Custom sized washer punch

J

jeness

Joined
Jan 20, 2010
Messages
45
Hello Everyone!

I would like to make custom sizes washers, but sadly the die and punch sets I could find weren't sized right for me. The smallest sizes were 1/8", and I would need 2,5 and 3mm metric holes, so I would like to make my own punches and die for it.

How tight of a fit do I need? I guess I have to ream the holes to size, but should the punch be a little bit undersized? If yes, by how much? I guess both the die and punch should be as hard as possible, I can heat treat them in-house.

I would like to make washers from teflon sheet, stainless and PB, up to 0.02" thickness but mostly less.
 
jeness said:
Hello Everyone!

I would like to make custom sizes washers, but sadly the die and punch sets I could find weren't sized right for me. The smallest sizes were 1/8", and I would need 2,5 and 3mm metric holes, so I would like to make my own punches and die for it.

How tight of a fit do I need? I guess I have to ream the holes to size, but should the punch be a little bit undersized? If yes, by how much? I guess both the die and punch should be as hard as possible, I can heat treat them in-house.

I would like to make washers from teflon sheet, stainless and PB, up to 0.02" thickness but mostly less.
Click to expand...
Hi Jeness , I will take a stab at this one . I have made a few "washer dies" in the past , I stack 2 plates together at least 3/8" thick , I drill and ream 2 dowel holes to keep the alignment . I usually ream the top guide plate .001" oversize , to allow vertical movement . after I have a stable fit on these then I drill and ream the desired diameter holes for the washer . I use A2 or D2 tool steel for this as the stainless washers tend to dull other steels quickly. allow .002-.003" total clearance between the punch and lower die plate . this should give you a nearly burr free cut. I like to ream all of the hole in the upper guide plate .001" larger than the punch diameter . I usually drill and ream the top and bottom plates together at the smaller diameter then ream the bottom plate to the larger size for cutting clearance. I care is taken to keep the plates flat during the heat treat process they should move smoothly and allow the guide plate to rest on the mat'l that is being punched , this will help to keep the punch from hitting the cutting surface of the lower die plate and provide you with a tool that should have a good service life . hope this helps ,its not a difficult as it seems.
 
Thanks for the help! All of the materials have been ordered, I will take a shot at this soon and report back
 
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