Making Tin Can Toys by Edward Thatcher 1919

Chapter 3

Making a Biscuit Cutter from a Small Can part 2

Punching a Hole in Tin - A hole should be punched in the top of the biscuit cutter to admit air, as the biscuit dough is apt to stick in the cutter by the vacuum formed unless an air vent is provided. A small hole about 1/8 inch in diameter will do, but a series of such holes may be punched in if desired.

A punch may be filed up from a wire nail or a regular punch or nail set may be used.
The biscuit cutter is placed over the end of a block of wood held in a vise as shown in Fig. 9, in such a manner that the top of the cutter rests directly on the wood. The punch is placed in the center of the cutter, care being taken to see that the wooden block supports the tin directly under the punch, and then the punch is struck lightly with the hammer until it cuts through the tin.

It may be well to try the punch on a scrap of tin to test it. A clean round hole should result. The punch cuts out a tiny disk of tin and drives it into the wood. The end grain of a wooden block should always be used for punching on.

If a nail is used for a punch, the original point should be filed away. Nail points are usually made in the form of a square pyramid and if these points are driven into a piece of tin a jagged hole will result; such a hole may be used for making a grater for the kitchen, but all other holes should be round and smooth.

To file up a nail for a punch proceed as follows: Place the nail vertically in the vise jaws so that the point projects slightly above the jaws. File the point entirely away until you are filing the entire diameter of the nail and squarely across it.

Then reduce the diameter of the nail at the end you have been filing by filing smoothly around it as shown at A, Fig. 10. See that the edge B is clean and sharp and the nail punch is ready for use. The nail used for a punch should always be somewhat larger in diameter than the punching point, as this will provide for a stronger punch and one not likely to bend. Regular punches are usually ma: much thicker in the body than at the point, as may be easily seen by looking at one. If desired, punches may easily be made from nails to cut round, square or triangular holes.

It is much better to purchase a regular punch or punches for punching round holes, as these may be purchased for 10 or 15 cents at almost any hardware 50and-10 cent store. Several different sizes will prove useful, 1/16, 1/8, 8/16 inches in diameter being the most used sizes. As these punches are made of hardened steel they hold their edges for a long time, but nails are made of a fairly soft steel and when used as punches have to be frequently filed sharp.