Potential Clicker Press?

[jtron5]

Greetings!

This is my first post/question, been perusing for some time and have learned a lot from these forums. Here comes the question... Does anybody think this particular machine would work as a clicker press? The issue I could see arising is that the die I would be cutting (hopefully) is roughly 7"x 9", the cutting surface is sufficient size for this. I'm just wondering if I would get consistent & even pressure for a uniform cut. The leather would be about 5 oz. Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks!!!

http://www.tecre.com/catalog.php?p=159

[Itch]

Honestly even with 2 handles I dont see this working very well..We use a big hydraulic press that works very well..If you are not doing a lot of production,why not just beef up your die with a piece of flat steel and tap it with a rubber mallet or so..I think you get the idea ?

[jtron5]

Thanks for the reply! That is something I have thought about using a mallet, but was concerned about damaging a non reinforced die. I'm hoping to do a run of a couple hundred pieces. Further digging brought up that the press has 2,000 ft lbs at bottom of stroke. There's a video somewhere of it cutting leather, but I can't track it down.

[Art]

Honestly, any of twelve or so folks on here have clickers and can do a small run for you. Anything from their leather to your leather. Some like me would even entertain you coming over and doing it yourself (after a bit of training). Where are you located?

Art

[cem]

I've seen a video of this it can do leather in the video though it looked like it was chrome tanned, also it only works on dies that fit completely under the the ram. If you look at the dies they sell they aren't that big. If you want a cheaper clicker press you would be better off modifying a shop press or looking into the ones Texas Custom Dies or Weaver sell.

Clair

[billymac814]

I just started making my own dies (steel rule dies w/plywood in the center) and I modified a 12 ton shop press. I used the plates weavers sells with their cutting pad and replaced the bottle jack with an air powered one. I have about 300 bucks invested in it and another 500 or so in the bender for the dies and some dies for it. My patterns are roughly 7" X5" and it takes a considerable amount of force to cut through 7-7.5 oz leather. I doubt that machine would do it but its hard to tell how big it is. The biggest downfall to the shop press is you need to have pieces that fit in between the arms. Some day ill get a real clicker press but for now this works better than any round knife I've ever used.

[billymac814]

I should also note that with my steel rule dies the cutting blade is actually pretty thin so it takes less pressure to push them through the leather than the heavier type dies.

Also if I were to do it over I would have got the 20 ton shop press, not because I need the extra power but because its wider. I originally bought the press to mold holsters though so I already had it.

[jtron5]

Thanks everybody, a lot to mull over. I actually currently use cnc laser to cut/engrave (long story), but don't like the charring, and would like to adopt a more traditional means of production. I did however successfully cut/engrave some embossing stamps from acrylic today via laser. The weaver clicker is tempting... though I'm currently in a place where a grand is hard to part with. The shop press route is tempting but also seems cumbersome. And to Art, I'm in Portland Oregon, and for as much production and industry we thankfully have around here, there is a lack of accessible presses.

[King's X]

For that price you can make a 12 ton & 20 ton press converted. My recent press conversion was less than $200. Good luck on your decision.

[cem]

The Weaver one I was referring to is the Heritage hydraulic bench press ( code: 65-6300), clicker plates with cutting pad (code: 65-6305). My catalogue is a couple of years old now so I'm not 100% sure if they still have it but the price of the already set up press and the plates is under what that machine costs so it might be worth contacting Weaver to find out if they do.

Clair

[billymac814]

The weavers press is pretty small. Harbor freight has their 12 ton press on sale for 99.00 and you can get the plates and cutting pad from weavers for another 80.00 or one could get by with two thick steel plates and a poly cutting board and do it for less money. I just cut the ram rod off of mine and secured the top plate to the bar that comes down so it also goes back up, one could just lay the top plate on top of the die.

[Art]

It Depends a lot on what your desired production capability and capacity will be. I have a harbor freight type (might be a northern or Enco) bottle jack press that was my first clicker arrangement, also good for pressing holsters. The problem with it is that it is so darned slow. There is no way to do serious production with it. I installed an air drive jack but still, not near what I desired. The manual type presses by Weaver etc. are ok for small stuff, less than 12 inches across, but the first thing you will build is an extension pole for the handle. Serious grunt power required. I ultimately ended up with the Cobra 10-Ton Clicker and it works just fine.

Art

[billymac814]

Art is right, a shop press conversion is no good for big production but for lower volume shops it will be much faster than cutting by hand. I normally do make 30-40 holsters at a time and can cut out the 60-80 pieces in about 20 -30 minutes without rushing around. I could probably do that in 5 -10 minutes with a real clicker but compared to hand cutting I'm ok with the 20 minutes. I also calculate in the time I used to spend touching up edges on the sander.

I have an air jack on mine and I only let it up enough to pull the die out so it doesn't have far to go back down.

There's a serious jump in price from a cheap shop press to a clicker press and while not perfect, a shop press does work and gets you clicking for far less money and for a lot of holster makers we already have the press anyway. I definitely at some point buy a real one though some day but I have a few other priorities ahead of that.

I think the biggest downfall for me is the presses are too narrow so I can't just stick a side through it, I need to cut pieces that'll fit in. Even with all the shortcomings though it was the best thing I ever did to cut down time next to buying a sewing machine.

This situation is similar to when you're handsewing and then buy a Boss you're super thrilled at how fast an easy you can now sew, then after using that for a few years you buy a 441 or something and suddenly you look back at the Boss and think how slow and inefficient it is and maybe that is true but the boss would still stitch circles around two needles and an awl.

[billymac814]

I just checked out that cobra clicker. Its very nice and priced very good. That may be on my short list. I'm working towards the Cobra finisher right now so I can rearrange my shop and make more room. Even with the relatively inexpensive clicker press the difference from about 200 to 3200 is huge for someone who wants to start out clicking.

[Samuel]

Thanks everybody, a lot to mull over. I actually currently use cnc laser to cut/engrave (long story), but don't like the charring, and would like to adopt a more traditional means of production. I did however successfully cut/engrave some embossing stamps from acrylic today via laser. The weaver clicker is tempting... though I'm currently in a place where a grand is hard to part with. The shop press route is tempting but also seems cumbersome. And to Art, I'm in Portland Oregon, and for as much production and industry we thankfully have around here, there is a lack of accessible presses.

jtron5,

I'm originally from Oregon as well.

I saw your post when I was doing a search on the forum for laser engraving. If you see my previous post (leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=41796), I have access to a CNC engraver as well and I had the same problems as well.

I use a hydraulic 12-ton arbor press I converted into a clicker. I learned how to weld a few days ago and I now know how to make my own clicker dies, and how to re-enforce clicker dies. It's easier than you think.

If you have access to a laser engraver and want to make stamps, use Delrin and not acrylic. Delrin is way stronger than acrylic and is easier to work with on a laser engraver. Also, there should be a feature on your laser engraver that has a stamping mode, where you can get better results for creating an object for stamping. By using stamping mode, it creates letters in a pyramid shape so there is a better impression.

Hit me up if you have any questions, as I'm always willing to help out - especially a former Oregonian.

P.S. - GO DUCKS!

Edited January 27, 2013 by Samuel

[Slow Learner]

I just started making my own dies (steel rule dies w/plywood in the center) and I modified a 12 ton shop press. I used the plates weavers sells with their cutting pad and replaced the bottle jack with an air powered one. I have about 300 bucks invested in it and another 500 or so in the bender for the dies and some dies for it. My patterns are roughly 7" X5" and it takes a considerable amount of force to cut through 7-7.5 oz leather. I doubt that machine would do it but its hard to tell how big it is. The biggest downfall to the shop press is you need to have pieces that fit in between the arms. Some day ill get a real clicker press but for now this works better than any round knife I've ever used.

I am wanting to start making my dies. Can you put up pictures of your die operation. I am wanting to do my dies as well but am flying in the dark. I am spending money on some things I may not need. Any advice would be treasured. Thanks Darrel