Waldron Punch sizes

[PietvWdV]

I am going to get a waldron punch and die set. They have two, the normal one and the sub miniature one. I cant figure out which one to get because I can make head or tails of their gauges (the measurement of the punch). I dont think it's metric.

 

If someone here has a set, please tell me what their sizes are in mm. Approximations are ok, I just need to decide on which set is best for me.

 

Whilst we are on the subject of obscure tools, where do you all buy your online miniature drill bits?

 

All the best

Piet

[LSP_Matt]

I ordered mine from these guys Piet. http://www.rollmodels.com ...go to the searchable catalogue then select Waldron / tools...they list both kits along with sizes definitions...also all the drill bits I think Chris S uses the standard kit from what I could gather but Radu recommended the subminature set. Have never tried Roll Models before but their prices seemed competitive to what I could find. USA much cheaper than UK. In Aus, perhaps like SA these kind of tools were impossible to find.

Saying all that its been 4 weeks and still nothing has arrived. Patience Obu Wan

Meteor has them listed but no stock...alternatively Waldron direct...simply goolge.

 

Good luck Matt

[alaninaustria]

Piet, greetings mate! I have both sizes and they both come in handy.... I can't really measure them... the only thing I can tell you is to buy both sizes... I use both on nearly every 32nd model I build. The smallest one of the regular larger punch set is also the biggest of the next smallest set.... I got mine from Waldron directly and they were expensive.. but well worth the price...

Cheers and happy hunting

Alan

[G. Springer]

Hello Piet,

 

The Waldron punches are measured in thousandths and ten-thousandths of an inch. Somewhere I have seen a conversion table from English to metric sizes but I cannot remember where. You should be able to find it by going to www.refdesk.com. They have links to all sorts of conversion tables. The punches are made to match English drill sizes. These sizes are also expressed as numbers. If you have an Xacto micro drill set you will see that the smallest bit is number 80 which is .0135 inch. Number 61 is .039 inch. I also have a larger set that runs from number 60 up to 1, which is .228 inch. The manufacturer is Huot and I purchased it from the Sears company. I find the 'Sub-miniature' punch set to be the most useful for cockpit detail but you should really have both of them. Roll Models is a reliable place to purchase them. Micro Mark sells the Rogers micro drill sets at www.micromark.com. They also carry hundreds of other wonderful tools for modelers.

 

Cheers!

 

Greg

[G. Springer]

Hello again Piet,

 

Here's the URL to an automatic conversion table:

 

http://www.onlineconversion.com/length_common.htm

 

The basic conversion is .040 inch = 1.016mm.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Greg

[PietvWdV]

Thank you guys. I found a converter in the meantime and figured it out. Those sub miniature punches are small! I think I should invest in a pair of magnifying glasses as well

 

All the best

Piet

[t.valdez]

Given the small size of the punches, the differences in millimeters is miniscule. And, considering the scale we work in, metric is somewhat irrelevant as the scale is English to begin with. The punches that Mr. Waldron makes came as an adjunct to the very fine instrument panel gauges he sells. In order to remove them from the sheet, a punch is required. When you consider that for a Spitfire, the gauges are in English measurements, as well as American and oftentimes Japanese, you begin to see why the punches are relevant in inches. The sizes on his small instrument set are as follows in inches: .063, .058, .053, .048, .043, .038, .033, .028, .023, .018

As you can see, a 1mm hole is about .0393 inches. the nearest punch size is only .0013 inches different. At these size differences, Metric vs. English becomes very secondary to modeling intent.

[PietvWdV]

...And, considering the scale we work in, metric is somewhat irrelevant ...When you consider that for a Spitfire, the gauges are in English measurements, as well as American and oftentimes Japanese...

Well colour me squirrel and slap me like I was Jack's left kidney

[EPinniger]

Do any UK model shops (e.g Hannants - www.hannants.co.uk) sell Waldron punches?

 

If so, what are they called? I searched for "Waldron" on the Hannants site but couldn't

find anything; if they are there, they've got a different brand name.

 

Since I do a lot of scratchbuilding and superdetailing (not just planes) Waldron punches would

be extremely useful to me. Currently I have to rely on an office hole-puncher for making plastic

discs

[PietvWdV]

Yes they do actually

 

try here :Hannant's Hidden Waldron Page

 

...or, if you dont like wading, try Hannant's super obscure punch and die page

[Slartibartfast]

Purchase both sets if AT ALL possible. You will be amazed at how often you pull them out for use, especially for jobs for which you not have considered them.

 

Since men are genetically inclined to collect tools, and usually need the slimmest rationalization for any acquisition, you should be able to easily talk yourself into eating peanut butter and jelly sammiches for the month it takes to pay for them.

 

I certainly don't regret it.

[EPinniger]

Thanks very much for the link - however the price is out of my budget range by several orders of magnitude! I was somehow expecting something around the £20-30 range; my jaw dropped when I saw what the actual price was.

 

I know that, given the amount of scratchbuild I do, they will be very useful, but there is absolutely NO WAY I can justify spending nearly £70 on a tool; let alone £120 for the smaller punches.

I rarely spend more than £10 on a kit (I usually buy kits second-hand),my normal absolute limit (for kits, not tools) is £30-35.