Tonight’s Demo is sort of a continuation of the last two weeks. Then we did hole punching and slitting, tonight we are going to look at matrix and eye punches.

We have had a lot of demos where characters were forged, trolls, dragons, birds and the like. All used “eye” punches. Tonight we are going to look at these fancy punches and stamps.

This is a touchmark punch I made and its impression. To make the punch required a “matrix” punch. That’s a punch that is used to make a part of another punch.

After punching, the extra material was ground, sawed and filed away. The punch was then hardened. This one had flat ends for hot punching.

The same process can be used to make any of the letters of the alphabet or geometric shapes.

Often simple matrix punches are used to make more complex punches that in turn are used to make matrix dies.

When making sharp edged stamps the extra material is ground away and then the sharp edge cut. This can be done with a bench grinder, a die or Dremel grinder or a file if you anneal the punch.

In this case the heart punch is used with a standard letter punch to make a die. The die is made from mild steel that is cleaned and polished then punched cold.

I’ve found that you need a guide to fit the piece of steel being driven into the die. I make a ring to fit the tool steel with a little clearance and taper the inside so it doesn’t get stuck. Then I weld it to the die plate.

The tool steel is heated to an orange, descaled with a wire brush and pounded into the die. You get one chance to do this. It might be possible to realign a square bar but not round.

Like the earlier matrix punch you start with a polished hemispherical punch and drive it into a piece of hot tool steel.

When I go to the flea market I’m always looking for old punches and chisels in ANY condition CHEAP because all these get made from recycled tool steel.

These are often used on dragons and various “characters”

For “nasal passages” I use a tapered punch with a slightly rounded end. The “scale” punch sets material down to leave a raised scale.

The outer surface needs to be big enough to “fade” out of the work. The one I made was done with an angle grinder.

Do you wear any special magnifying glasses when making these?

In my old age I might need magnifiers but standard safety glasses are slightly magnifying.

Oh by the way. Most of these are relatively LARGE. The JD punch is 5/8″ and the Dempsey’s Forge is 1″

 Guru: was the ‘Dempsey’s forge” stamp done with mirror image letter stamps?

No, you don’t need mirror image punches when making a die to make a punch.

Good demo Jock! Tell us more about the difference between hot and cold stamps.

Cold stamps have a chisel edge on them and must be carefully heat treated.

Hot punches can be almost any kind of tool steel and normally don’t need to be very hard. You should harden and temper them but the heat of the hot work is going to draw the temper more.

George Dixon uses his hot stamps cold for “lining out” I have a little disaster whenever I do. What gives there?

Pete it may be the temper of the steel being punched. I’ve wrecked good punches on “mild steel” that I got in a hurry and quenched.

Your hot work punches may have been tempered too soft from use too. . .

his type of “hot punch” doesn’t stay in the work long enough to need to be made of “hot work steel”. I believe many cold stamps are made of S-7

Some of my eye punches I have drilled out the center of a drift punch very carefully. It seems to work ..

My best cold letter stamps barely make a mark on quenched piece of 1020 cold finish.

Didn’t hurt the stamps but I always stopped and normalized the part before finishing the stamping job.

I’ve found S-1 most temper sensitive, S-7 stays a little stiffer and H13 stays stiff but is fussy and hard to put elaborate patterns in

Pete, if you make your stamps out of water quench stuff, you can go to water between each trip to hot metal. Old timey stuff, but it works.

got to find out what them numbers mean S-7 1089 etc..

“S”= shock resistant.”H”= hot work ( I think)

That’s right.

 M2?

Then “M” is HSS. . .

But There is ALSO a structural grade called M-##

How do you heat treat it Tom?

Air hardening stuff is too esoteric for this simple farrier. I like the availabiity and simplicity of the water quench steels. Pete, I don’t have any idea. All my forrays into M2 ended up as expensive piles of metallic mush in the bottom of my gasser.

I just use whatever old punches and cold chisles I’ve picked up at the flea market. Oil quench then draw to a straw yellow. . NOT very scientific. The BLACKSMITH way 🙂

What EA Chase said about H-13 is “Heat and beat”

Pete I’ve had the same experiance as Tom trying to forge HSS lathe cutter bits. . . burned up trash.

 LATER. . .

I just drill a hole about the size if the end of the punch drop the BB in the bottom of the hole and the hole will center the punch. Bill is describing his method of making eye punches.

Ah, no chasing little balls across the shop floor. . .

PUNCHING PART I Punching Holes

PUNCHING PART II Slitting and Drifting

Repousse’ Tools (Punches)