Arbor Press

[Dwight]

Is 1/2 ton sufficient?

Your reply has got me looking on Harbor freight for a 1/2 ton press. They are on sale now for $37!

Thanks

Take a look at these letters, . . . done with the half ton Harbor Freight press, . . . a couple of them actually went deep enough that you could see the impression of the material around the actual stamp.

The trick to using the press (for me, . . . this is how I do it) is to first go through the whole line to see how big it will be. You do that by positioning the letters, and measuring how long it is.

I then start in the middle and work both ways.

Say I wanted to stamp "NORTH", . . . and it measures out 3 inches long. I make a mark at 1 1/2 inches, . . . position the center of the R at that mark, . . . and press the R into the leather. I then remove the R from the handle, . . . and lay it loosely back into the impression. I would then take the T, . . . position it so the edge of the letter touches the edge of the R, . . . and press it.

Next I take the O and lay it next to the R so the letters touch and press it. Then I would do the N and the H, . . . again leaving the O and the T to maintain my proper spacing between letters.

Be careful to make sure your handle is perpendicular, . . . gives an even stamp, . . . slanted will look uneven on one side or the other.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited April 10, 2014 by Dwight

[retiredff]

Dwight - thanks for the great insight. I think this press would work great for me.

should the handle be perpendicular before starting to press of when completing?

Thanks again

Tony

[Dwight]

Dwight - thanks for the great insight. I think this press would work great for me.

should the handle be perpendicular before starting to press of when completing?

Thanks again

Tony

Actually, Tony, . . . the ending attitude of the handle is more important than the starting.

Think of the handle as the minute hand on a big clock. If you were to turn the press to the left, 90 degrees so the handle is out front, . . . you want to wind up with the handle pointing to about 8 o'clock.

And that is 8 o'clock as the press contacts the handle holding the stamp, . . . and the stamp laying on the leather. This gives you your best pressure leverage, . . . and the best control.

You can take the front bolts off your press and adjust the mesh of the teeth to obtain that result. Takes a few minutes of playing with it, . . . but once it is set, you are all set.

There are also youtubes out there showing how to manipulate the press by removing teeth from the bar. I decided not to do that, . . . but you may want to. Just google up youtube: arbor press.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited April 10, 2014 by Dwight

[retiredff]

Thank you Dwight!

[zaynexpetty]

Ah, and also, the stamp logo you deboss into the leather has to be not much bigger than the vertical press that you push down. If the stamp is say an inch or more bigger than the press foot then the deboss kind of tails off at the edges, doesn't look good. Using a plate between your stamp and the press foot helps some though. Cheers Rich

I was considering buying a 1/2 ton arbor press with a 1 inch square ram for a large 10 x 10 cm brass stamp. I also had the idea of placing metal plates on either side of the stamp to see if it would even out. Are their any other ideas you might have for achieving an even stamp with a press like that?

Here is the one I was considering buying:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-ton-arbor-press-3551.html