hand crank 5 ton clicker presses

[NickM]

Can anyone give me some info on those little hand crank 5 ton clicker presses. I have been making holsters and would really like to quit cutting the same peice's over and over by hand. What would be a fair price for a used one? Is it the right tool for making holsters? How much do the dyes cost? Am I missing anything?

Thanks,

Nick.

[Dink]

Nick

I have no idea about the hand crank clicker, But I use dies from Texas custom made dies thay are very good dies and reasonable, unless you want something very elaborate, I have seen very few dies over $100 and many in the $30 to $40 range. I do not have their number handy but can get it if you like. If interested, once you get your die made. we click for $2.00 each.

Dink

[Luke Hatley]

Can anyone give me some info on those little hand crank 5 ton clicker presses. I have been making holsters and would really like to quit cutting the same peice's over and over by hand. What would be a fair price for a used one? Is it the right tool for making holsters? How much do the dyes cost? Am I missing anything?

Thanks,

Nick.

HELLO NICK, if i was going to buy a clicker press and not spend a large amount of $$$$$

i would get mine from TIPPIMAN INDUSTRY,

[bruce johnson]

Nick,

I had a friend with one of the round platen hand operated clickers Weavers (and I think Leather Factory) used to sell. The handle seemed about 3 feet long, and was a headknocker. I talked to a few guys who have the Mach III, which is probably what you are talking about. They cost around $1100 or a bit more. One guy liked his for a pair of spur straps, but much bigger than that was a "push". They do about the equivalent of 5 tons over an area about the size of a sheet of paper. He also said the heavier leather was more effort, even with smaller dies. They are a real precision item, and easy to use and adjust from reports.

I looked into the pneumatic ones. The satisfied customer they referred me to offered to sell me his smaller one. He said he could use his shop press faster on skirting leather and using two dies, than the pneumatic. His bigger pneumatic one was good for the heavier leather and bigger dies. I think someone who makes holsters (?) mentioned the same experience on this forum somewhere.

On the advice of a guy I talked to, I got a 20 ton shop press from a local industrial supplier (under $200). Better quality and about the same cost as Harbor Freight. Cost difference for the 20 ton vs. lesser capacity was negligible. I put a piece of cold roll steel scrap on the rails. I lay a piece of HDPE cutting board over that, the leather. the die. I then lay another piece of cold roll to cover the die and spread the force of the ram. Jack it down and it really does "click" when it goes through. You only have to raise it up enough to slide out the die and leather, reset with another piece, and go on. I can cycle through pretty quick. Obviously this is not a production setup, but I had at least $900 in savings in my pocket before I bought the first die. It has enabled me to buy more dies to make life easier with less investment. I use mine for spur straps, latigo and cinch carriers, that kind of stuff. My wife does coasters and key fobs (buckle end of spur straps). I have dies from Texas Custom Dies and would not hesitate to recommend them. I also have some off-the-rack ones from Big Sky that I got off ebay and at a show, they are good too.

[CitizenKate]

Nick,

I've got one made by Lucris ("Series 3"), and I love it. I got it used a couple of years ago for about $600. Very useful for quickly cutting out smaller parts. (Smaller being, about .7 square feet or smaller.) I get dies from Texas Custom. Most of mine are just simple outlines (no holes in the middle), and I've paid about an average of about $30 for each, pretty affordable.

I also use it to stamp my business cards, which is done with a custom stamping plate I got from Grey Ghost Graphics (aka Jeff Moseby). A business card sized plate ran about $80. (See the attachment - I added some border stamping of my own to complete the piece.)

Can anyone give me some info on those little hand crank 5 ton clicker presses. I have been making holsters and would really like to quit cutting the same peice's over and over by hand. What would be a fair price for a used one? Is it the right tool for making holsters? How much do the dyes cost? Am I missing anything?

Thanks,

Nick.

[Tangent Creations]

We did what Bruce did... Bought a 12 ton hydraulic shop press ($100 at Harbor Freight) and rigged it for the upper plate and cutting surface. My husband clicked out about 300+ lamellar pieces surprisingly quick. He wants to convert it to pneumatic, but that's a whole 'nother issue. We also use Texas Custom Dies. If you go the way of a shop press you can use the savings to buy bookoo dies If you don't need super serious production.

[CitizenKate]

I was considering one of those hydraulic presses, but couldn't find any information on how to "rig" them with the right attachments (plates, etc.) for cutting. Not even the local machinist could give me any useful advice.

Kate

[Tangent Creations]

One flat plate to support the cutting pad.

One flat plate attached to the pressing part (ours isn't attached because we still use the press for other things.

Put your leather ontop of the cutting board/pad, put your clicker die in place, place your flat plate on top and use the press to click it out! It's really simple. I'll get some pics for you.

Here's a question for Bruce, what do you use for your cutting surface???

[bruce johnson]

Like Tangent, I didn't attach the upper plate to the ram. I also use mine to press molded things with. I attached a pic of a cell phone case front mold. I mold the leather with the ram just on the male portion of the mold first. Then I put a bigger piece over the whole thing and press again. The second pressing really sharpens up the angle and flattens the lip for sewing. When the piece has lost enough moisture to stamp, I back it up with the male portion of the mold. I make the molds out of scraps of cutting boards. The HDPE and LDPE both work up nicely with woodworking tools. I have made cell phone cases for several sizes, bottle pocket bottoms for medicine bags, and tunnel loops for cinches.

I also attached a pic of how mine is set up. I use a piece of HDPE cutting board to click against. Once you have clicked through the first one, you only need to let off the pressure enough to raise it slightly more than the leather thickness. Sldie it out, slide another in, and go on. Usually 5-6 strokes will cut through heavy skirting, so it goes pretty fast. I have a few pieces of cold roll scraps to cover the different size dies I have. You really want to cover as much (and probably all) of the die to prevent bending it.

[Regis]

Bruce,

Did you make the press frame? Does it have weld joints or all bolts? Is that 4" U-channel or an I beam?

Regis