Arbor Press Suggestions?

[chadbeatty]

Am looking at getting an arbor press to put makers mark on knives. Mark is 3/16 about size of single letter. Usually marking stainless steel. Was looking at 6 ton press. Is this sufficient?

 

[Reeltor]

I don't know if 6 tons is sufficient but HF recently had the 12 ton hydraulic press on sale for $99 and the 20 ton for $149. I don't think you will find a 6 ton arbor press for less $$'s

Mike

 

[countryguy]

I recently picked up a OBI (told it means One Button Increment??) for a price about the same as the HF press. It's a 10ton unit I guess. They are all over at really easy prices. Just a thought. I was going to try and make a power hammer out of it also. Popped in a pic for ya. Sorry it went sideways. Blah!

 

[ericc]

6 tons is probably marginal if the metal is done cold. I have heard that for this application, you can improve the effectiveness by cranking the ram down so that the punch is trapped against the surface to be marked, then hit it on the top with a small hammer in the free hand. One clean rap, and the metal is captive. This may be worthwhile.

Those OBI presses are good for repeated punching or stamping operations. They have to make a full cycle. They are not suitable for conversion into power hammers, but I have seen some nifty flypress conversions. I would take one with no motor if it was free, otherwise, they are scary.

 

[JimDawson]

I recently picked up a OBI (told it means One Button Increment??)

OBI = Open Back, Inclinable

6 tons is probably marginal if the metal is done cold. I have heard that for this application, you can improve the effectiveness by cranking the ram down so that the punch is trapped against the surface to be marked, then hit it on the top with a small hammer in the free hand

:+1:

If I were going to do this, I would get a cheap 1 ton arbor press (Harbor Freight $50) and just use it to hold the stamp. I might use a bit bigger hammer than @ericc suggests, like about 4 lb. Just smack the top of the ram when everything is positioned and held in place with the ram. It really takes a lot of tonnage to stamp lettering in metal. The hammer blow does all the work and can provide several tons for the instant it takes to do the job. Holding the tool down with the press keeps things from bouncing and screwing up the stamp. A little experimenting to get the technique down will make you an expert at this in no time.

 

[chadbeatty]

thanks for the advice