Q. Regarding Leather Punches

Hey thanks!

Tim,
I've made my own punch and die set - it's really very easy and works very well - here's how.
I purchased a high quality drill set (Sutton is a better than average set here in Oz) and took a Dremel cut off disk and cut the back end of the drill flat - more on this later.
For the die - I took several pieces of Perspex - the top section is clear and about 30mm thick, the bottom section is white and is about 10mm thick. I cut them into identical rectangles, clamped them together, and drilled a hole in either end for a key. I used a steel rod the same size as the two key holes and glued them into the bottom piece of perspex. Now the thick piece can slide into the bottom piece and remain positively located. You must make the top piece fairly thick - it'll help keep the punches perfectly square to the base.
Next, using a drill press (it's VERY IMPORTANT to use a drill press - hand held drills wander and you'll never get the holes perfectly perpendicular to the base), drill one or two holes right through BOTH pieces of perspex using each sized drill - make sure the drills are sharp and work fairly slowly, but try not to generate too much heat and melt the perspex.
Now, simply reverse the drill bits and stick one in the corresponding hole to punch a nice, clean disk from whatever plastic sheet you want. I use several things to hit the sharpened end of the drills - a plastic mallet, a brass hammer, or a small aluminum block - but whatever you use, make sure it's a material that's SOFTER than the steel of the drill. Hitting it with a steel hammer will dull the drill bit or it can shatter the tip - I value my eyes so I tend to wear safety glasses.
This punch and die set has worked for me for years and it was dead easy to make and cost me nothing -
If anyone wants a drawing of the thing, I can knock one up and email it to you or take a picture of the ome I made and send that.
Cheers,
LeeTree

Ahoy TIA,

I went to Michael's yesterday afternoon and looked these leather punches over. I suspect that they would work similar to the star wheel punch in that they would make a fairly clean punch disk but would make a distorted hole, especially in thicker plastic. Like the star wheel, these punches rely on cutting action to get through the material whereas the Waldron product is a true punch, which uses shearing action to get through the material without distorting the hole. The only advantage these leather punches have over the star wheel type is the greater number of hole sizes available.

Tom

hi , i use them all the time including the star punch , the tip is to put a layer of cardboard to act as a buffer under the plastic sheet and try to hit the punch only once , this cardboard stops the edges from getting damaged , they can be used on aluminium sheet and very thin brass sheet , cheers ian

The punches will break or curl if you are not careful what you punch with them. Going through leather I have had the pieces of the blade snap away from the punch effecetively making it useless. (Its why I keep a handful of extras with my leather kit). They are designed to cut leather and fabric. I imagine they will make short work of evergreen stock but I can not speak for their plastic cutting performance. I know that if I have gone through the leather working pad I punch on and into the wooden top of my work bench, they have broken, giving the punch a ragged edge.

Let us know if you experiment with this.

Mike

Wow, sounds like a good lead. I've been looking for an inexpensive substitute for the Waldron tool, even thought of making my own. I'll go down to Michael's and see what this thing looks like. I've been using the star wheel type of punch but this really does have serious limitations.

Tom