Effects of speed on "cleanliness" of a cut when punching

I have never seen a punched hole ID that looked mirror.

You can vary your die clearance, and you can make sure your tooling is sharp. I know of no correlation between punch speed and cut appearance.

GWE

Some lubrication helps alot. I have used 3 different ypes of punh presses and many sizes of die sets. If the the punch is really sharp and the clearance is correct for the material thickness the only other variable is lubrication It's kinda like sex. If the parts fit together but dry there is friction. With lube eveything is smoother so it makes a better cut.

Promise not to laugh...Try a sheet of newsprint on top of the stock.

I prefer using the comics...you know, the editorial page.

Acyually, I don't know why this works sometimes, but it does.

Right wing of course. Leftwing goes on the bottom of the bird cage.

Gunner

Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error"

I wonder if there's some talc or something acting like a lubricant......Hmmmmmm.

Tom

That's brilliant and makes good sense. The ink has a whole bunch of organic additives so it flows right, doesn't smear, and dries quickly. The paper has various binders and fillers in it also. Essentially it's acting like a thin layer of graphite lubricant. I vaguely remember that thin plate stock in a punch shop I visited came with a layer of graphite paper bonded to the top side. I thought it was just to protect the finish, but I'll bet it also acted as a lubricant. So probably what you want is the densest possible printing - the stock market report or the daily line.

Good tip!

Jim

Or a old newspaper which contained lead in the ink.