hole punch for tobacco tin ideas please :) ?

[Fivetide]

Guys I’m trying to punch some holes in a tobacco tin for my CMOY amps :listening_headphone, now I did buy Fiskars Fiskars 1/4 Inch Hand Punch, Circle but I bent it on the first use , waste of time really :disgust: ! I think maybe the tobacco tins are maybe tougher than the US mint tins .. dunno :confusion: . Anyway any ideas of what I could build to punch the holes or buy? I am thinking of a bracket that slots over the tins front and ( I need three holes) maybe use pointed bolts I’d have to tap the bracket of course but it would be a lot more accurate ? Anyway maybe you have a simple solution?

[Clive S]

How about a paper hole punch as in this vid;- cMoyBB v2.02 Casing Assembly - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4Wylfh7Oji0)
... Clive

[Fivetide]

How about a paper hole punch as in this vid;- cMoyBB v2.02 Casing Assembly - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4Wylfh7Oji0)
... Clive

Hi Clive thats the one I bought but it was useless :(

[Swarfing]

Any reason why you would just not drill it? put a piece of wood underneath, line up point to drill, place wood on top then drill? clamp it if you can.

[Jonathan]

When I needed to punch some holes in some shim steel I just made a simple punch. It was also 1/4", so I ground a likely looking profile on the end of a piece of 1/4" HSS bar I had lying around, then drilled/reamed a hole the same size through two block of steel. Put the shim between and tap the bar with a hammer and you get a nice hole. If you need to punch a lot of holes this might be worth it, otherwise, as the previous reply says, just clamp it between two bits of wood and drill through it.

[birchy]

I guess it all depends on the quantity of tins you want to put holes in. If you're doing a few, then a nicely constructed drilling jig would allow you to quickly clamp and drill all your holes within a minute or two.

[m_c]

milehighclub

[Fivetide]

I am aiming to do quite alot , the drill I have tried it tends to tear the metal and because its PCB mounted equipment I want it quite precise so it looks good.. i have looked at a numatic set of rams , but i want something simple to start with.

[ptjw7uk]

Have a look on the web for a Whitney hand punch, I have an old one that goes to 1/4", does 16swg steel ok but you should centre punch first to get a good location.

Just had a look on the web and they appear to be quite expensive! But they do work!!
peter

[John S]

To drill holes in thin sheet steel as others have said sandwich between to pieces of wood but main thing is do not use a normal jobbers drill but grind one up like a wood bit as a wing and spur.
If you have decent wood bits you could just use one of these but most i have come across aren't even hardened hence the grinding up of the wing and spur.

Worth keeping a few as they are also ideal on plastics and prevent splitting as they exit the hole.

John S.

[HankMcSpank]

therefore maybe something like these at the right speed...

Dremel Brad Point Drill Bit Set - 631 | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dremel-Brad-Point-Drill-Bit-Set-631-/151053774649?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item232b81af39) (they go up to 1/4")

never used them for tin, but they work great on acrylic! (& handy to have in your arsenal of bits - especially if your machine is confined/restricted to a 1/8" collet, such as a rotary tool in this arrangment - https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/product/1881584566557852322?rlz=1C1ARAB_enGB467GB467&q=proxxon+474982&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.48572450,d.d2k&biw=1920&bih=1081&sa=X&ei=L1TNUfr6Hoel0AWNlYCwAg&ved=0CCAQrRI)

[Fivetide]

I want to avoid drilling if I can , I want a sort of high bred clamp come punch template combo , ill work on it and see what I can do, thanks for the replies guys :)

[m_c]

juliuscaesar

[mekanik]

Hi Fivetide
regarding die press, a decent pillar drill should provide enough pressure for punching thin stuff,clamp your die to the table (simples)

[Bazzer]

What about this sort of punch press?
eBay item no.
121130794607

[ptjw7uk]

Whitney punch
Ebay 221245161892
peter

[birchy]

You'd probably get a decent hole if they were drilled with a milling slot drill. Probably a nice job for a CNC. Unless you fancy building a CNC punching machine...

[bikepete]

Rotabroach annular cutter (aka mag drill cutter) often does a good job on sheet too... but you'd probably need a mill to hold the shank (fits nicely in a 19 mm ER32 collet). Sizes go down to 12 mm in standard series, never tried the 'mini' ones.
--
ah just seen it's a 1/4 inch hole so as you were...

[Fivetide]

All great ideas but I have to be quite accurate with the holes, after marking them out then drilling chances are they won’t be that accurate. The PCB has about 5 mounted parts that need to go through the holes on different sides and there’s no play. Plus they have to be neat. So that’s why Im thinking of making a template I can slip over the edge of the tin box, sort of an inverted U shape and then using a hardened bolt that’s been cut down with a cutting edge done on a lathe that then screws through the die and punches out the holes.

[Clive S]

A bit like these:-
Q.max Sheet Metal Hole Punch 25mm (http://www.rapidonline.com/tools-equipment/q-max-sheet-metal-hole-punch-25mm-86-5315)
But I don't think they are made down to 5mm. ...Clive

[cropwell]

Or perhaps this ? Buy Punch & Die Kits Hand punch kit with die key RS DA1230 online from RS for next day delivery. (http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/punch-die-kits/3883628/) ....Rob

[Fivetide]

A bit like these:-
Q.max Sheet Metal Hole Punch 25mm (http://www.rapidonline.com/tools-equipment/q-max-sheet-metal-hole-punch-25mm-86-5315)
But I don't think they are made down to 5mm. ...Clive

Hit the nail on the head Clive .. same idea but a rectangle block that fits over the tins side :)


Or perhaps this ? Buy Punch & Die Kits Hand punch kit with die key RS DA1230 online from RS for next day delivery. (http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/punch-die-kits/3883628/) ....Rob

Wish I had seen this ages ago wouldnt have struggled with those crappy paper punches :) thanks Cropwell

[birchy]

Easy enough to make your own punches and dies using something like EN8. Heat to cherry red and quench in oil to harden. It's about time you built a CNC punching machine. :wink: