I recently inherited a selection of tools. This one, I haven’t been
able to identify. I gather it’s for wax working since some of the
holes were plugged with wax. It is steel with interchangeable ‘tube’
heads. I searched on Rio Grande and was unable to track down a
similar looking device. Is it to carve channels in wax?
The black washer/nut may or may not be a part of the tool - given
that it’s plastic and the threads are different, I’m assuming no, but
it was found in the same box as these items.
Any input would be appreciated. Thank you! This is my first time
posting; apologies if I’ve made an error.
There’s a similar tool in the papercrafting industry that’s a paper
punch, but could be used for other soft materials as
well–chipboard, fabric, wax, etc. Just place it on a surface you
wouldn’t mind marring and smack it with a hammer. The different
heads punch different size holes.
What you have is a leather punch set.
Which would be useful to make holes in wax also.
Sold by ‘Tandy Leather’ & I am sure by many others.
(They also come in oval.)
The last time I saw a very similar tool, it was for punching holes
in leather. I suppose such a tool could be used in wax as well. Of
course, I could be full of it!
It’s a hole punch. Normally used for leather, but could be used to
punch holes in wax sheet, or most other non metal things. The
little knob is unrelated. The tips are interchangeable sized punch
cutters.
In use, you set your leather strip across the endgrain of a piece of
wood (like the end of a 2x4, or 4x4) and then put the punch on top,
and smack the end of it with a rawhide mallet. It’s slower than a
hand punch, but cheaper. Also useful for saddle skirts, or large
items, where you’re trying to punch holes much farther into the
middle of a hide of leather than you can reach with a hand punch.
(Hand punches look sort of like pliers. The hinge means there’s a
limit to how far into a piece you can get. Your tool doesn’t have
that problem.)
This is a hole punch for leather. Of course, it can also be used for
punching holes in materials of similar consistency, such as paper or
flexible plastics.
In use it is placed on the piece to be punched, which rests on
something like a cutting board, and the back end is struck with a
mallet. As holes are punched the waste is pushed into the body of the
punch and, once clear of the punch head, falls out the hole in the
side of the body.
The knurled and threaded plastic ring is from some other piece of
equipment.
I’m not sure about the actual sizes of your interchangeable heads,
but it looks like what we call a hammer punch in leatherworking. If
the tips are waxed, the leather is ejected easier and the edges of
the individual punches stay sharp longer. You would use this style of
punch when needing to put a hole in leather farther from an edge than
a pliers-style punch would allow, such as in the center of a handbag
or similar item.
