I’ve been wanting to find a 3/4" and maybe even a 1" hollow punch that I can put in my drill press or hand drill to punch flip-flops.
Yes I know you can make one out of copper/brass tubing but putting in a stem so it will go into the drill is a pain…I know …I’ve done it with a 5/8" brass tube.
And I know you can order them but I don’t want them bad enough for the price and shipping…haven’t found any in a store I can walk into…plus I’d have to ask my buddy to turn the handle down on his lathe…actually he’d be glad to do that:D.
Well I came up with an idea using a hole saw I had.
If anyone is really interested I’ll go into more detail and do a picture.
I think I am missing something here. That is not unusual for me. It seems it would be easy to turn a piece of pipe into a hole punch with a drill. Any pipe…with a fitting length of dowel, and a cheap drill bit…or one of them extra drill bits most of us have for screwdriving etc…drill the drill bit down into the dowel…remove it…coat it with Gorrilla Glue and drop some gorilla glue into the hole. Seat the drill bit into the hole in the dowel and let it set up.
In other words glue the dowel into the pipe as deep as you want to. Have maybe 1/2" of the dowell sticking up…or none at all I think. Then glue the drill bit into the dowel with the butt end sticking out to mount it into the drill. Now you just mount it on the drill with the butt end of the drill bit. That is just plain too simple. Something must be missing in my interpretation of the problem here.
This sounds too easy and you guys would of thought of this already. So I am pretty sure I don’t know what I am thinking about on this one.
Gemrod…did the 3/8 " pretty much as you described…and not having any centering equipment being on center became an issue…it was somewhat hard to get the 1/4" bolt shaft [that’s what I happened to use] on center.
I managed to get it real close but I don’t want to fuss with it if there’s another way.
Buddy…working on photos…Gem as long as I’m taking photos I’ll do one of what you described…
I used ammo cases to make mine, the primer whole when drilled out made finding the center easy, unfortunatly that only works if you need 1/2 inch or smaller.
OK…I looked at one of the hole saw sets I have … purchased at Harbor Freight on coupon…practically free…it was a larger than usual set so it goes down to less than 3/4"…light bulb!
Turns out you can assemble one without the guide drill bit…so
I ground off the jagged saw teeth…grinder
Tapered the leading edge…grinder
Smoothed the inside…file
Finished the outer taper…small belt grinder…maybe not necessary
Tried on a flip-flop…success
Note the length may be limited for some applications…
Here’s pictures…and one for Gemrod…and also one with examples of some types of punches…for folks that maybe are thinking about punching some foam…one out of golf club shaft…no rifle cases but I know they work well.
All except the larger unturned one can be chucked up in a drill…some need a 1/2" chuck
Thanks for sharing the information. After I re-read your posts I realize my post was not needed. I now see where you already tried it by making a stem.
SO have you had good luck punching/“sawing” out the flip flops. I’ve never had much luck using a punch, maybe just isn’t sharp enough. I do use alot of flip flop foam, and have had the best luck using a scroll saw to cut strips, then blocks, and then rounding off the corners of the blocks.
The very best source for flip-flop style closed cell foam is www.softtiles.com.
After thousands of foam flies I promise you can’t do better or cheaper.
And never forget that super glue is THE solution to joining two pieces of closed cell foam.
For example, this is a closed cell fly using the Softtiles materials with pieces glued together before shaping (with a grinding wheel on a dremel tool) using superglue.
Old flip flops…craft foam (you can use contact cement to laminate whole sheets together then punch out the plugs with the drill press), those garden ‘kneeling pads’, foam ‘marshmellows’, floor mat foam (the ‘kiddy mats’ come in a lots of colors)…saw some foam ‘letters’ a couple of days ago at the craft store…thick enough already and some nice colors if anyone is interested…probably get twenty or so bodies from one of the letters for around a buck (nice for folks that don’t want/need lots of a particular color).
The real key to getting nice flies from the foam is the Dremel Lathe idea from Mr. Hatch…once you take the time to put one of these together you can make almost any type of popper/hopper/bug you’d ever need.
I’ve had lots of fun with it, and I’ve caught hundreds of fish on the flies…
A very good friend made me a set of foam punches to use to make popper bodies, wiggle minnow bodies, etc, etc, all in a VERY nice wooden stand…complete with a sharpening stone, reamer, etc. These punches are VERY NICE!
He is a skilled craftsman at making things like this and they work excellent.
The set of punches in various sizes, tool to remove the foam from the cylinder, sharpening stone, reamer, etc:
The punches are stepped down to fit into a 3/8" drill chuck:
They are also slotted to make removal of the perfectly round, smooth cut foam easy:
They produce excellent, smooth round cylinders for fly bodies:
These punches were custom made for me by a very good friend and I’ll cherish them forever!
You can make your own punches from bullet casings very easily. I have them is sizes 22 caliber up to 50 caliber. On the 50 caliber, I cut off the casing at the “shoulder” so I have a punch that is just under 3/4" for very large saltwater poppers. To mount them in my drill/drill press, I simply drill out the primer and slip in a bolt so that the head of the bolt is inside the shell. Tighten a nut on the back of the bolt and you’re in business. The bolt itself acts as the shank of the punch so you can mount it in a drill. The shell casings are usually free or at most very cheap so the total cost for a punch is less than 25 cents each.
Colors available from www.softtiles.com are black, grey, white, pink, purple, red, yellow, blue, green, orange and brown.
Tiles are 1’x1’ or 2’x2’ and cost $1.45/sq ft.
The foam is always uniform density and the folks at softtiles are VERY nice.
Let’s talk flip-flops. Problem number one is cost. A pair will cost at least as much as a square foot tile. Problem number two is color. Unless you live along a coastal town with beach shops, your options are limited. Problem number three is consistency. Many flip flops are made from hard foam on the outside and squishy foam on the inside. No good for flies. Problem number four is shape. There is much less wastage with tiles.
Other advantages to tiles.
1 – they store easily since they are square.
2 – they make a great surface for your tying table. What I do is put down a two tile thick bed on top of the tying table and then have a non-skid surface that I can stick any tool into as I am working. No more putting thing in and out of little holes in your tool caddy. Just stick your scissors (if you ever take them out of your hand) or bodkin into the foam.
3 – the puzzle piece shaped edges make perfect fly patches. Cut them off, punch a hole in them and run a bead chain through. Or glue velcro to the back and the other velcro part whereever you want on clothes or hat, etc.
4 – the initial purpose of the tiles was a safe floor surface for kids or a soft surface to stand on in front of the sink or workbench. That function is still not lost.
Here’s a few of my rougher flies (all used for fishing not display).
