.5" diameter) is mounted and a center hole punch is also mounted. On the outside and inside of the cutting blade there is a rubber-like substance that is mounted, presumably to protect the blade and allow for easy extraction of the cut leather. Now, it's true that the press' ram pushes down right above the punch, so it is probably getting more pressure than the circular blade, but that's why I'm using 1/2" of steel above and below, so get the force to spread out.

[billymac814]

I read that wrong, I thought you were using 1/4" plates, I didn't see that you doubled it up. I still would bet that you're getting flex from somewhere and that's what's causing it.

I cut the ram off of my press and mounted a 1/2" thick solid piece of steel on top and bottom and even doing all that I get some flex and sometimes one part of the die will sink pretty far in the cutting surface.

Your die is also pretty large.

It may solve your problem by shoertening the punch however its possible that if you ever use a regular clicker it may not punch right if shortened, that may not be a concern though.

[billymac814]

I read that wrong, I thought you were using 1/4" plates, I didn't see that you doubled it up. I still would bet that you're getting flex from somewhere and that's what's causing it.

I cut the ram off of my press and mounted a 1/2" thick solid piece of steel on top and bottom and even doing all that I get some flex and sometimes one part of the die will sink pretty far in the cutting surface.

Your die is also pretty large.

It may solve your problem by shoertening the punch however its possible that if you ever use a regular clicker it may not punch right if shortened, that may not be a concern though.

[Tazer58]

I am in the process of putting a Clicker Press together out of a 20 ton Shop Press. I have read the several topics on them and think I have it all down except for the steel plate piece.

What type of steel plate do I need to use, I plan on getting 1" thick plates for the top and bottom. I read somewhere, but can't find it now that stated what type of steel.

Thanks in advance

[Hide in the Sound]

I am in the process of putting a Clicker Press together out of a 20 ton Shop Press. I have read the several topics on them and think I have it all down except for the steel plate piece.

What type of steel plate do I need to use, I plan on getting 1" thick plates for the top and bottom. I read somewhere, but can't find it now that stated what type of steel.

Thanks in advance

At the local steel shop they have both A36 and A572 carbon steel. I think they used A36 for my plates, which are a 1/2" plate on the bottom and two 1/4" plates on top. So far the press is working much better now that I have a 1/2" on the bottom rather than the 1/4" I started with. I am sure if you use 1" you'll have a good set up.

If you're getting one of those Harbor Freight presses (orange, made in China), which is the kind I bought, there is one other thing you may want to plan on. The press comes with a two-piece jack arm, which you insert into the jack and pump up and down. Well, the two-piece is quite short and has very little leverage. I bought a 1" steel pipe that is about 2.5' long and put one piece of the jack arm inside of the pipe and use that to operate the jack. My die is a steel rule die with rubber inserts and is quite large, which requires a lot of force to press out the leather, even though it is quite thin for my work. So, if you're die cutting will require a lot of force, you may want to plan on some method of increasing your leverage with the jack arm. The leverage comes in handy on the last couple pumps.

[Tazer58]

At the local steel shop they have both A36 and A572 carbon steel. I think they used A36 for my plates, which are a 1/2" plate on the bottom and two 1/4" plates on top. So far the press is working much better now that I have a 1/2" on the bottom rather than the 1/4" I started with. I am sure if you use 1" you'll have a good set up.

If you're getting one of those Harbor Freight presses (orange, made in China), which is the kind I bought, there is one other thing you may want to plan on. The press comes with a two-piece jack arm, which you insert into the jack and pump up and down. Well, the two-piece is quite short and has very little leverage. I bought a 1" steel pipe that is about 2.5' long and put one piece of the jack arm inside of the pipe and use that to operate the jack. My die is a steel rule die with rubber inserts and is quite large, which requires a lot of force to press out the leather, even though it is quite thin for my work. So, if you're die cutting will require a lot of force, you may want to plan on some method of increasing your leverage with the jack arm. The leverage comes in handy on the last couple pumps.

Yep it is the Orange one "Made in China", The stock jack is put away, I ordered a 20ton Air one the other day to replace it. So hopefully I won't have any issues with increasing the pressure when needed.

Thanks for the reply.

[billymac814]

Does anyone else use the 20 ton harbor freight press? I bought the 12 ton because I was originally just going to be using it to form the holsters. The 12 ton flexes quite a bit though and sometimes this cause a corner of the die to sink farther than the rest. The 20 ton version looks pretty stout compared to the 12. I'm wondering if it would be a worthwhile upgrade, it would also give me a little more room in between the risers.