Does anybody on board make wad punches?

[GoodOlBoy]

I need to find somebody who makes wad punches. I load magtech brass 20 gauge hulls and I need a 18 gauge punch that will handle card and fiber stock, and a 17 gauge punch to handle card stock.

Thanks

GoodOlBoy

[Jim_P]

GoodOlBoy

Take a look here:

http://www.buffaloarms.com/wad_punches_pr-3756.aspx

Looks like they have mainly common rifle/pistol calibers, but get some of them from Lee Shaver. Maybe linking to Lee's site can help. Or one of the other manufacturers.

Jim

[GoodOlBoy]

Jim unless I am just missing it I don't see any of the size punches I need there.

Thanks

GoodOlBoy

[troyboy]

Harbor Freight sells a set of gasket punches that should work.

[too many things]

there is a guy on feebay that makes any size, and they are good. I don't have link but a search for wad punch should get you there

[QIDPlb]

I bought a 20 gauge punch from ebay seller.
Worked out great. total cost shipped was $8.00

[oldfart1956]

Shooting smoothbore flintlocks I've often made up wad punches to fit. My guns vary from .600 to .735 inside so just the right size isn't always available. But...pipe is! Virtually any kind of pipe is a punch in the rough. I've used iron plumbing pipe, handlebars from various bicycles, emt (electrical pipe) or whatever piece of pipe I found in the dump. If the I.D. is just a bit on the small side sharpen the end of the pipe from the inside...not the outside. That way it will cut a larger dia. wad. Use a cone shaped or round stone to do that. WalMart sells (or did) a package of various sized/shaped stones for a couple dollars. Lay the material on the endgrain of a piece of 4X4 in the vise and use a mallet to whack it a goodun'. Be careful using a steel hammer it deforms the pipe and might send a metal chip into yer peepers. Wear safety glasses. A lot of pipe can be hardened (heat and water quench) to keep the edge. Time to snatch up that rusty hacksaw and off to the dump wi' ye! Audie...the frugal Oldfart..

[Garyshome]

I need a couple also! Thanks

[bedbugbilly]

The suggestion on using pipe, etc. is a good one - I've done that several times and it works pretty good.

If you are going to be punching a lot of wads - I know that many use the "end grain" of something like a 4 X 4. I do leather work - holsters, etc. and I use a lot of different punches such as Osborn arched punches - some as big as 2 1/2 inches. These are used to cut inside arcs on holster buckets, etc. Anyway - Tandy Leather sells a rubber/polymer (for want of a better word) pad that is about 1/2" X 12" X 12" to use as a "backing" when punching. The punch can penetrate the pad and the pad is kind of "self healing". I've used the same pad for a number of years and it is still good.

Another suggestion - I wanted a "patch cutter" to cut cloth patches for my muzzle loaders. I went to Lows and picked up several different sizes of "hole saws". The kind that you put on an interchangeable arbor with a drill bit in the arbor. I removed the drill bit and with a disc sander, ground the teeth off of the hole saw and then ground a tapered edge on it after the teeth were removed. They are hardened so it stays sharp. I used a dremel and a buffing wheel to polish up the tapered cutting edge. I can take a yard of so of my patching material (after washing to remove the sizing) and fold it so I have about six layers. Usint the cutter and a piece of 2 X 4 as a backer, I can cut hundreds of patches in just a very few minutes Works well for not only round ball patches but cleaning patches as well.

If you could find a hole saw that is the correct size for what you need and make the alterations to it, it should work equally well on wads - cardboard and cushion wads cut from insulated sheathing, etc. If you can't find the right size - then maybe you could find a piece of pipe that could be altered and made into a punch that could be used in the drill press. A metal lathe would be a great help if you had access to one.

[QIDPlb]

I'm off to my metal bins to find some pipe. Great idea

[oldfart1956]

Billy great post on the hole-saw cutters. I'd plumb forgot about that. Some materials don't punch well..but they cut well. I had a part sheet of Styrofoam insulation about 1/2 inch thick that I cut wads from using a hole saw as you mentioned. Punching distorted it too much. Also on a 4X8 sheet of black insulating board I got somewhere. Looked like compressed cardboard, again 1/2 inch thick. Celotex mebbe? For some dandy wad material keep an eyeball open at yardsales and consignment shops for felt hats. Cowboy hats, hippie hats or whatever. Cuts nice, holds lube well and can even be re-used if you can find them. Hey...I'm frugal. I've re-used pillow tick patches I found. Big sheets of heavy single ply cardboard (not the waffle stuff!) can be got at anyplace that receives shipments on wood pallets. Our grocery store gets dozens a day. This stuff is almost 1/16 inch thick. Sheets of cork is still available in some hobby shops. That makes a great over-shot wad. Audie...the Oldfart..

[too many things]

I fine that a chunk of lead works best. it don't bounce and can be reused forever . just heat the top with a torch and have new surface
this is the one I got on feebay and he will make any size 281236306706
the drink coaster that the bars use is very good . also a lid from a cottage cheese or the like works great too

[Mustangpalmer1911]

If you are making wads ya cant go wrong with these. http://www.harborfreight.com/9-piece...-set-3838.html

Patches no. Need bigger punches for 50+

[Janoosh]

+1Audie..I use the inserts from boxes that come from the liquor store. All different thicknesses of compressed paper product with those inserts.