Punches

From CoMakingSpace Wiki

Punches (Punzen) are small tools driven with a hammer, e.g. in order to leave a mark or a hole.

Center Punches

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Center Punch

Center punch.JPG
Synonyms: DE: Körner
Type: hand tool
Material: metal, wood, plastic
Used with: hammers
Location: above drilling table
Access Requirements: read this section

If you want to mark something harder than the listed materials (such as stone or concrete), just use a cheap nail instead of this tool!

Can be re-sharpened on a bench grinder.

To precisely mark round stock, we could think about making a centering bell which would automatically align the center punch. [1]


Hole Punches

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Hole Punches

Hole punches.JPG
Synonyms: leather punches, round punches, drive punches;
DE: Locheisen, Ausschlageisen, Stanzeisen
Type: hand tool
Material: fabric, leather, paper, foam rubber
Used with: non-metal hammers or mallets;
some kind of soft support under the workpiece
Location: wood workshop (hand tool area)
Access Requirements: read this section
Similar (More or Less): punch pliers

For smaller holes, see punch pliers. For the common office tool, see two-hole punch.

As seen towards the end of a very interesting lamp build on YouTube, chucking a hole punch into a drill may actually work pretty well to cut wooden plugs (verification needed)!

Available sizes:

  • 2.5 mm
  • 3 mm
  • 4 mm
  • 5 mm
  • 6 mm
  • 7 mm
  • 8 mm
  • 9 mm
  • 10 mm


Drift Punches

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Drift Punch

Drift punch.JPG
Synonyms: DE: Durchtreiber, Nageltreiber,
Durchschlag, Senkstift
Type: hand tool
Material: nails
Used with: hammers
Location: above drilling table
Access Requirements: read this section
Similar (More or Less): pin punch

Use this punch to align drilled pieces, e.g. for riveting, or to drive nails in a little deeper without leaving ugly hammer marks. There are also varieties with a cupped end for the nail head to disappear into, but we just have a simple straight one.

Also useful for removing nail fragments from scrap wood!


Number & Letter Punches

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Number & Letter Punches

Number & letter punches.JPG
Synonyms: number & letter punch engravers,
alphabet punches; DE: Schlagstempel,
Schlagzahlen & Schlagbuchstaben,
Schlagziffern & Schlaglettern
Type: hand tool
Material: metals, leather, perhaps others
Used with: hammers
Location: metal workshop
Access Requirements: read this section
Similar (More or Less): number & letter stamps

We have a set of number punches that are 10 mm high.

If you are unsure whether your material is soft enough, please try a center punch before the numbers and letters - the center punch is easily re-sharpened in case the material is too hard, but these punches could be ruined!

After punching, the pushed out metal should be removed with a file or sandpaper. [2]

a quick test of the punches on some (very) old sheet metal

Besides the number set that is already shared, Lukas has a 36-piece set of number & letter punches that includes each letter from A-Z, the "&" symbol and the numbers 0-8 ("6" is the same as "9"). The characters are 4 mm high.

Alignment Jig

It can be difficult to put all symbols on a straight line and keep an even distance - so if you're going to stamp something important, it may be worth making a more or less sophisticated jig in advance!