Thread: this was too easy

I built one of those little punch apparatus described in another thread which involves drilling a 1//16 hole into a bolt, and then boring a 3/32 hole into that and then drilling a 1/16 hole into another bolt and using a piece of 1/16 drill shaft and a tiny piece of 3/32 brass tubing to make a domed washer.

It's fussy, and there is some flattening and trimming and polishing of teeny little washers to do.

I was thinking of going to a friend who is a gifted machinist to see if his cnc can make a little punch or a swage to do this, and then i thought of stacking three of the very small microfastener washers onto the drill shaft, putting one of the larger microfastener washers on, and using the punch in the usual manner.

Got me a perfect domed washer which only needs a little polishing.

The 3/32 hole isn't nice and smooth being made with a twist drill, but my buddy could no doubt do a better job with his fancy machines. i guess it's the same principle as a doming block, but having a 1/16 pin centering everything made it basically foolproof.

The bullet-shaped object is a brass rod I turned down with a drill and a file that can be used as a punch to accomplish the same end.

I really like it when people come up with ideas to simplify things... Using two bolts for the punch and using washers makes this much easier, especially for people with limited tools available.

I already have a doming set, but I am curious about the thickness you can get by punching multiple washers at the same time... Without a backer the domed washers have a tendency to flatten while pinning.

I am going to try this out and see how it works.

Thanks for the updated post with a picture!

I'm only using the stacked little washers to push the larger washer into the 3/32 hole. If I didn't use them there would be no doming effect because the larger washer is I think 3/32 already and just barely fits into the depression. Tapping the longer bolt on the right forces everything into the depression in the bolt on the left and causes the doming.

At one point I had one of the little washers get stuck inside the bigger one. This might help the domed washer not flatten when peening.

I rubbed two of them on a 1k stone to flatten the back, but those washers did flatten when peened. Others did not. This is way better than my first attempts at washers and peening, believe me.

Added to the inforamative original post is a suggestion from my previous life of bashing , bodging, and banging.
When making these washer punches, make a slip fit tube to keep things in line and, as the OP says, use a drill bit to keep things centered and for the core of the washer to be punched/domed. Then a hammer blow won't break things due to misalignment and buckling.
Photo of a punch set made many years ago. This one was for 1/8th inch c'sink in a washer, not a dome
Respectfully
~Richard

I got to try this one day. Great idea guys.