Hydraulic hole punch?

[Cue]

Anyone have a recommendation for a "cheap" one? I just would like to have one for around the shop, I have the manual hand pump one from Harbor freight and I have a manual greenlee set but they dont go down to 1/4" or so, plus the hit a button and watch it go thru 1/4 would be neat of a powered hydraulic one

This is the cheapest option I can find, I wouldn't mind paying a little more if there was better support/parts but not the 2-3k like I have seen others.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272296574308?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Looking for ideas?

 

[MFolks]

What material and thickness are you going to punch through?

 

[Cue]

up to 1/4" mild steel and everything below. Could sacrifice thickness some though if it could do smaller holes like in the 1/4" range

 

[LXCam]

Both the manual ones you talked about and this one are meant for lite gauge sheet metal. And won't handle 1/4" plate. About the most a greenlee set will handle is 14gauge before it gets dicey. To answer your question I've seen some pretty stout C frame style holders that can handle up to 1/8" plate depending upon the die size but I don't remember who makes them. If you're serious about punching holes in that thick of a material, maybe check out an iron worker if you got the space for one.

Good luck, I'm sure someone here will find you something a bit more reasonable then my suggestion.

 

[Cue]

Yea, I know the others are for mostly sheet metal.

 

[ttpete]

Roper Whitney makes punches that will do what you want.

http://www.roperwhitney.com/bench-deep-throat.html

 

[Cue]

Dont see any prices on those so more than likely they are out of my price range.

 

[akalian]

If you have a hydraulic press you can get a used Punch Press and buy the tooling that you need. The new punch and die sets tend to be pricey so it's best to look for a used Punch Press that comes with an assortment of punches and dies. Make sure you get a Punch Press that has a common diameter for the punches and dies.

Used one's are very reasonable like this one. Many will come with many punches and dies.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mantis-Punc...826859?hash=item2112d4582b:g:RE0AAOSwzLlXgQ~o

.

 

[Know Wosad]

Dont see any prices on those so more than likely they are out of my price range.

Well Cue, y'aint got a Clue until you look
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manual-Benc...331735?hash=item33b785ce57:g:UY8AAOSwBw5XRM2O

 

[Cue]

Thanks for the ideas.


Your right, I didn't look much when I didn't see prices I assumed they were too expensive, that one you linked will only do up to 10G but I found this one below I may go with. Its not hydraulic but it can punch thru up to 1/2" steel if I wanted and die sets seem pretty cheap to, plus they have lots of different size dies and even some shapes like square if I ever needed it.

http://www.trick-tools.com/Roper-Whitney-No-20-CTL-Heavy-Duty-Portable-Punch-130030201-6534

Well Cue, y'aint got a Clue until you look
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manual-Benc...331735?hash=item33b785ce57:g:UY8AAOSwBw5XRM2O

 

[theoldwizard1]

Depending on what you are punching (flat stock ?) and how many "punches" you need to make, there are punch dies to be used with a typical (HF) hydraulic press. Not fast, but cheap !

Or, start shopping for a used "iron worker". Those are AWESOME machines !!

 

[Cue]

I ordered the Roper Whitney No. 20 CTL, should work well for me I think.

 

[Cue]

Ive had the punch for a few days now and I wonder how I ever lived without it. Punching holes is so much easier/faster than drilling them. Making up some brackets the other day to mount a trailer jack to my metal shear and it made quick work of 1/2" holes in 1/8 angle iron and 5/16" holes in 1/4" plate.