Maintaining a drive punch

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Hey all, quick question:

Regarding the leather that sticks inside the punch until it’s forced out… Will chrome tan still inside cause rust/corrosion issues? (Supposedly my punches are high carbon steel…)

Thanks guys,

AZR

[fredk]

only if you leave it a long time and it gets damp

[bruce johnson]

Yes it can, and so can vegtan if you leave them. With my own punches I got to where I never left punchings inside. Last thing of the day or night was to clean them out. I clear petrified leather out of punches to sharpen almost daily. If they jam up then hitting harder is rarely the answer. It is surprising to me how many round drive punches have splits from being jammed up. Corrosion inside can make the punchings stick more. To prevent it, run some wax through every so often (paraffin, not beeswax). To clean them out I do a few things - run my blaster nozzle aimed from the top, then a flexible wire brush, or soak in Evaporust if bad. If I soak in Evaporust then I blast and brush afterwards. I finish with wax or treat the inside with a rust preventative.  

[BlackDragon]

I bought a few punches sometime ago and I couldn't get the leather plugs out. I carefully used a drill about half the diameter of the punch to get them out. I then used Evaporust to get rid of the little rust they had, sharpened them, then added a little wax. Once a week I grab the ones I don't use often and push out the plugs so they don't start to rust.

[fredk]

You can use a cigarette lighter to get the plugs out. Just play the flame over the area the plugs are stuck to heat them up. They'll smell bad and shrink or shrivel up and usually just drop out. No need to get the punch very hot so you'll not be destroying its temper

When I do a punch session I do a few holes then into a wax block then back to the holes and so on. If any plugs get stuck I push them out with a scratch awl

PS. Whenever I get a new punch I run a small rat-tail file up inside it to smooth it and remove any burrs

Edited July 6 by fredk

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

I get the general idea now, but any clue how to clear a 0.5mm punch?

— AZR

[fredk]

12 hours ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

. . .  but any clue how to clear a 0.5mm punch?

for that size, I use the cigarette lighter first, the leather should or might shrivel up and start coming out like a worm. If something more is needed, a sewing needle, or pin to push the cooked leather out. I have a number of micro-drill bits that I can use to push the cooked leather out

[chuck123wapati]

14 hours ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

I get the general idea now, but any clue how to clear a 0.5mm punch?

— AZR

For a hole that small, a round awl does fine; a .5mm punch is a waste of time in leather.

Edited Tuesday at 04:24 PM by chuck123wapati
to many 0s

[BlackDragon]

Are you sure you have a .5mm punch? My thin needles are 1mm. My smallest punch is about 3mm outer diameter with a 2.5mm inner diameter.

[chuck123wapati]

I have a set that went down to 1mm. I threw about three or four of the smallest in a drawer.