Center-Punches

[The_Apprentice]

I don't understand the value or added usage of 5 center punches with different body diameters ,

I was wondering about that myself. Thought it was just me...

 

[RJSakowski]

I make my own scribes, prick punches, and center punches. Old chain saw files, broken in half and a point ground to suit. If it is a struck tool, draw a deep blue temper on the struck end. Old pulley taps also work well. Cut the shank above the threads with an abrasive cutoff saw,and grind to the desired point. cut the square drive off the end and chamfer. You will need to heat high speed steel to a red heat to soften the struck end.

 

[cathead]

I make my own scribes, prick punches, and center punches. Old chain saw files, broken in half and a point ground to suit. If it is a struck tool, draw a deep blue temper on the struck end. Old pulley taps also work well. Cut the shank above the threads with an abrasive cutoff saw,and grind to the desired point. cut the square drive off the end and chamfer. You will need to heat high speed steel to a red heat to soften the struck end.

I would be categorized as a pak-rat as I save all my broken taps, broken end mills, round and flat files. All that is still good
metal just needing to be reshaped into something useful. I like to silver solder old carbide inserts to fashion custom made
boring tools or lathe tools. Old end mills can be ground down to make miniature boring bars or inside threading tools.
Old carbide table saw blades are a good source of small pieces of carbide.

 

[FanMan]

I had already orderd this on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0037UUO60/ref=ya_st_dp_summary?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Will get here by Thursday as I'm an Amazon Prime customer.

But to be honest, something that is just spring-loaded, surely can't make as good a dent as something to be hit with a hammer? So I thought on getting both types.

It's not "just spring loaded". When you push it the spring compresses up to a point, then it releases and a small "hammer" inside the punch strikes the tip.

 

[RJSakowski]

Taps are hard all the way back and could chip when hammered( might put somone,s eye out)

Any struck tool should have the struck end softened to avoid chipping.

I have also made mild steel"handles" by drilling a press fit socket to fit the tool. Any shock created by being struck is safely distributed to the end of working tool. I have used this method for making pin punches from drill rod and dowel pins. For 1/4" pins, I use a 1/2" bar.

 

[Tony Wells]

You should always pay attention to the hard/soft issue. It the struck object is hard, hit it with something soft; if the struck object is soft, you can hit it with something hard. Of course, soft on soft is fine, but may damage either or both objects. But NEVER strike a hard object with a hard object. That's a lesson I carry with me, literally. There is a small bit of a Cinci drawbar embedded in my right bicept. I just grabbed the nearest hammer from a guy at work (which really shouldn't have even been in the shop) and gave the drawbar a good whack.....it was a carpenter's claw hammer. A small piece of the hex broke off and hit me like a bullet. Thought it was never going to stop bleeding. It was too deep for me to dig out, and being young and probably stupid, I decided to skip the ER trip. It bruised about 3" wide, and was sore for 2 weeks, but eventually healed up. In reality, my body has probably dissolved it by now, but for a long time I could feel the lump it left behind. It never occurred to me that nails are soft, so a claw hammer should be hard. I also never would have thought the drawbar hex would have been hard, but apparently it had to be somewhat hard to prevent mushrooming. Probably not as hard as the hammer, or as hard as a file or tool steel, but hard enough to shatter. I learned.

 

[RJSakowski]

One incident that I always remember is a case where a fellow was breaking up a concrete deck with a jack hammer. He got the moil point stuck in the concrete and as it happens, he was able to get underneath the slab and he was hammering to pop it out. A piece of the point flew off and took out his eye.

 

[vocatexas]

I tried one of the Harbor Freight springloaded center punches. It's a FAIL. First time I used it, it didn't mark the metal, it just flattened the end of the punch....

 

[ttabbal]

I tried one of the Harbor Freight springloaded center punches. It's a FAIL. First time I used it, it didn't mark the metal, it just flattened the end of the punch....

That's really bad. Mine does punch, but half the time the hammer doesn't trip. I'll probably just wait and buy a Starrett.

 

[Ironside]

I have a Harbor Freight one. It's currently decomposing out in the woods about 40 yards outside the back door to my shop.