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Indie Manual D1

Started by rp2813, June 25, 2017, 04:15:36 PM

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Alex G. Bell

Quote from: nolan613 on June 26, 2017, 08:55:54 PM
Actually I used to grind the point on my center punch to give myself better control. Much easier solution is a spring loaded punch from General Tools which has a very fine ground point to start with and eliminates the hammer.

"General Tools 70079 Utility Automatic Center Punch" at $9.98 from Amazon with free shipping.
I have two snap action center punches.  The larger one may be the General one, not sure.  Or maybe it's the smaller one.  The larger one has a non-removable tip.  The smaller one has a removable tip and is the better of the two, requires less force and is less likely to hop and come down in a slightly different location where it produces the impact.  I keep them both sharp.

Not long ago I was introduced to centering drills.  These are drill bits which have a larger shank and short smaller spiral drilling tip.   The thicker shank and short smaller spiral reduces wandering even where the work has been center punched.  Once the hole has been started very accurately with the centering drill it's finished with a convention twist drill.

HarrySmith

Yers, the automatic center punches with the replaceable tips are the best, made by several companies. I have several, they work great! On a side note they are the best tool for escaping from a car when you need to break a window, place the tool in a lower corner of the window, press and the window will shatter completely. It is safety glass so it wont explose in your face, just becomes a buch of small pieces held together by the lamination, just push it out. I have one in each car I own. Don't ask how I learned this!
On the broken screw that started this discussion it looks like a small piece is sticking up, this can be used to work it out. Take a very small punch or a pocket screwdriver, place it against the piece sticking up and tap with a small hammer or some other suitable tapping tool. If the screw is not too tight you can walk it right out this way.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"