how to make punches and dies....

[Joe Gwinn]

Looks pretty nice.

One thing I would add - if the intent is to punch stainless steel, the machine needs to be about twice as strong as for an equivalent thickness of mild steel. Stainless steel is far stronger than mild steel, and far more gummy.

[corduroyew]

So how many tons do you guys think we NEED to punch forbon anyway? Do you have to have a large 10 ton punch? or could someone survive with a 2 or 3 ton puch while while they wait for a good deal on a larger punch?

[Spence]

Hell no. You could use a 1/2 tonne punch without any trouble. Not sure how we got talking about punching holes in Stainless steel. That website link shows a range of punches with charts available for tonnage calculations etc.

[NightWinder]

Try arbour or arbor press in ebay.

S.

Hell No! That Whitney's a bad MotherFuc@#!

[Joe Gwinn]

Hell no. You could use a 1/2 tonne punch without any trouble. Not sure how we got talking about punching holes in Stainless steel. That website link shows a range of punches with charts available for tonnage calculations etc.

I'm guessing that people are thinking baseplates and covers as well.

[wilser]

hi guys,
What about this little fella? would it be useful for punching out the magnet holes?

http://www.americanwhitney.com/45HandOperatedPunch.asp

[David King]

Wilser it can punch a hole in 1/4" steel so it should certainly handle forbon but how would you line up your holes accurately? Wouldn't a $39 drill press from harbor freight be a lot more precise?

[wilser]

Wilser it can punch a hole in 1/4" steel so it should certainly handle forbon but how would you line up your holes accurately? Wouldn't a $39 drill press from harbor freight be a lot more precise?

well I have a $120 craftsman drill press and I'm guessing the same problems I would have there with alignment I would also have here, no?

[Joe Gwinn]

well I have a $120 craftsman drill press and I'm guessing the same problems I would have there with alignment I would also have here, no?

Yes and no. You will need to make some kind of drill jig to get things in line and properly spaced in either case. The Whitney punches have little points on them, and these points are intended to be used in locator holes, so one can use a jig to drill a line of 1/16 holes, and then use the punch to make the holes.

Or, you can use a jig to drill full-size holes.

I suspect that the punched holes are cleaner.

[corduroyew]

The problem with a cheap drill press is that the table isn't rigid enough. I have a harbor freight drill press and the table flexis down when I drill through the forbon. That makes the holes wonder about .25mm to either side of the bobbin. If the hole is only .25mm off center thats bad, but not the end of the world. If one magnet is .25mm in one direction and the other is .25mm in the other direction, then thats not ok.

[David Schwab]

The problem with a cheap drill press is that the table isn't rigid enough. I have a harbor freight drill press and the table flexis down when I drill through the forbon. That makes the holes wonder about .25mm to either side of the bobbin. If the hole is only .25mm off center thats bad, but not the end of the world. If one magnet is .25mm in one direction and the other is .25mm in the other direction, then thats not ok.

You sure everything is tightened up? I have pretty much the same $37 drill press, except mine came from Homier, and mine doesn't flex at all. You shouldn't have to press down that hard anyway... let the drill do the work. Your bits might be dull.

Drill bits and chucks can flex a little. It's good to make a drill guide. I did this for drilling the six holes in the back of my Tele style guitar for the string ferrules. The other important thing is to use brad point bits.