Arbor press touchmark jig/guide

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blandies

Joined
Aug 18, 2011
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I've searched the forum for some help, but did not find any posts that helped considering my circumstances. I need a jig/guide for my touchmark punch to get nice deep, perfect even prints. I do not have a milling machine & my punch is round, not square. I will be stamping cold on annealed steel.
Any ideas what I can do here? I don't want to spend more than maybe $40 or use hydraulic presses.

If I could modify an arbor press how could I do so considering I do not have a milling machine? And what is a good brand press? I was looking into a Grizzly, I don't like to cheap out on harbor freight tooling...but the Grizzly is pretty pricey. Keep in mind my punch is round.
 
Whatever you decide to hold the punch with.


I would install a set screw to help hold the punch in
For the round punch, drill a hole in whatever you hold it with, something you make, or the ram of the arbour press.

Then drill and tap a hole in from the side for a set screw
Then grind a flat spot on the side of the round punch that line sup with the set screw.

That will help keep it from turning on you.


& when I say set screw, I really mean any long screw -
You can set the projecting screw to face "up" to help you remember which way the stamp points.
 
12345678910 said:
Whatever you decide to hold the punch with.


I would install a set screw to help hold the punch in
For the round punch, drill a hole in whatever you hold it with, something you make, or the ram of the arbour press.

Then drill and tap a hole in from the side for a set screw
Then grind a flat spot on the side of the round punch that line sup with the set screw.

That will help keep it from turning on you.


& when I say set screw, I really mean any long screw -
You can set the projecting screw to face "up" to help you remember which way the stamp points.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by drilling a hole in the ram of the arbor press. I'm assuming the ram is the square block?

I was looking at this 1/2 ton Grizzly arbor press, wouldn't 1 ton be too big for punch work....or is 1/2 ton too small? 1/2 was cheaper.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Arbor-Press-1-2-Ton/G4017

I'm not sure at all where to start on this thing to mod it, or if the 1/2 ton is even the right size to get.
And I do not have nor know how to use taps.
 
This is my arbor press with a round punch for my maker's mark in it. It is a 1 ton. It cost me around $90 on Amazon. I spent another $15 on the sledge hammer to slam down on the ram - yes, that is the square block that goes up and down. I just broke that flower looking spinner thing that sits on the work rest in half while hammering my stamp. You can see what it looks like in your link of the Grizzly press. Needless to say, my knife got jacked up as well. I am cold stamping stainless.

I will most likely retire my arbor press to kydex rivet duty, a task it is up to.

One of my next projects will be to build a bottle jack press like the one 1234567890 posted recently. If you don't want to spend more than $40, chuck that stamp up in a pair of vice-grips, and hit it with a really big hammer one time. Your results may vary.


IMG_6864-1.jpg
 
It seems arbor presses all break eventually when using them for touchmark guides, so that may not be best for me to do.

I really liked Dake's arbor presses models "x" & "00" but they are almost $300, compared to Grizz's $50 price tag. Is there really any need to spend the money for the Dake? When I called Dake I was surprised at the quote.

I still may get the Grizzly 1/2 ton for kydex rivet work as you said, since I will be making sheaths from kydex. Again for this purpose (kydex sheath making) would the 1/2 ton be enough or should I spend a bit more for the 1 ton?

I would like a good precision jig for stamping on my touchmark since my hands/hammering isn't steady to say the least. With a hydraulic jig don't you have to buy tanks of air or is it a one time purchase w/ no upkeep materitals?
 
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Buy a cheap $40-45 HF/Northern/otherbrand one ton arbor press. They often are on sale for $30 or less.

When you get it home, go to the socket wrench drawer in your shop ( or a pawn shop's tool bins) and take an old 3" extension for a 1/2" drive. Cut off the female socket end ,leaving just the square male end with its ball detent and about 1" of shaft. Take the arbor off the press, and drill it out to fit the round socket shaft. Epoxy the shaft in place if it isn't a press fit. When using the press, take a socket that snugly fits the punch and place it on the ram. You can find a socket that will hold a square, round, rectangle, etc punch. If needed, you can shorten the shaft before drilling it out. The punches can be modified,too.
In use, place a piece of 1/4" steel on the press foot to be a "table" for the knife blade to sit on. (Throw away the cross shaped press table.) Place the blade on the table, set the punch in position, apply force to the press arm handle, and when all is down tight, give the ram end a smack with a 3-4 pound maul. Some practice will teach you just how hard the smack needs to be to get a good impression.

The next step up is using a hydraulic jack . The air powered 12 ton ones at HF for $80 work great, but the $30-40 manual ones will work fine.These are regularly on sale, too. (If you use the air powered jack, get/make a foot switch to start and stop the air pressure. This frees up both hands when pressing your mark.)
Weld up a simple frame from any strong steel you have available...angle,channel, bar stock, etc. Weld, or fit in some fashion, the socket end I described above to the top of the frame..... so the punch will be pointing down.
Place the jack under the punch and make a "table", or plate of some sort, to set the knife on. Place the knife blade on the table, raise the jack to position the punch where you want, and then press in the mark.
Tip - make a small 2-3" "hand wheel" to fit over the "T" release valve. This allows simpler pressure release.
 
blandies said:
I still may get the Grizzly 1/2 ton for kydex rivet work as you said, since I will be making sheaths from kydex. Again for this purpose (kydex sheath making) would the 1/2 ton be enough or should I spend a bit more for the 1 ton?
Click to expand...

Either would work for kydex rivets - a small drill press even works. They don't require much pressure. The trick, if you don't buy one that is proprietary to the flaring dies, is matching the ram bore hole with the diameter of your flaring dies or making an adapter.
 
You need different dies for the press? I thought it was just a single square block with a flat bottom.
Where would I buy dies & which ones do I need? I googled AP dies & only seen one link on knifemaker.com here,

http://www.usaknifemaker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37&products_id=1550

By the picture it looks like their set eyelets are sloppy looking, just me or is there better out there? It looks like knifekits.com has some nice ones.?

So I will be buying my own arbor press 1 ton, buying some dies for sheath making. I will hopefully not ruin my press & attempt to drill a hole in the rams side/bottom (what size drill bit?). I do not have a threader (tap?) where can I buy one & which size do I need for what I'm doing.
And I will drill my own hole in the flowery anvil hopefully not ruining it & getting it centered.

EDIT:

What about this? It's already pre-drilled for the dies & not much more than a regular arbor press. Is this a quality machine or just a cheapy?

http://www.knifekits.com/vcom/product_info.php?cPath=41_57&products_id=634
 
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The dies that USA knifemaker sells are 3/8" shank. If the press you get comes with a 3/8" hole in the bottom of the ram, you would be fine with that setup. My arbor press has a 1/2" hole, or bore, so I would have to modify something to make them fit. Knifekits.com makes a propriety arbor press. Their flaring dies have something like a .417 shank and their arbor press is set up for it. My point is that not all of this stuff is simply interchangeable. I don't think those flaring dies are sloppy from USA knifemaker. Tracy over there deals in quality goods.

I would say that those are basically the same arbor presses with different size holes drilled in the bottom to fit their particular dies. Do you have a drill press? You can skip the arbor press all together if your only intent is flaring rivets.
 
I do think I prefer the knifekits arbor press since it is predrilled & set up for what I need. I do have a drill press but would be worried of breaking it after a lot of use riveting....may as well spend the $70 on the press.

In the spirit of kydex sheaths I also seen knifekits 2 models of molding presses, does anyone have any feedback on them? They look like they would be good. My main concern is if they have enough weight on top to press down as tight/good as the ones you put in a vise & squeeze.
 
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You can make your own easy enough with some 3/4" plywood, scrap wood and hardware, foam and some hinges. Or plywood, foam, no hardware - just stand on it for 5 minutes. Some people recommend a woodworkers vice mounted vertically. Search the subject and you will find enough information.
 
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