Identifying transfer punches

[Ghost11]

Maybe this has been covered already but... I have a set of spellmaco transfer punches i bought years ago. Thier great. Its the small set that goes up to 1/2". I remember they cost about $100 and came in a spellmaco cardboard box. Now i want to buy the next bigger set that goes up to 1". Im looking on ebay and other sites and see prices ranging from $50 to $250. And they all look exactly the same. My current punches have no identifying marks. There are similar sets on ebay for $10. But when i bought them, they looked and smelled like theyve been sitting in a warehouse for 50 years. So how can you tell the difference online? What keeps a company from selling a cheap china brand as a spellmaco set for 10x the price? I hope my post makes sense

 

[2oolhound]

Just wrap masking tape around your 1/2" punch until it's the right diameter for the larger holes you need to transfer.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I noticed my Spellmaco punches have a shorter point. But that's really hard to tell and photos. The only other thing different is they stamp their name in the holder. But that doesn't mean they could not have been switched out over the years.

I have small and large Spellmaco, and duplicate sets of chinese. I use chinese to cut in half or thirds for access.

Remember, you just need a light tap, then come back with a proper punch to actually whack it.

If you have a lathe you can always re-point them.

 

[2oolhound]

I got the chinese set for $4 (to 1/2"). I use layout dye or just a paint pen to show the mark. Works ok.

I'm not sure where Fowler makes these but it uses only 3 hardened punches and around 33 spacers to cover 1/2" - 1". Price is $75 in Canada here.

http://www.fowlerprecision.com/Prod...avy-Duty-Transfer-Punch-Set-52-482-040-0.html