[hazmail]

Hi again "Longball"-If you look at Pic 1020178, that's how they come out-except for the small hole , which is punched later with a paper punch (for ring binders), I need to do this so the brass hook hanger frame can pass through the lip (see new pics). The lips in the picture are Aluminum @.5mm (about 1/50th inch in your measurements) and as you can see from the die I have ground a few angles and a centre mark to get curve and a reference point for when gluing the lips into the lure. I have used brass as well, with same result and just yesterday cut a couple of Polycarbonate ones @ 1mm (about 1/25") , no problem, except you will not get the curves etc, just comes out a flat disc. I have been using this for about 15 years on and off, the press has only been added in the last couple of years as I needed to cut them in the hundreds and I got sick of holding everything and trying to whack the punch with a hammer, sometimes missing. You and your mate, one feeding a 6' strip of Al or Poly in and one punching can make something like 100/ hr, if you paint the lips, just sand the strip before punching them and they are ready to go.
I think this may cut "stainless steel" but would maybe need a longer lever, as you would know, staino is hard and "work hardens" as you cut it, also you need to have quality hard steel in punch and die, that's why I originally went for the truck shock absorber shaft, it's chromed and nice and hard. If you want to make just a few, don't worry about the press part, just make the punch/die part put it in a vice, use a hammer and watch your knuckles. Pete

[longball]

Nice accurate work Pete. I like the last pics. If you say it will cut poly I will build one and test the tolerances. Have you only cut the disc shaped one? I need a couple different styles to punch that can't be fabricated from a round drive pin. Thanks for the info.

[hazmail]

Longball- no I have only cut discs. If you want to square parts of it off, maybe you could cut a larger disc and square it up (or whatever) with a small gillotine or a large pair of sidecutters work well. I have all ways assumed Polycarbonate and Lexan were the same material, you said in a previous post you had problems with it cracking, have never seen that happen- maybe it's not polycarbonate (Laxan) after all. They say polycarbonate does not crack?? although recently I saw a sheet that had been hit by hail stones in a storm here and it was full of 1/2" holes, no real cracking though ! !pete