I need to put eyelets in leather and corsets

[Buffalo Barbie]

I need a press or something to put lots of eyelets in leather and corsets.
Thanks,
BB

[Slowhand Bob]

BB, most of the presses will do standard eyelets if the right attachments are available.  I have several presses and like the small one Tandy puts out just fine.  At $100 these are pretty expensive compared to hand setting and this is about the cheapest I know of.  The speed lace type eyelets are a different story and I have no experience there and do not know what type gear is needed for them.

[TN Mongo]

You might find an inexpensive hand jig for eyelets at a fabric shop if Tandy doesn't carry anything besides the $100 press.

[Shotgun Franklin]

If you're only going to use this on one outfit it might be better to see if a local Leathersmith would do it for ya.

[Buffalo Barbie]

If you're only going to use this on one outfit it might be better to see if a local Leathersmith would do it for ya.

I'm getting set up to be the local leathersmith.

[Slowhand Bob]

BB, as I said earlier there are several levels at which you canperform this simple chore but I would always suggest starting out with some good quality hand setting tools.  Its best to learn the basics first, the experience will help in developing mass production techniques and there will always be many times when the basics are the quickest and most practical.  The wife is hollering for me to take her out kayaking today but I will try to snap some pictures and show you what I had set up in the way of presses when I get back home, if it isnt to late.

[Shotgun Franklin]

I getting set up to be the local leathersmith.

Ha, that does make a difference. I hope you do well.

BTW, is that your picture?

[Buffalo Barbie]

Ha, that does make a difference. I hope you do well.

BTW, is that your picture?

Why thanks! 
That's Jessica Alba, and this is me here http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,31990.50.html

[Slowhand Bob]

Well feeling somewhat akin to Daniel in that lions den, I summoned the courage to trek into my old shop and it is a terrible mess nowdays.  The wife swears that she saw a snakes tail disappear behind some old boxes in there about a month ago so do not laugh at the mess.  Hope the pictures help with understanding some of the small shop presses.

The top press is put out by Weaver Leather and a pretty nice press with plenty of options for a small shop.  Below it is a bank of presses similar to what Tandy lists as embossing presses and they offer a fair number of options as well but in my mind are a bit expensive in comparison to some of the others.  If you look close you will see a small tubular rivet setter tucked in there also and I consider these as almost useless, not much throat clearance and poor leverage.  More messy shop pictures to follow!   

[Slowhand Bob]

As promised, some different examples I dug out of the mess.  The red ones on top are available from Tandy or Weaver and handle a fair number of setting attachments.  If you send a copy of your business license in to Tandy they will do you some pretty good discounts and the small red presses frequently list for under $100.  The second picture is of a pair of presses I picked up pff Ebay many years ago at good bargains.  I like them almost as well as the red ones and they are actually handier for hand operation but the little red ones lend themselves pretty well to home made foot operation.  The stand will hold four of the small presses of either style.  I will show a couple of different type presses in the next post.

[Slowhand Bob]

The top picture here is of my old Tippmann 15ton clicker press.  These are great for really speeding up the cutting of your most used patterns.  Price wise these are close to the bottom and do not offer nearly the speed and ease of use compared to most others.  Below it is a fairly new arbor press that I purchased for the day I clean the shop up but have since decided it does not make a very good embossing press for some of the mid size to larger plates.  I do have a couple of ideas for using it in a leather shop though. 

[Buffalo Barbie]

As promised, some different examples I dug out of the mess.  The red ones on top are available from Tandy or Weaver and handle a fair number of setting attachments.  If you send a copy of your business license in to Tandy they will do you some pretty good discounts and the small red presses frequently list for under $100.  The second picture is of a pair of presses I picked up pff Ebay many years ago at good bargains.  I like them almost as well as the red ones and they are actually handier for hand operation but the little red ones lend themselves pretty well to home made foot operation.  The stand will hold four of the small presses of either style.  I will show a couple of different type presses in the next post.

Thanks so much for sharing the pic Bob. 
How well do the Tandy presses work? Do you pull the handle towards you?

We were also looking at this and drilling and tapping to accept the dies. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-arbor-press-3552.html

[Buffalo Barbie]

The top picture here is of my old Tippmann 15ton clicker press.  These are great for really speeding up the cutting of your most used patterns.  Price wise these are close to the bottom and do not offer nearly the speed and ease of use compared to most others.  Below it is a fairly new arbor press that I purchased for the day I clean the shop up but have since decided it does not make a very good embossing press for some of the mid size to larger plates.  I do have a couple of ideas for using it in a leather shop though. 

What kinda work do you do Bob? That sure looks like one of the Juki 441's at around $6000.00. 

[Slowhand Bob]

The red ones from Tandy pull down from the back of the machine.  With foot controls and a small stand these would be small versions of the larger Weaver press.  I wonder if Cowboy WC has enough influence with his Tandy contacts to get that ball rolling?

In most cases these presses are not faster than a good set of hand setters but they do frequently let you get away with a bit of sloppy hardware fit because they do set in a straight line and will not cause the overlong shafts to cave to the side as easily.  These are great for assembly line work but but not as much so for custom work.

I have been retired for several years now and spend most of my days playing cowboy, boating, feeding deer and entertaining the wife plus several small dogs.  Who said fun is reserved for the young?

Here is one last picture, a great little open sided roll embosser that uses foot pressure but I adapted it to use weights as optional.  These are made by the same guy who is selling the US and CS plates on Ebay.  The open side allows rolling border patterns on holsters and other larger projects.

[JD Alan]

Holy Cow Bob! Thanks for all the pix, and the explanations, JD