It has been recommended to me that I utilize a “foot press” (“kick
press”) for a certain project. Once again, I turn to Orchid for
help. Given that the metal (gold and/or sterling) is only going to
be 2 to 3 mm thick & 5 to 6 mm wide, I don’t want to spend more
money then I have to on a foot press which will be overkill. Gold
Machinery International’s site leaves a little to be desired in the
way of details (machines’ abilities) and pricing so I haven’t moved
along the learning curve in analyzing the available options.
Another piece of advice I received is to make sure the press I
purchase is relatively simple in construction so that I can fix it
myself should the need arise.
All this leads me to ask Orchidians: 1) What foot press would you
recommend? 2) What price range am I looking at to purchase a new
one? 3) Any recommendations for a source?
p.s., I realize that the “stamps” are a separate cost.
Cameron, I’ve been using a kick press for a while as the third stage
of production blanking. The first stage is “cut by hand” the second
is pancake dies and screw press and the third, if the design looks
like it’s really here to stay, is the $400 kick press die. If you’re
a real tool junkie these things are great. I got mine from Gold
Machinery about six years ago. It is an Adam’s #1, meaning about 1
ton of pressure depending on who is doing the kicking. It cost $175
plus only $600 crating and shipping to Hawaii… 625 lb… It is
about 80 to 100 years old and gives a certain fin-de-siecle sweat
shop feeling to my garage that I just love. Don’t worry about having
to service or fix one. These things are classic American overbuilt
iron with two moving parts and a set screw. I get my dies made by
Fred Ricci tools. Frank Ricci told me recently that kick presses are
now basically free in Providence because of OSHA regulations. If you
can drive to Providence you could save a lot of money. You can get
new presses from www.precisionresource.com. These aren’t free. I
talked to them at Tucson last year and they are extremely helpful.
They also get their dies done at Fred Ricci Tools. I can’t get their
web site to load right at the moment but I’m getting the address off
of their bag so I’m sure it is right. Going from hand cutting to
pancake dies is a huge leap in productivity and going to a kick
press is just as huge again. The dies are supposedly good for
1,000,000 punches with occasional resurfacing. The press was in my
store, unused for about a year. We worked it into displays. It got
so many older men talking about their lives, families and their work
experiences in the 40’s and 50’s. It was a great learning
experience. Good luck. John Flynn
The most common kick press for jewelers has been the No. 10 and
No.12. We picked up a few at an auction. These are tall and heavy.
If you can drive to New York State you may pick these up for
$100.00. We have about 20 in stock. This is till supplies last. It
is true that you can get them almost free in Providence. We have
these clean rust free and freshly painted. Sorry we do not have any
dies for these.