What do you use to..

L

Larry Jenkins

BANNED
Punch clean, sharp holes in frame welting?

Not something cheap that won't last.. Just a nice, reasonable fabric hole punch that cuts clean holes.

Thank you!

Larry
 
Thanks Slugs..

Yes, that's the ones I looked at. Amazon has them too with a much better description, but a buck and a half more. But no tax and no shipping..

Everyone has Prime, don't they? ;)

Larry
 
Lets do it the easy way. Get one of those curved pry bars with the long tapered circular end that you use to align parts and holes. Get your torch out, heat the end, and stick the heated end in each hole. will line up perfectly with no guessing, and is accurate and is done quickly. Can you beat that?
 
norcalal said:
Lets do it the easy way. Get one of those curved pry bars with the long tapered circular end that you use to align parts and holes. Get your torch out, heat the end, and stick the heated end in each hole. will line up perfectly with no guessing, and is accurate and is done quickly. Can you beat that?
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I guess that ruining the frame paint and causing heartburn if you would ever want to remove the welting is of no concern for the next restoration.

But, good idea for old folk like me.. ;)

larry ..
 
I have punched holes in frame welting for 2 frames. What I use, being cheap, is a cast iron pipe nipple - about 6" long. I use 3 sizes to make the different size holes. I sharpen one end of the pipe on a bench grinder and then after marking the spots to make the holes, set the webbing on a short piece of 2x6 (end facing up) and give the other end of the pipe nipple (non-sharpened end) a good wrap with a hammer and it cuts a nice clean hole in the webbing. The pipe nipples are about $1 each. Works great.
Rusty Nelson
 
I am going to go a different way here. Often times I feel as restorers we waste time & effort trying to secure a special tool to do a task when a little enginuity is all it takes. In the instance of the frame anti-squeak holes, using a short scrap piece of EMT conduit or metal water pipe will work quite nicely. Take the conduit/pipe to the grinder and chamfer the edge to make it sharp. It will punch right thru the webbing with the smack of a hammer. A thin board underneath protects the razor sharp edge of the punch as it protrudes thru the webbing.
 
Ditto Jeep44. The Harbor Freight punch set works very well for numerous restoration / fix-it tasks, and does a good job making neat holes in the frame welting. The punches are easily sharpened too.
 
Like Brent, I have used electrical conduit for years to make punches. However, I take it one step further. When I need a very specific size I take a larger piece of conduit and hacksaw it longitudinally to take out a thin sliver , squeeze it closed and weld it, then sharpen it. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to get the right size but i works great.
 
I always just heated a bolt red hot . Works great does not burn all the paint off makes a nice hole. But I never had any one check the holes yet.
 
Be sure to use a piece of hardwood under the welt for the punches.
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I was taught to punch into the end grain of the wood.
Some friends have told me they use a slab of lead. I've never seen it done or tried it, so can't comment on how good it does or doesn't work.

Your mileage may vary.
 
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