{"id":29361,"date":"2017-08-02T13:29:52","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T20:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=29361"},"modified":"2017-10-06T12:50:54","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T19:50:54","slug":"maker-update-spring-loaded-self-striking-center-punch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/maker-update-spring-loaded-self-striking-center-punch\/","title":{"rendered":"Maker Update: Spring-loaded Self-Striking Center Punch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_63503\"  width=\"480\" height=\"270\"  data-origwidth=\"480\" data-origheight=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FF2cD_YcQJ4?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>This week on Maker Update, punch-activated flame throwers, interactive laser curtains, Massimo takes back Arduino, some time with a deluxe center punch, 3-color OLED screens, MagPi 60, and the Gemma M0.<\/p>\n<p>This week for my Cool Tools review I\u2019m going to show you a fancy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/B00KYQO7ZE\/ctmakerupdate-20\">automatic center hole punch<\/a>, great for marking and starting drill holes in metal and wood. I\u2019ve got an Amazon link for this in the show notes, and if you pick one up you help to support my videos and the Cool Tools blog.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s your typical brass handle center punch you can pick up for around $5. You push it into the material you want to drill and it makes a little divet for your drill to start in so it doesn\u2019t wander around.<\/p>\n<p>The trouble with these is that they get dull quick, and even out of the box they don\u2019t leave much of a mark. I\u2019ve also found that the round design just loves to roll off your workbench.<\/p>\n<p>It got me wondering what a nice center punch would be like, so I did a little research and found this $30 option from Rennsteig. This is an all German-made tool. It has this nice, ergonomic handle that allows you to push down directly from the top. It also doesn\u2019t roll all over the place, which I like.<\/p>\n<p>The replaceable striking pin here is made from hardened tool steel with a Rockwell hardness rating of 58. The punch itself has a striking force of 60-130 Newtons. You can adjust the force by twisting the handle.<\/p>\n<p>What this means, practically, is bigger, deeper marks in your material, and hopefully a substantially longer lasting pin \u2014 though you can order pin replacements for around $10 online.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the mark from a new $5 punch on the left, and the mark from the Rennsteig on the right. It\u2019s a noticeable difference. Is it worth an extra $25? That really depends on how much you use it or how much these generic punches bother you.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I find it really satisfying to use and I\u2019m glad I spent the extra for it. If you\u2019re interested in picking one up too, using the Amazon link in the description helps me out, and the Cool Tools blog. And remember, you can find thousands of reader-recommended tools just like this at Cool-Tools.org.<\/p>\n<div class='ctx-module-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix'><\/div><span class=\"ctx-article-root\"><!-- --><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The best maker projects and tools this week<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[2333,1449],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29361"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29763,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29361\/revisions\/29763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}