identification

Hi Chaps/chapesses

bought this today at the local booty

had to shell out a hefty £2 for this and would like to have a better idea of what it is/was/ does/doesnt do

any ideas ?

total height is exactly 12 inches to the top of the handle as it stands

Edited By Ziggar on 26/05/2012 18:34:39

Hi there, Ziggar,

It looks like a press for setting eyelets or maybe the rivets on the older type of car brake shoes.

It needs a suitable pair of dies to make it usable - your photo doesn't show much detail of that part. It could be a useful bit of kit and fill a long-felt want or you could use it to fill up that empty bit of bench-top! (Now, now, Swarf, mustn't be catty!! )

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Hi There

May be some sort of shotgun cartrifge loader?

regards david

It might be an office embossing machine, it raises up the lettering with the right punches.

Other than that it could be as the 'Swarf' man says, an eyelet press.

I dont think it is anything to do with re-loading, wrong shape and size.

Clive

Ziggar,

It looks very much like the tool for press-fitting the plastic "glasses" to watches.

... If so, it would normally come with a set of dished brass "holders" and a set of rubber "pushers".

MichaelG.

Put "watch glass press" into Google, and you will see what I mean.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 26/05/2012 23:07:30

I think that Swarf is onto the right idea.

Many years ago I worked in a leather goods factory where we used very similar presses. The presses could be fitted with an assortment of dies to fit a large variety of rivets, eyelets and press studs.

I think that it might be a semi-automatic self oscillating flange pin remover!

Pailo.

thanks for the replys

only just about an inch of clearence between top and bottom parts
so no room for shotgun cartridges
could be something to do with rivets. has a small pointed type top section and relative bottom receiver part
both top and bottom parts are easily removable and could be changed within seconds to enable different jobs to be done

ive added a couple of hopefully clearer photos to see if that will help any further

John, as you say, it is at the moment a promising small press for use in the shed/shop. just need to use the brain a bit
replaceable bits are easily made for it, both being relatively small and easily turned on the lathe

Edited By Ziggar on 27/05/2012 11:41:51

With the better pictures ... I agree that it does look more like a press for setting eyelets, or press-studs, into fabric or leather.

A handy device, easily adaptable.

MichaelG.

Hi All

It is an eyelet press probably for canvas If you search the Internet they are still for sale.

Tools for different eyelets are inserted in the base and ram as shown they are for a two part brass or stainless steel eyelet, as found on tents and tarpaulins It does not make its own hole in this case the fabric is pre punched first.

The inverted T shaped eyelet part is placed on the bottom die then the hole in the fabric then a specially shaped washer. The upper die opens the eyelet centre and folds it over the washer, locking it in place

You will find eyelets are still available for the machine just take it to an eyelet supplier.

Cheers

John

Edited By John McNamara on 27/05/2012 15:11:21

Many years ago before the advent of plated through holes on printed circuit boards, the relevant connections between the tracks on each side of the PCB would have been made with soldered links. Sometimes this would have been short lengths of tinned copper wire, but a company that I worked for in the 1960s ( who shall be nameless, but made a lot of radars and records) they used to do this with rivetted eyelets and these were then soldered. For prototype purposes we used small bench presses just like the one shown to insert the eyelet, which I believe from memory had an outside diameter of 1/16".

For production purposes, a more sophisticated machine was used that was electrically driven and the eyelets were automatically presented the correct way up ready to push into the hole in the PCB and then the eyelet was swaged by pressing a foot pedal. It was amazing to see the speed that the production staff (usually ladies) could populate all the through holes on a board, sometimes many hundreds depending on the size of the PCB.

Phil

Hi there, all,

I think that Ziggar's latest photos confirm that the press is set up to set eyelets but, of course, it can do many jobs if only the tooling is to hand and there is enough daylight in the frame.

I have an eyeletting job current here and I bought a setting tool on eBay, based on the parallel-jawed pliers. Unfortunately, the dies supplied don't turn over the eyelet cleanly but burst the tubular part. Maybe I wasn't 'holding my mouth right'!

I have a copy of the last-ever hard cover Buck & Hickman catalogue, a mine of information, and I think there is a press like Ziggar's illustrated in there, also a foot-operated version.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Hi there, all,

I think that Ziggar's latest photos confirm that the press is set up to set eyelets but, of course, it can do many jobs if only the tooling is to hand and there is enough daylight in the frame.

I have an eyeletting job current here and I bought a setting tool on eBay, based on the parallel-jawed pliers. Unfortunately, the dies supplied don't turn over the eyelet cleanly but burst the tubular part. Maybe I wasn't 'holding my mouth right'!

I have a copy of the last-ever hard cover Buck & Hickman catalogue, a mine of information, and I think there is a press like Ziggar's illustrated in there, also a foot-operated version.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Hi there, again, all,

Sorry about the double post - I clicked the button but nothing seemed to happen so I clicked it again!!

Those of you with experience in the field of electronics will probably remember the laboratory rotary switch kit. The contacts were attached to the paxolin wafer with silver-plated eyelets. The setting tool that came with those kits was really good, I must have set hundreds of those eyelets in my days as a young development engineer but never had a dud one.

I'll only click once this time!

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

The bottom die can be changed easily, the problem is the top punch. How is it held in? Making new dies is easy enough and the little press is very usefull. It is quite light weight but you would find it usefull.

Rdgs

Dick

Hi All
again, thanks for the replies
getting a bit interesting now

the bottom part simply pulls out once the screw is loosened off
and the top part is just unscrewed from the main plunger/shaft and has something very close to a m6 thread
so a new shaft/plunger has already been made and threaded m6 so as to make things easier for me
new pieces/dies will now be made m6
so very easy to change pieces/dies

when i first saw it i thought that it would be handy as a small press for those smaller parts
and a damn site cheaper than a proper press

more than happy with me new purchase

" ... something very close to a m6 thread ..."

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious: That would presumably be 0BA.

MichaelG.

ill take your word for it

but im gonna use m6 cos im a metric type of guy

Hi Phil

That was called wire wrapping used to do it on mainframes such a DEC PDP's still have some of the tools. and gentlemen it is an eyelet press. go to any wholesale upholstery supplier and you can still get tthe eyelets by the zillion.

Nice little press and could be used for a number of tasks in the workshop. One of these tools that sit there then one day you say how do I do that then you look at the dusty little thing. Press fitting phospour bearings you name it.

Bob