Center Punches

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So i been getting sick of my bits "walking" away from the intended point of penetration. i want a center punch... i got some 5/8" and 3/4" round stock laying around and was planning on using that to make a couple. the only problem is that they are only mild steel... mild steel (untreated), from my understanding, is pretty soft and not well suited for things such as center punches... my question is how do i heat treat them? do i just heat the end to a nice cherry red and quench it in water, or is there a better way of doing this? i know it'd be simpler and easier to just go buy one, but i think heat-treating and surface-hardening would be a good skill to have anyway, and no better way to learn than with some free scrap.thanks!Later,Andy
Reply:You can't harden mild steel because it doesn't have high enough percentage of carbon. I guess you could case harden the tip. Maybe weld a piece of harder steel to the end of your mild steel rod. Could probably buy a good center punch for $3-$4
Reply:Originally Posted by aczellerSo i been getting sick of my bits "walking" away from the intended point of penetration. i want a center punch... i got some 5/8" and 3/4" round stock laying around and was planning on using that to make a couple. the only problem is that they are only mild steel... mild steel (untreated), from my understanding, is pretty soft and not well suited for things such as center punches... my question is how do i heat treat them? do i just heat the end to a nice cherry red and quench it in water, or is there a better way of doing this? i know it'd be simpler and easier to just go buy one, but i think heat-treating and surface-hardening would be a good skill to have anyway, and no better way to learn than with some free scrap.thanks!Later,Andy
Reply:If you really want to make your own start with some oil hardening drill rod and quinch it in oil. It's Not the best steel to use but it would be much better than mild steel. Even with this you would be spend more on supplies than a good center punch.
Reply:thanks guys... appreciate the info... what other material (readily available, preferably something that i may have laying around) would work well for this? i don't wanna get an O/A setup (it'd make for about a $200-$250 center punch), but i'd still like to try to harden it somewhat... any other ideas? i'm not trying to be difficult, but i would really like to try to learn some hardening skills if possible.Later,Andy
Reply:Spend the $$$$$http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhmType "punches" in the search bar.....zap!Last edited by zapster; 12-27-2007 at 11:22 PM.I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:I would get these. Even if they go dull, you can through them at people in the shop for fun. Ha-ha. http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=589&PMCTLG=00       Sincerely,             William McCormick
Reply:Originally Posted by aczellerthanks guys... appreciate the info... what other material (readily available, preferably something that i may have laying around) would work well for this? i don't wanna get an O/A setup (it'd make for about a $200-$250 center punch), but i'd still like to try to harden it somewhat... any other ideas? i'm not trying to be difficult, but i would really like to try to learn some hardening skills if possible.Later,Andy
Reply:Originally Posted by OldSparks One word of caution is that this isn't an exact science so always wear at least safety glasses when testing your homemades.
Reply:There is OIL hardened steel,AIR hardened steel and WATER hardened steel.You will need to get MACHINERY"S HANDBOOK to look up the spec's to do this. That is a lot of research and work.Just treat yourself good and go buy a good punch.
Reply:Not to rain on your Parade Andy, but there aren't any cheap, easy ways to harden the tip of a mild steel punch without an oxy-acetylene torch.  And, as someone pointed out earlier, there's not a whole lot of improvement you can make when starting with mild steel.  Also, as others have said, you'll have much more success simply by starting with a punch made from a proper tool steel.If you're looking for information on hardening and tempering steel, I can point you at some metallurgy texts and websites.  You might also start another thread here asking for examples of hardening processes and treatments for steel.  I know there are at least 3 or 4 others besides myself with enough metallurgy background to cover the basics... Originally Posted by aczellerthanks guys... appreciate the info... what other material (readily available, preferably something that i may have laying around) would work well for this? i don't wanna get an O/A setup (it'd make for about a $200-$250 center punch), but i'd still like to try to harden it somewhat... any other ideas? i'm not trying to be difficult, but i would really like to try to learn some hardening skills if possible.Later,Andy
Reply:going on the cheap the way you are, you could carburize with an ao setup. but since you don't want to spend the dough, you can hardface the tip with hardfacing rods and grind down, but the shaft will bend. same with carburizing. just spend the 3 bucks and buy one."Retreat hell, were just fighting in the other direction"Miller Trailblazer 302, Extreme 12 VS, Dimension 400, Spectrum 375, HF 251D-1, Milermatic 251 w/ spoolgun  Hypertherm 1000Lincoln sp 1702000 F-450 to haul it
Reply:going with the general census, i'm gonna buy one. i plan on getting an O/A setup after i get a few other toys... an EconoTIG beign one of them.anyway, i decided to change the direction of this topic and posted a new thread as was proposed/reccomended.http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread...955#post150955Thanks for all the replies.Later,Andy
Reply:Originally Posted by aczellergoing with the general census, i'm gonna buy one. i plan on getting an O/A setup after i get a few other toys... an EconoTIG beign one of them.anyway, i decided to change the direction of this topic and posted a new thread as was proposed/reccomended.http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread...955#post150955Thanks for all the replies.Later,Andy
Reply:Originally Posted by aczellerthanks guys... appreciate the info... what other material (readily available, preferably something that i may have laying around) would work well for this? Later,Andy
Reply:I bought some punches from TSC and they were crap, I had to harden them myself.  They work good now, even the cold chisel doesn't dull now.DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools