Shop-made punchings

[Frederick G Scoles]

On Wed, 20 Sep 1995 t.seay@MAIL.UTEXAS.EDU wrote:

> Greetings from the Allergy Capital of the known world - Austin, TX:
>
> Does anyone know what kind of a punch you use to make your own front rail
> and/or balance rail punchings? I have a Center - O- Punch, but that doesn't
> give you that nice hole in the center for the pin to go through.
>
> Any information would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Many thanks.
>
> Regards,
>
> Tom Seay> t.seay@mail.utexas.edu
> The University of Texas at Austin

Tom, There is a slow way to get the job done.  After punching the large
diameter with your (freshly sharpened) Centero-puch, then you can punch
out the small inside hole using a small C.S. Osborne Mini-punch set,
Osborne #K-157.  The set comes with 7 sizes, ranging from about less than
1/16" to 3/16".  It is a high quality set made in England.  Some Organ
Leather Supply houses sell it, and local leather outlets might sell it
(check local Thomas Register).  The fast method would be to have a
comination punch which punches both holes at once, but these may not be
readily available.  Sometimes the Osborne sets are shipped dull, so you
might have to chuck them up on a lathe and sharpen them first. I made the
mistake recently of buying a punch set mail-order which showed a picture
in the catalog of a good Osborne set.  When it arrived, it was a cheap
Chinese set (Pittsburgh), which won't cut anything.  I should have
verified the brand before purchasing.  Hope this helps.

Fred Scoles, scoles@oswego.edu