Never Punch Another Off-Center Hole!

[KCStephens]

How many times have you used a hole punch and ended up with an off-center hole? I know that I have more times than I would like to admit. Hole punches can be difficult to align exactly where you want them. When you only have one chance to get it right and you want it to be perfect I knew there had to be a better way...Then a light bulb went off in my head! Back in the day, when I was into target shooting, I remembered using a scoring gauge to aid in scoring targets. This technique is very similar to that, it makes it very difficult to mess up.

First, I made a template out of paper that includes all of the different size punches in my collection. I use this template as an overlay to figure out which size punch will be needed for a particular part.

Once the correct punch size is selected, I punch a hole into a scrap piece of card stock. This piece is then used as an overlay to guide the punch through the actual part.

Simply center the overlay on top of the part that you want to punch out, hold it in place, then insert the punch into the template and tap it with a hammer. Voila! No more off-center, mis-aligned holes! :D

Now, if I could just figure out an easy way to find the center of a hole so I could use my Olfa circle cutter more often

[evapa77]

Good basic skill to make a hole using punch!!

[Stev0]

Good idea, very good idea.

Now I need hole punches. =x

[Kaz]

Now, if I could just figure out an easy way to find the center of a hole so I could use my Olfa circle cutter more often

There was a thread on finding the centre of a hole.
Draw a tangent (a line that touches, but does not cross the arc of the circle)
Draw a line at 90 degrees to the tangent
Half way up the second line is the centre of the circle

[CharlieC]

Centre finders were discussed in a thread on the old cardmodels site - Zealot still has downloads of a couple of them. Look in the "Tools" section of "Downloads"

Regards,

Charlei

[lee4752]

Originally Posted by KCStephens

Now, if I could just figure out an easy way to find the center of a hole so I could use my Olfa circle cutter more often

You can find the center of a circle with a compass. Same process as bisecting an angle. Place the point of the compass on the circle. Draw short segments where the compass nib intersects the circle. Place the compass point on each intersection and draw segments near where a bisecting line will cross, These two segments should intersect. Draw a line across the circle from the original spot you placed the compass point through the last intersection. This line bisects the circle. Repeat the process from another point on the circle. The centroid is where the two bisecting lines intersect.

[KCStephens]

Kaz, Charlie, & Lee,
Thanks for the helpful information. I'm running off to find my old mechanical drawing book right now!

[ashevilleangler]

If you need a punch set American Science Surplus still carries a $10.00 set like the one shown above.

American Science & Surplus : "punch" - Other Tools

They also have other punch sets, but this one seems to work pretty well although it may need a bit of sharpening with an appropriate dremel grinding bit.

Cecil

[ashevilleangler]

And Thanks Kevin for this tip! I'll make a template tonight out of some scrap card stock. That way I'll the hole size selector and alignment tool in one piece.

Cecil

[KCStephens]

Originally Posted by Cecil.Severs

That way I'll the hole size selector and alignment tool in one piece.

Cecil,
Glad I could help. Just one word of caution...I have found that the size of the hole in the alignment tool gets a little bit bigger after repeated use. That's why I use a separate size selector.

For an all-in-one tool, you may want to try using a clear sheet of mylar or other some other type of thin plastic...that stronger material may hold up to repeated use better than card stock? It's worth a shot. If you do try this, please let us know how it works.

Thanks,
Kevin