How To Set-Up Arbor Press

[silverwingit]

Lydian8, seeing that no one directly answered the part of your question about setting snaps, etc., I'll offer the following.

Many arbor presses come with a 3/8" hole in the ram foot. Mine even came with a magnet in the top of the hole to hold various bits(?) that came with it. I had a machinist drill and tap a hole in the side of the ram to hold a set screw that I can use to hold various leather tools, setters, and punches and the like in place. Many leather tools have 3/8" shafts, while others are smaller. Knowing this I also had my machinist make a slotted steel sleeve of the smaller inner diameter that would fit into the hole in the ram, ala Ian Atkinson. Later I found that the smaller tools are held just fine without the sleeve.

Hope that helps,

Michelle

[biglew]

you can also look on ebay and see the ones that are converted... they tell you what size holes to drill

[barehandcustoms]

I use a 1/2 ton from Harbor Freight for my logo stamp and sometimes rivets. No more breaking out the sledge hammer for a clean logo! I just put a clean piece of steel on top of the revolving piece and press directly on the stamp. I have a few custom 3d hard plastic stamps and they do just fine under the press.... so I know the metal stamps are good to go unless you get crazy with the press.

I regret not going with the 1 or 2 ton press though. I figured a 1/2 ton was already overkill when I bought it.

Edited June 19, 2014 by barehandcustoms

[jimmy eng]

I do the same as CST and press the stamp directly but if I need to do multiple copies I use a bit of my contact cement to keep it on (and stamp on a bit of scrap to set the stamp in place and prevent any slippage). I've found that thinner leather needs a thicker piece of scrap leather under it whereas I only need a steel base for 8oz or higher to get a clear mark.

The biggest I've ever used on my 1 ton arbor is a 50 x 50mm stamp. I also mark in permanent marker the centre of the image on the stamp to help alignment.

[Red Cent]

A cowboy friend gave me this press.



In a hole in the ram head is a bar that is rounded on the end and is held by a magnet. Removed, any metal stamp will be held rather firmly or can be easily moved by hand. Seems with a touch of water, any stamp would show on 3-4 ounce.

[ConradPark]

I use a small 2 ton arbor press for everything from stamping makers mark to riveting. I just use the steel base that came with the press, never had any problem. For larger templates I press first on one side, then every 2 inches or so until I reach the other end of the template. For much wider than 5" I use a book press. Weight of leather doesn't really matter as I dampen the leather surface the same way as when I do tooling. This also make the stamping slightly darker on natural and lighter colored leather. More important that you get good quality metal templates. Brass is best for the cost considered but thick magnesium is a cheap alternative for limited stamping. For chrome tanned leather you need to do heat stamping to get a lasting mark anyway. I would suggest not to use any stone as a surface as this can crack if you press too hard.

Edited July 30, 2014 by ConradPark

[ClaireAshton]

Just noticed this thread moving again. I just sent the following in a private message, but as you can see my frustration is creeping in...

My latest homemade tool that is NOT getting made is my Arbor press which I want to convert to a rivet and snap setter (as per Ian Atkinson Youtube video). I went to a local engineering works and they wanted £75 + VAT ($160?) to do the job, 2 main holes, 4 small holes for grub screws and 2 teeth grinding off. I came away, I could nearly have bought a made for the job machine from Tandy for that price.

What i might try is doing it myself. All I have is a hand power drill, corded and a cordless one. What are the chances of drilling the lengthwise hole anywhere near straight?

Alternatively if anyone knows of someone local to me who can manage this for a lot less than that asking price?

Claire

PS I manage by jamming the snap setter under the ram, then making sure it is vertical in both directions. What a pain that is! I can't set Line 24 caps as the little plate with the depressions will fit, just, but the line 24 is the end one and is unsupported. Whinge!

[Nuttish]

I posted this as a question in another existing thread but it's really not on topic there. So I decided to re-post it here...apologies for a double post but I can't remove the other one.

I went to Harbor Freight and picked up one of their 1 ton presses. Mainly because I don't like the way my 3D stamps have been coming out on 3/4 oz leather. I ordered a 3/8 inch thick steel plate and am waiting for that to arrive. I have to get some wood clamps or something to secure it to my bench. And I'm trying to think what I should use to put on top of the steel plate - under the leather to get a nice crisp stamp.

So I was wondering if anyone else uses regularly an Arbor press, and if so what kind of set-up you have. I could try trial and error but if I could get some help here I'm hoping to save myself some anxiety

I use a 2 ton Dake every day. 1 ton doesn't do it. Don't attach it to your bench with clamps unless you want a broken foot. They've got mounting holes for a reason.

I drilled and tapped the base so I could permanently attach a scrap of 1/2" steep plate. For small flat Delrin dies, I literally just use the ram on the back of the die. Larger dies will flex, so I have a little bit of steel on the back.

My dies have little tabs on them that fit into laser cut templates so that they're perfectly registered for every piece I'm marking.

[BDAZ]

I simply use a piece of granite on my 2 ton press. I hve some smaller plates for larger cutom stamps but for regular 2D and 3D work I use the Tandy Mules foot. The ram on the 2 ton is much bigger than the one ton.

Cya!

Bob

[Mike516]

Yes, you want to mount this with bolts, not clamps, as shown in my picture earlier in the thread.

The ram foot is not needed, but it can be used if you have trouble lining the stamps up.

I got another 1/4" steel plate to cover dies and can use this to cut small patterns on 3/4 oz leather as well.

Very versatile tool. So glad I made the small investment.

[ClaireAshton]

Bought a manual skiver on Ebay and went to collect...... as I walked into seller's workshop what do i see but a largeish bench pillar drill. Mmmmm....... 20 mins later and I had made arrangements for my arbor press ram to go in the post for the mods.

Buy some taps, tapping drills. grubscrews and pay for postage there and back and pay for the machining and.........

....... Yep, you guessed it, it would have been cheaper to let the machine shop do the job in the first place. But somehow I thought it expensive and thought I could do it cheaper...........

Well, still cheaper than a Tandy + specific dies. Why have I done this? I'm not sure as I prefer good handsititching to riveting and I don't do many snaps!

But I like the tools. And I like looking at them and saying, no one has anything like that. Ah, Pleasure.....

Claire