Sharpening Ironworker Punches???

[madman]

Question. Ironworker punches, is it prudent to sharpen them? Or do you grind through the heat treated layer? Also with the small point on these punches what is the best or Proffesional way to sharpen them correctly. I recently was given a surface grinder and am interested in using it a bit. Thanx Madman

[Mark Hockett]

Madman,
I think most punches have a slight taper on the sides, so if you remove material from the face they no longer fit the hole properly. That is what a friend of mine told me who has a large welding and fabrication shop near me. Most punches are fairly cheap so I would just replace them.

[tattoomike68]

Just face .010" off the end or what you need and call it good, They are not all that hard or they would chip and bust. A cheap person can make punches from grade 8 bolts that will last thousands of holes, that will give you an idea how hard they are.

[doctor demo]

Just face .010" off the end or what you need and call it good, They are not all that hard or they would chip and bust.

A cheap person can make punches from grade 8 bolts that will last thousands of

holes, that will give you an idea how hard they are.

Who you callin cheap,Mike
I have ground quite afew punches and the dies also, the taper is for clearance and if you don't get carried away several sharpinings are possible.
Just because you need something before you can afford to wait for delivery doesn't make you ''cheap'' it just makes your job on time.
Frugal Steve

[DR]

With a surface grinder and a spin index the punches can be sharpened leaving the point. The back taper isn't very much, so a bit of sharpening isn't going to make a big difference.

The sharpening will increase the punch/die clearance. That only really becomes a problem when you're punching thin sheet material. Iron workers generally don't do thin work, so no problem.

[IOWOLF]

Easy, I sharpen Stripit punches all the time for a guy.

[wierdscience]

Cheap?You guys are amatuers in that field

When a punch gets chipped at work I set the relief taper in the grinder and reduce the OD to the next smallest size.I have some 1" punches that started out as 1-1/8" and will probably be 15/16" before it's over.

When a die gets chipped it gets ground out to the next biggest size and face ground sharp.The next order has a new punch bought to fit it.

I have some punch and die sets that are 5-6 years old.

The punches aren't expensive,until you have several hundred accumilated.That coupled with some specials such as ovals and oblongs being over $120/set being able the sharpen them up before they get bad is a plus.

Another plus is when you get a weekend OT job where a 27/64" punch and die would make you more money IF YOU ONLY HAD ONE.That happened to me a couple weeks ago,ground a set up,did the job and made some good change,would have been a lot harder if I couldn't grind my own.