Punch Press Holes?

W

WJ Birmingham

Cast Iron

Joined

Jan 21, 2016

Location

Swansea, IL USA

• Sep 26, 2019

• #1

This might be a stupid question, but I'll ask anyhow.

I'm needing some 16ga mild steel sheet plugs, about the size of a nickle.

I got to thinking that maybe someone on here might work in a punch press shop and have access to ~50 of them.

 

K

kb0thn

Stainless

Joined

May 15, 2008

Location

Winona, MN, USA

• Sep 26, 2019

• #2

Electrical boxes are 16 ga. 1/2" trade size conduit knockout is about 7/8" diameter. A US nickle is 0.835" diameter.

Cheap steel electrical box with 1/2" knockouts might get you 10+ knockouts for a few dollars.

https://www.menards.com/main/electr...77-c-6425.htm?tid=-2687625096017546734&ipos=7

Or ask a commercial electrician to save some knockouts for you.

 

W

WJ Birmingham

Cast Iron

Joined

Jan 21, 2016

Location

Swansea, IL USA

• Sep 27, 2019

• #3

While I appreciate the idea, them being galvanized doesn't lend well to welding.

 

C

CarlBoyd

Hot Rolled

Joined

Jul 16, 2007

Location

Orlando, Florida

• Sep 27, 2019

• #4

WJ Birmingham said:

While I appreciate the idea, them being galvanized doesn't lend well to welding.

Click to expand...

Small jar of muriatic acid from the same hardware store you buy the electrical boxes will make very short work of the galvanized coating.

CarlBoyd

 

1 Jaw Chuck (Chuck Evans)

Cast Iron

Joined

Jun 9, 2008

Location

Burbank, CA

• Sep 27, 2019

• #5

You might have better luck finding them if you search for "slugs". That's
what the punch press guys call them. And if you could give us the OD you need
in inches rather than coin denomination.

Chuck
Burbank, CA

 

Last edited: Sep 27, 2019

Ries

Diamond

Joined

Mar 15, 2004

Location

Edison Washington USA

• Sep 27, 2019

• #6

Wagner sells them in 5 different metals, but starting at 1" and going up from there. If you are welding them onto the ends of pipe or tubing, why dont you just chop them off a piece of round bar? Thats what I always do. Have done hundreds and hundreds of them that way, ranging from 1/2" to 3" or so- above that, I usually plasma cut em. We use the cold saw, then we can cut them any thickness we want, but for welding, 1/8" is about right, cut them very slightly smaller in diameter than the pipe, and autogenous tig weld em on. Dont want to remember how many times I have done this.

Round Disks | Wagner Companies

I actually have a Whitney punch and a ironworker that both leave round slugs- but they are not really good for welding on pipe ends, as they have a dimple in the middle from the punch, and are deformed and not flat.

 

M

metalmagpie

Titanium

Joined

May 22, 2006

Location

Seattle

• Sep 27, 2019

• #7

Weld an ironworker slug, dimple out. Then weld the dimple and sand flat.

 

M

memphisjed

Titanium

Joined

Jan 21, 2019

Location

Memphis

• Sep 27, 2019

• #8

I have buckets of 13/16 slugs 1/4 and 3/8 thick mostly. we generally put dimple inside and use the dome as finish surface. We have an 1 1/4 punch with removed tit for standard wall rails, still have a little dome, nothing a grinder can not handle when hitting the welds.

 

W

WJ Birmingham

Cast Iron

Joined

Jan 21, 2016

Location

Swansea, IL USA

• Sep 28, 2019

• #9

Chuck Evans said:

You might have better luck finding them if you search for "slugs". That's
what the punch press guys call them. And if you could give us the OD you need
in inches rather than coin denomination.

Chuck
Burbank, CA

Click to expand...

Slugs! Thanks.

As for dimension, oh, around 0.500" would work just fine. I'm wanting to weld up the trim holes in an Olds cutlass to turn it into a 442 clone.

 

M

metalmagpie

Titanium

Joined

May 22, 2006

Location

Seattle

• Sep 30, 2019

• #10

Turn some steel shaft to nice fit in the holes and part off thicker then the
sheet metal, leave tit on parted off piece if it has one. Fit plug into hole and
back up with heavy flat piece of steel and hammer the steel plug expanding it to
make a tight fit. Grind / sand plug to match sheet metal surface.

 

D

DDoug

Diamond

Joined

Oct 18, 2005

Location

NW Pa

• Sep 30, 2019

• #11

WJ Birmingham said:

This might be a stupid question, but I'll ask anyhow.

I'm needing some 16ga mild steel sheet plugs, about the size of a nickle.

I got to thinking that maybe someone on here might work in a punch press shop and have access to ~50 of them.

Click to expand...

WJ Birmingham said:

While I appreciate the idea, them being galvanized doesn't lend well to welding.

Click to expand...

Gonna make us drag ALL the requirements out of you one post at a time sir ?