clogging punches

[Ragingstallion]

a few different punch sizes, from round to oval...tend to get clogged up after you use them X amount of time. new tools, usually pretty awesome, just push right on through, but the ones i use the most, they just keep getting worse and worse on keeping the leather plugs in.

I have tried sharpening the edges, and have used beeswax (that just made it worse) and im not sure what else to do?

anyone else have this problem? anyone figure out the solution?

[Sanch]

On 10/23/2019 at 9:03 PM, Ragingstallion said:

a few different punch sizes, from round to oval...tend to get clogged up after you use them X amount of time. new tools, usually pretty awesome, just push right on through, but the ones i use the most, they just keep getting worse and worse on keeping the leather plugs in.

I have tried sharpening the edges, and have used beeswax (that just made it worse) and im not sure what else to do?

anyone else have this problem? anyone figure out the solution?

DO NOT USE BEES WAX !!!! IT'S STICKY BY NATURE!!!

USE PARAFIN WAX and take the time to push the plugs out after about 3 holes punched simple solution!

[battlemunky]

Yeah, but when you make something with a ton of holes @Sanch, that isn't really feasible. Mine didn't get clogged though. For instance, the Motoko 3 bag pattern has holes galore. There must be 1500 of them. Small ones too. If I'd have had to stop every third hole, that would've added so much time and momentum breaks. I have the cheap Tandy punches with the swappable punch heads too, nothing fancy. A line of six holes on a belt would be doable as long as there weren't a hundred belts.

I feel for you @Ragingstallion, I just don't know what to do. Perhaps make a tool with a poker in it you can stop every once in a while and push them out. I'm thinking like a 4 inch nail in a half inch board or something simple like that.

[Ragingstallion]

4 hours ago, battlemunky said:

Yeah, but when you make something with a ton of holes @Sanch, that isn't really feasible. Mine didn't get clogged though. For instance, the Motoko 3 bag pattern has holes galore. There must be 1500 of them. Small ones too. If I'd have had to stop every third hole, that would've added so much time and momentum breaks. I have the cheap Tandy punches with the swappable punch heads too, nothing fancy. A line of six holes on a belt would be doable as long as there weren't a hundred belts.

I feel for you @Ragingstallion, I just don't know what to do. Perhaps make a tool with a poker in it you can stop every once in a while and push them out. I'm thinking like a 4 inch nail in a half inch board or something simple like that.

So your in the same boat as me, cuz that is what i am using. best solution that i have so far is to take a thick sewing needle to push them through. if they are really lodged in there, turning the punch around and lightly tapping the needle (blunt one btw) with a maul.

 

6 hours ago, Sanch said:

DO NOT USE BEES WAX !!!! IT'S STICKY BY NATURE!!!

USE PARAFIN WAX and take the time to push the plugs out after about 3 holes punched simple solution!

and i have tried parafin, bees, and oils like olive, coconut and more, still nothing. and most things that i work on, have at least 200 holes in them. i deal with it, just annoying.

[mdv99]

If you're doing a lot of work requiring a punch, you might want to invest in a couple of Sinabroks Stitching Punches, they look like they should automatically feed the punched pieces out the side.  

[battlemunky]

I saw those punches when I bought my Sinabroks stitching irons. I think everything those folks make is gold. Those irons I picked up are glorious aside from the brass handle making your hands smell like, well, like brass.

[MikeRock]

Wow.......such beautiful tools! 

[bruce johnson]

Here's my experience after working on several hundred punches. The ones that are sticking can have a few issues.

First off, some are just plain sticky new, the hole is lacking a fine taper to allow the punchings to slide up the tube. Manufacturing issue. Unless you want drill out a taper - return or garbage. 

Some have a slight ridge inside and punchings hang up on it. Tapered round files can help that with a little effort. 

Corrosion is far and away the most common thing I deal with. I'm set up with a pretty decent shop and aim an abrasive blaster down the hole from the top first if  bad. I soak them in Evaporust to remove active rust if not too bad. I clean up the inside with everything steel wool to tapered files to abrasive cord depending on size. You want to smooth out the pitting from the rusting inside, that is a big grabber of punchings. . A bit of coarse steel wool spun onto a slow moving drill bit and then sprayed with WD40 works pretty well on straight punches. Ill polish out with finer grades. test with some pretty firm leather and oil the tube frequently  to help feed the punchings until it is smooth enough to clear easily. Then I run a punch of a bunch of paraffin punchings through. I never leave punchings in a punch at the end of the day. They will corrode fast. Keep the punches cleaned out and lubricated with paraffin or the oil of your choice.