Roper WhitneyNo. 5 Jr. Punch Kit

This is a beautiful tool in its design and quality. Now that I have begun to use it at its design limits working with 16 gauge mild sheet steel, I appreciate its usefulness. I would gladly have paid twice its remarkably low cost. The design limit here is a 1/8 inch hole in a single sheet of 16 gauge, but with a little planning it is easy to use an initial hole to position the punch pin for making a hole in a second sheet of 16 gauge just where you need it for fastening with a pop rivet. Or, if you can make the first hole with a drill press, even easier. Just be sure the drilled hole is clean and clear so you can easily get the punch pin in there. This is so much faster then trying to use a hand held drill in a tight space that you will never go back. Of course, if you are fastening sufficiently thin steel or aluminum you can make your hole in both sheets at once. Try to do that with a drill and unclamped metal. One detail: It is easiest to punch metal with the adjustable hole anvil opened as wide as possible for the best leverage. If your hands are not large and strong, you might need to contrive cheater handles to use this at its limit, but for thin steel or aluminum it is easy.

Nice, solid punch. I've used another for years, and this is just as solid. It needs a little breaking-in - it has paint on some of the moving parts that should be removed - either by use, or scraping/dissolving it off. Once that was done, it does the job.As I recall, the one I had previously used had a slightly larger capacity - in retrospect, I wish I had searched that out. But this one is fine for the holes that it is designed for. A great, basic, solid tool.

Worked good for sheet metal as stated. Did have one of the dies break while trying to remove.

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Never understood why the handles on these things were always so small and I have seen these for decades.These are well built tools, but the information on what you can punch with it is plain old stupid. It's rated in tons...how in the world can anyone know what tonnage they are applying to a tool? I called Roper Whitney to inform them of this stupidity and the engineer guy I talked to agreed. They have had this nomenclature for decades and it is engineering gobbledygook, purely useless to the consumer, but most people just squeeze it and if it wont punch...there's your limit! Right? Plus one mans forearms and grip is not the same as another's. A five year old is not going to be able to squeeze the same as a man with Popeye forearms!I was able to punch 18ga. stainless but had to trap in on the floor and squeeze with everything I had. I plan to make "cheater handles" for it to increase the leverage. If you are punching thin tin or soft metals it's fine, but for real man work...it needs cheater handles.

I used this model of tool at work, and found it to be very handy. When I retired, I missed having it available for hobby projects, so I decided to buy one. I decided to buy the genuine "Whitney punch" instead if the cheaper imported models because I knew the quality of the Whitney product was good. It is a lot better to punch a hole than drill one in many cases.

This product was recommended to me through some blacksmith and armoring books and I must say that it lived up the recommendation. It came in a hard plastic ROPER WHITNEY case that was very nice. The punches all function wonderfully and leave a nice de-burred hole. I would only recommend that you get some pipe for the handles because they are a bit short and if you are punch anything thicker or stronger than 16ga sheet steel you will get tired fast. Overall this is an outstanding product.

I wish I found this tool sooner!! It does everything i need it to with very little effort. However on 16 GA you need to use some muscle to get it to punch.The case is very sturdy and comes organized with all the dies you need for standard hole sizes. This is the only hand punch to buy!!