Mounting dies on a 1 Ton Arbor Press?

[Edvin]

I have a whole lot of dies for setting rivets, stamps and other tools that I have collected over the years. All of them are hand held. Now I'm thinking of getting a small arbor press for some of that work. I would like to mount the dies I have in the arbor press. Several of the dies are hand made for custom projects and it would be good to use them in the future.

Have anyone any idea how to do that? I'm guessing some kind of chuck and somehow attaching that to the press?

[Albob]

One way is to drill the ram and use a set screw to secure your dies. Of course that depends on what the dies look like? Do you have pics of the dies?

[LumpenDoodle2]

When I first got my arbor, I rigged up a chuck from an old electric drill.    Although it had a lot of potential for using with stamps and dies, the chuck did take up a lot of the limited height on the arbour.

[Edvin]

Several of my dies are just made from filing down center punches. Others are like these for eyelets. 

[silverwingit]

I'll share my experience. It may change your mind about spending a lot of money modifying an arbor press.

I modified my arbor press as Albob suggests. 3/8" hole in the ram and a thumb style set screw, with carefully aligned 3/8" hole in the rotating anvil. I had tools of several different diameters so I had my machinist make slotted bushings of the appropriate diameter to fit the various tools in the ram. Works just fine.

But then I learned some things from experience.

1) I didn't need the bushings for many operations. The set screw grabs the tool off-center from the ram but that makes no difference since you center the tool visually anyway for them.

2) The rig is inconvenient for me to use because it has to be bolted down and I bolted it to the end of my workbench. So I have to get up, go over there, set the dies up, set the snap, etc., remove the dies and return to my stool. For most of my work I get the job done just as well and much more quickly with my hand setter. Grab it, boom, done.

3) I ended up buying both the Tandy and Goldstar presses. They are much more convenient because they really don't need to be mounted, and if you do mount them only a small, narrow platform is necessary. My intended use for the Tandy press is the large inventory of Ohio Travel Bag snaps and rivets I use. The Goldstar press won't fit them. But I use a lot of spring snaps and I have trouble with hand setting them. I bought a gazillion Asian spring snaps and the Goldstar press is used exclusively for them. I didn't care for Tandy's spring snaps and didn't want to spend $90 on a set of dyes.

4) In the end, my arbor press gathers dust. Honestly, the Tandy press also gathers dust. I can't justify buying more dies and I can set most everything but those finicky spring snaps by hand.

5) If I had to do it all over again and if I didn't have such  a large inventory of Ohio Travel Bag hardware (that doesn't fit the GS press), I'd I'd go for the Goldstar press and associated dies and hardware. I'd have saved a ton of money with that hindsight.

An arbor or hand press sounds appealing but when you get down to actually using one in a productions environment you find out how clumsy and time consuming it is to mount the two sets of dies you need to set one snap and you arrive at one of two conclusions. You  would do very well to practice hand setting as it is far quicker and more efficient unless you can justify buying a hand press and associated dies for each type of hardware you use.

That's my experience and opinion. YMMV.

Michelle

[TwinOaks]

I had an almost identical experience with my arbor press as posted by Silverwingit.  My arbor press is sitting under the workbench, holding down a section of floor.  Besides, there's just something medicinal about smacking things with a mallet/hammer :)

[bob21804]

I find the last 2 responses enlightening, as I too have been thinking about utilizing my 1-ton arbor press for various tasks such as setting snaps and stamping. In light of what was shared, the only leatherworking task I still think I'll need my arbor press for would be getting the pressure needed for an embossing plate I bought, (but still haven't used). I do most of my leatherwork in my livingroom (until I get around to putting together a dedicated shop), so maybe I'll bolt my arbor press down to the workbench in my shed for occasional general use. And I even made a buddy a small leather item with the understanding he'd help me modify my arbor press when I'm ready to tackle the project. He works in the Tooling Department at my job, so he has access to various machine shop equipment. I think I'll get him to make me a multi-slotted edge beveling tool That I can attach to a small bench grinder instead. Sounds like a (new) plan.

[Red Bear Haraldsson]

Good responses all, but I actually have the opposite problem. I'm in an apartment and everything is carpeted. With the bench that I have, I have way too much bounce and shock absorption to set anything any kind of decent. The only place I have that is solid enough to set things like snaps, rivets, and grommets is the kitchen floor. So, I am on hands and knees, trying to hold everything straight, and get a good whack with the mallet.

I bought my arbor press to put grommets in the crying towels we made for our annual (Cowboy Action Shooting) this year. Even with holding the hand tool in the press and using the arbor to push the hand tool down into the setter gives me better results than sitting on the floor in the kitchen. The bonus is that I do not irritate the neighbors with a lot of banging around.

Also must say though, I do not do anything in a production-style setting. Everything is a one-off so every step has all its own set up and take down. This is best for me as I can concentrate on each step of the process as I need to.

As Michelle said, your mileage may vary.

[Colt W Knight]

I have the Goldstar press that I bought to set grommets in Cattle GPS collars I was making, and it is worth every penny for how much easier and quicker it made setting all those hundreds of grommets. However, I don't like the setup as much as the 1 ton arbor press because I have to stand behind the goldstar press to depress the lever. I would much rather have an arbor press that I would bolt to the my bench ( I make quick detaches so I can easily take my presses off for storage) and sit in front of so I can easily guide the leather into the die and depress the lever. This wouldn't be a big deal if you are only doing a few rivets, buttons, or grommets at a time, but its a huge pain when setting a lot. But for just a few, I still use my hand tools. 

I have to agree with RedBear, I get better and more consistent results using a press, and anytime I don't have to pound something with a hammer my ears are happier, and the reduced pounding doesn't flare up my essential tremors in my hands. 

 

Edited May 12, 2016 by Colt W Knight

[Mongo]

I use my arbor press for certain stamps (like letters) and for setting snaps.  Tandy has an oversize piece that fits right over the top of their stamps for use with a press (a very inexpensive part).  It almost covers the back of the stamp.  I simply set the leather on a small piece of granite on the arbor press and set the stamp with the piece on top and I get a perfect impression.  It's a much better impression than I ever get using a maul.

For snaps I use a Osborne snap jig and it works perfectly with the arbor press.  I bought my arbor press on sale from Harbor Freight on sale and they also let me use a coupon.