Press for making Kydex toys and such....

Looks like press I picked up at HF. Have you drilled ram and bottom plate for eyelet dies yet?

Almost got that unit, but ended up ordering the master version.



You may already know, but if not ... I've read that results are improved (fewer split eyelets) by lubing dies before flaring the eyelets. Recommended: 3M Dry Silicone Spray Lube

No, it doesn't. The ram and the lower plate have to be drilled (for my dies anyway). Haven't done yet. Trick (of course), especially with the upper ram, is getting the hole drilled straight so the upper and lower dies engage straight on. Have a benchtop drill press, so should go OK.

You may have noticed HF has a heat gun accessory kit for $8. Almost got it, then realized I'd only be using the "spreader" nozzle (top-right) ... for "spot" heating after forming in press, to flare sheath openings or to fine-tune retention. So I passed, and instead fashioned one out of titanium foil already had on hand. Heavy aluminum foil would work (e.g. from aluminum baking loaf pan; cheap at grocery store).

It's machined to function with the (holes drilled into the) arbor press, e.g. it has the "shoulder." And the arbor press, as you know, yields consistently better results vs. using a hammer to seat/flare eyelets (at least for the likes of me ). The journeyman dies could likewise be seated into (ram and base plate) holes, but not having the shoulder, they'd bottom-out in the hole. And since the bottom of the hole won't be flat (thanks to the conical shape of the drill bit end), might not seat straight. Although, holes drilled to tight tolerances would prevent any "wiggle" in the journeyman dies, despite not having a shoulder. One other totally unscientific observation ... from photos, it looks like the master set might be better steel or better machined (smoother). But I haven't handled or used either in person yet, so what do I know?