Money Saver Setters for Hand Press

[lawman133]

Hi FRODO.   Damn that is expensive. It would be $60 in our Canadian funny money at the current exchange rate. I found out from a friend Kentucky that some of the trade schools or high school metal working shops in the States, (that's our Canadian way of referring to you folks south of the Medicine Line), will do this sort of thing either for free or just the cost of materials.  He is sending me a 1-5/8 inch round drive punch he had made that way which only cost him $10.00. I have tried to purchase one from various tool making companies down you way and it was going to cost me  close to $160.00 Canadian including shipping. Even a used one on ebay was over $100.00.

[Frodo]

 

1 1/4'' sch 40 black steel pipe is  1.660  OD  [outside dimension] 

1 5/8''  is 1.625    

so. would a 1 1/4'' sch 40 blk steel nipple with a cap   work as your 1 5/8'' round punch drive?

the difference is   .035  that is like a 1 /32 over

 

[Northmount]

On 10/31/2020 at 1:58 PM, Frodo said:

 

1 1/4'' sch 40 black steel pipe is  1.660  OD  [outside dimension] 

1 5/8''  is 1.625    

so. would a 1 1/4'' sch 40 blk steel nipple with a cap   work as your 1 5/8'' round punch drive?

the difference is   .035  that is like a 1 /32 over

 

I would look for pipe that has the inside diameter that you want.  If you use the pipe you suggested, you will have to remove material from the inside when sharpening, thus any punching you do with it will wedge the leather cutout inside the pipe making it hard to remove and binding up the next hole you punch.  Looking at a pipe table I see that 1.5" schedule 30 has an ID of 1.65".  Sch 40 has and ID of 1.61".  Both are close to the desired size of 1.625" (1-5/8").  Sch 40 is a commonly available pipe, also listed as STD wall. 

Tom

[Spyros]

2 hours ago, Northmount said:

I would look for pipe that has the inside diameter that you want.  If you use the pipe you suggested, you will have to remove material from the inside when sharpening, thus any punching you do with it will wedge the leather cutout inside the pipe making it hard to remove and binding up the next hole you punch.  Looking at a pipe table I see that 1.5" schedule 30 has an ID of 1.65".  Sch 40 has and ID of 1.61".  Both are close to the desired size of 1.625" (1-5/8").  Sch 40 is a commonly available pipe, also listed as STD wall. 

Tom

What about hardening though

[Northmount]

2 minutes ago, Spyros said:

What about hardening though

Depends on how often you use it, and what you use it on.  You can harden it if you want.  Black pipe is carbon steel.  Remember, the harder you make it, the harder it is to resharpen when needed. 

A machinist built a post for me that was part of a mechanical accounting machine many years ago, and case hardened it with potassium cyanide.  He had made it a little too thick where the slide was supposed to fit over it.  Tried to stone it down, but couldn't even touch it.  Took it back to the machinist, and he said how am I supposed to do anything with that now?  I asked about heating it back up to soften it?  He said, yes that would do it.  So he fixed it and case hardened it again.  Was interesting to see the chemical reaction as he dropped the red hot post into a little pile of potassium cyanide.  Really sputters!  Don't try this inside or you'll poison yourself.  Deadly stuff.

Tom

[Spyros]

42 minutes ago, Northmount said:

Depends on how often you use it, and what you use it on.  You can harden it if you want.  Black pipe is carbon steel.  Remember, the harder you make it, the harder it is to resharpen when needed. 

A machinist built a post for me that was part of a mechanical accounting machine many years ago, and case hardened it with potassium cyanide.  He had made it a little too thick where the slide was supposed to fit over it.  Tried to stone it down, but couldn't even touch it.  Took it back to the machinist, and he said how am I supposed to do anything with that now?  I asked about heating it back up to soften it?  He said, yes that would do it.  So he fixed it and case hardened it again.  Was interesting to see the chemical reaction as he dropped the red hot post into a little pile of potassium cyanide.  Really sputters!  Don't try this inside or you'll poison yourself.  Deadly stuff.

Tom

Mechanical accounting machine?  I want one, does it do taxes?  

I always thought a punch or setter should be heat treated as you would a knife, hard but with a bit of flexibility built in, neither soft nor brittle as a file.  I guess a setter or punch is small enough to take a blowtorch to it until it's cherry red, quench it in something, and then pop it in the oven for an hour, but it would have to be a big torch.

Edited November 2, 2020 by Spyros

[Frodo]

On 11/1/2020 at 4:21 PM, Northmount said:

I would look for pipe that has the inside diameter that you want.  If you use the pipe you suggested, you will have to remove material from the inside when sharpening, thus any punching you do with it will wedge the leather cutout inside the pipe making it hard to remove and binding up the next hole you punch.  Looking at a pipe table I see that 1.5" schedule 30 has an ID of 1.65".  Sch 40 has and ID of 1.61".  Both are close to the desired size of 1.625" (1-5/8").  Sch 40 is a commonly available pipe, also listed as STD wall. 

Tom

If you want the exact size  i believe I have figured that out

Copper pipe is measured as nominal  So a 1 1/2  pipe is 1 1/2''  OD 

which would make the ID or actual cut of the leather slightly off. But if you use a Fitting,  such as a cap 

the id of the cap is 1 1/2''