The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Hole punch set?

A friend of mine has a great set of hole punches for gasket material and the like. He thought he saw a set at Sears, but I havent had any luck finding anything like that locally. Has anyone bought a set recently? His set came in just about every fractional size from 1/32" to 5/8" or larger. Ive used sharpened pieces of tubing before (and that only goes so far), but Id just as soon commit to a nice punch set.

Thanks, Jeff

i got a set of blue point gasket punches in case pretty cheap used years ago. pretty good, they were even cheaper than the harbor freight set. might check into used.

I just used a set my nephew loaned me. They were from the Mac man but they are heavy and tough. No telling what those would coast oday. I don't see how you could go wrong for 5 bucks either !!

Not as cheap as HF but they go up to 3/4" http://cgi.ebay.com/12p-PROFESSIONAL-Hollow-Punch-Set-Gasket-Leather-Metal_W0QQitemZ380115279354QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item380115279354&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318

I have a HF set that I have used for 20 years and the trick to keeping them sharp is use a wood block under them as I have saw so many use them straight against a metal table then complain when they do not work very well.
62Blue
Don

I usually buy my leather/hand punches from McMaster Carr, they are expensive but made of good quality steel and properly heat-treated. I've never had one go dull on me and have used them a lot.
The cheap sets that you get from HF or from the hardware vendors at the swap meets are simply low carbon steel. An attempt at heat-treating has been made in some cases but the case isn’t enough to keep the base metal from rounding over. I've picked up sets from both sources and find they go dull or out of shape after a few uses.
And yes Don, I do back them up with maple blocks every time I use them and when I cut a fiber, rubber, felt washer or gasket it’s almost always in my small bench press where I can control the punch much better than slamming it a few times with a sledge hammer on the garage floor.

The old adage, "Ya get what ya pay for" applies here but if your only gonna use them a few times, then go for the cheap sets.

Denny Graham
Sanwich, IL

TP Tools

Try this!!

i have the 27 piece set avaiable for use at work. it also sets up as a double punch which makes a perfect gasket for the cap on a master cyclinder. it also works nice to knock a hole in the glovebox outfitted with a rubber grommet for a plug and wires to pass thru for the sound system. this kit is the cats fine threaded nuts, i need to talk to the salesman that sold it to me because is was hundereds of dollars. the kit came in a nice little carrying case and says it was made in france.

before i got the set i have now (which stays locked up and im the only one that has a key) we were able to resharpen them somewhat with the reamer on the ridged pipe threading machine. i also fount it will punch a nicer hole if the board is a 4x4 on end.

As anyone who has read my posts on HF,they know I do not like them. However a hole punch set for $5.I might give that a try.Cause its an item that I very seldom use.Just a thought.