TruePower Punch & Die Set (9Piece) - See Through

The shipping was speedy for this shipment, got it in two days! However, the one i received was defective and sent a report to the seller. A few days later, i get a brand new one in the mail! i have not tried the new one yet, but i do have to say, A+ seller! Will hopefully do business with again!Even though the punch broke after the sixth punch, it still worked great! I really enjoyed using it, and was happy with what resulted.Yes it is a little hard to get the punched item out of the die, but it makes it a little easier when you have a small thin object (a flat head screwdriver can work well.)i would highly recommend this product (and seller) to whoever is starting out to make rings.

I bought this to punch out .030" thick (slightly thicker than a disposable plastic plate) styrene disks. And it's already a mess after two pieces.There are several things bad about this.1- Despite arriving as an oily mess, it was rusted in several areas, especially the inside of the holes... To the point where I had to carefully clean out the rust so the punches could even fit.2- Whatever oil was used to protect the metal, it had coagulated into a gummy varnish, so that even the two holes that weren't that badly rusted had to be cleaned out for the punches to fit.3- The alignment of the holes in the acrylic don't match the holes in the metal... Since they are supposed to serve as guides most of the punches won't go straight into the hole in the metal... Both of the sizes I test punched, clipped one edge of the hole... In short order I won't be able to punch a round part even in very thin plastic.4- Every similar punch of this kind that I've used or owned allows you to push the punch rod out after you punch a part... Most of the punch rods jam if you attempt to push them all the way through. I'm afraid if I tap one too deeply it will be permanently wedge in the block.Overall I should not have wasted the money on this unit and spent a little more and gotten a usable set... Mainly I got this because of the 3/4" punch which is actually the worst of the set.One last thing to note... It's a shipping issue and I suppose this is Amazon's fault... My first package arrived empty because they chose to ship this in an envelope instead of a small box... The item is too heavy for the envelope and it tore through the top (disappearing alone with another item traveling with it)... I notified Amazon and they shipped me a new one but it was sent the same way... The top showed wear similar, but not as bad as the previous one... The item isn't envelope grade stuff, it needs a box.

This set works well for center punching small coins for coin rings. The clear plastic top plate allows the alignment to be seen before driving the punch through, which is really important. I would recommend using this punch and die set with a press instead of a hammer, as using a press allows more precise alignment.

Attempted to use on 1/16 thick gasket material and the plastic unit broke. I may try a different six where the breakage isn't. Would not recommend this unless it is for card making only.

More than half of the reviews here are 5-star. I'd love to know how those people use this tool, because I was entirely unable to make it work as delivered. The punch part needs precision alignment to the close-fit die hole it goes into, but the holes in the clear plastic top plate are totally inadequate for this purpose because they're much too large (oversized). If the punch is a few mills off center it won't go in, and the top hole has at least 10x more clearance (slop) than that- I could try all day without result. I did figure out how to make reasonable holes in my .001" SS shim stock, but only by use of an external fixture. I used a benchtop mill (not running) just to hold the punch in the required alignment to the die. A quality drill press or arbor press could work too. A cheap flimsy one with any sideways motion at all, probably not. You have some kind of talent if you can make this work without an external jig!

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Make sure you put all the punches before all at once before using. Had one of the punches was off set with the bottom home. So whentrying to punch a hole the first time it cracked the upper plastic. Was replaced immediately, no issues. It has two set screws to line them up.This will save you a problem like I had. After being replace, I set up the holes on the new one. Have had no problems ever since. Great product, I just didn't pay attention to the hole line up. Still a GREAT Product

The diameters of the holes in the top (clear plastic) plate are much bigger than the diameters of the holes in the bottom (steel) plate and the diameters of the corresponding punches. For example, for a 1/2 inch punch, the actual diameters are: 0.4995 (punch), 0.5015 (steel base), 0.5115 (clear plastic). The function of the clear plastic plate is to aim the punch exactly at the hole in the steel plate, however, since the hole in the clear plastic is too big, the punch usually hits off center. As a result, the sheet material is cut on one side, while on the other side it is bent and pushed in the hole. After a few more strikes with a hammer the punch finds its way into the hole, but the shape of the disk produced is not round, the disk is warped (not flat), and its edge is curved up (on one side only). This becomes especially bad when you cut thin materials (0.012 inch or less). Maybe this tool will work better with thick materials: I did not try this.