SReynolds Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Is there some sort of tool available which I can place my finished hooks into and punch a hole into the material say 1/16 thick? It is tough to align the punch with the hole in a punching block and then hold the punch, the work piece and hammer at the same time. The punch must be flat with sharp edges and the punching block in good shape to "cut" the material, forming a clean hole. I have this battery cable crimper you set the cable end into and hammer on top of a plunger to crimp the end to the cable. There has got to be something like this to punch holes??? I punch a 1/8 inch hole into mild steel, sometime hot and sometimes cold. Perhaps I'm just doing it wrong? A young student of mine replied "There MUST be an easier way!" when I showed him the method to punch holes into the end of a forged hook. I told him a "drill bit" but the smiths in the civil war didn't have a cordless drill!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 there are tools to make holes ... a whitney punch is my prefered method tho the dont quite go back to the civil war era ...you could make a holder that holds the punch inline with the hole to use for punching .. it is something that was done ... good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Sure there is an easier way.... There is always the "hand someone money" way and the "buy a machine" and dont forget the "Just screw it" way.... Notice I didnt say it was a "better" way I think Eric could be on to something, I have never used a hand whitney punch to do small holes but that sounds like the ticket... I have several of them and have punched lots of things cold, just never thought about doing "warm" work with one... should work slicker than snot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Is there some sort of tool available which I can place my finished hooks into and punch a hole into the material say 1/16 thick? It is tough to align the punch with the hole in a punching block and then hold the punch, the work piece and hammer at the same time. The punch must be flat with sharp edges and the punching block in good shape to "cut" the material, forming a clean hole. I have this battery cable crimper you set the cable end into and hammer on top of a plunger to crimp the end to the cable. There has got to be something like this to punch holes??? I punch a 1/8 inch hole into mild steel, sometime hot and sometimes cold. Perhaps I'm just doing it wrong? A young student of mine replied "There MUST be an easier way!" when I showed him the method to punch holes into the end of a forged hook. I told him a "drill bit" but the smiths in the civil war didn't have a cordless drill!! Sounds like you could use a flypress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 I looked at some used Whitney punch/presses on e-bay. WOW Them R not cheap! I don't know what a flypress is. I'll look into that. In don't have a problem using a drill, but my shop is non electric, so I have to carry items home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 A fly press is not something you'll be carrying home, although it doesn't require electricity. Also not cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
781 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 How wide of material If not too wide use a bottom die and weld a holder to align the punch above. Slide the sheet into the proper place for the hole and hit the punch with a hammer. I made one to cut copper disks to stack with nickels to make mokume Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Is there some sort of tool available which I can place my finished hooks into and punch a hole into the material say 1/16 thick? It is tough to align the punch with the hole in a punching block and then hold the punch, the work piece and hammer at the same time. The punch must be flat with sharp edges and the punching block in good shape to "cut" the material, forming a clean hole. I have this battery cable crimper you set the cable end into and hammer on top of a plunger to crimp the end to the cable. There has got to be something like this to punch holes??? I punch a 1/8 inch hole into mild steel, sometime hot and sometimes cold. Perhaps I'm just doing it wrong? A young student of mine replied "There MUST be an easier way!" when I showed him the method to punch holes into the end of a forged hook. I told him a "drill bit" but the smiths in the civil war didn't have a cordless drill!! Punched holes when the material is hot as forged is the quickest and easiest way to go, it is one of the first basic skills to master. If you call yourself a blacksmith then make yourself a "special" tool to do the job. Look at what you need and use now, anvil, hammer, punch, and bolster plate Then think what your problem is ie lining the punch up a) central, and lining the punch up when flipping the workpiece over, c) placing it on a bolster to allow you to knock the compressed slug out. So all you need to do is to make a fixture/jig to accomplish this. Something along the lines of a veining tool where the top and bottom tooling lines up If you have access to a lathe its a doddle to make, (leave the spring off if you are going to use it as a punch) you can also make different sizes of punches and dies for other items, just make sure the slugs can exit the bottm of the die or you can smash the die, and I would suggest relieving the back of the die leaving clearance to cut down on retention of slugs Or alternatively make a simple block and punch as used in this set up http://www.metal-craft.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=35_36&product_id=402 shown better in the video There are plenty of hole punching devices available commercially, 1/8" on a flypress is a little overkill IMHO It helps to think Blacksmith not Engineer Or get a cordless drill for the workshop, useful for polishing and other little jobs too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 always such a lot of info in john b's posts!!! thanks john i had totally forgotten about that veining tool - i would really like one of them:) thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Thin metal can be punched cold with a hardened punch over a hard wood block. It works best if done on the end grain of the wood. you can also forgo the bolster block under the work wile punching hot. Just drive the punch as far as it will go into the metal. Make sure you periodically cool the punch every 5 or 6 blows is my rule. this is done to preserve the temper of the tool. Also some sort of punch lube is a good idea coal dust it the classic there are other more sophisticated compounds that are used. I use a mix of heavy grease and graphite powder. You will know the punch has bottomed out because the hammer will start rebounding more. This is because the punch is almost to the anvil the only thing in its way is a thin section of cold relatively hard metal. Remove your punch Flip the work over you will see a bump with a dark spot in the middle. The dark spot is thinned out section that was under the punch. Place your punch on top of that dark spot and drive it home. The thin slug will shear off if you lined it up right. You may have to go the the hardie or the prichel hole to drive the punch further in some cases because the slug may not fully shear out. Remember keep your punch cool and don't linger. Move decisively and have a plan before you take the work from the fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thingmaker3 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I told him a "drill bit" but the smiths in the civil war didn't have a cordless drill!!I respectfully disagree. Not even ONE of the post drills used in the 19th century had cords!! On a more productive note: Have you tried a piece of wood instead of a bolster for thin stock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I have had mine for 20 years JC Whitney sells them also not to expensive. $ 28.00 I looked at some used Whitney punch/presses on e-bay. WOW Them R not cheap! I don't know what a flypress is. I'll look into that. In don't have a problem using a drill, but my shop is non electric, so I have to carry items home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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