"Charles A. Sherwood" wrote in message
...

That's right Robin. 20% total clearance for MS on an ironworker is what
should

So, as I understand it. The punch determines the hole size and the die
is made a little bigger for clearance?

Just to be sure lets do an example:
If the punch is 0.375 and the die is 0.400.
Will it punch a .375 hole?
thanks
chuck

The punch determines the hole, the die determines the slug. Which is used
depends on if you're blanking or piercing.

Regards,

Robin


To explain this a little further.
For punching a 1" hole in an item, I will use a 1" punch. The clearance is on
the die. To accommodate the different thicknesses of material, I have probably
10 different size dies at least, that could be used with the 1 punch.
Now I want to punch out a 1" circle blank or slug. I will use a 1" die and the
clearance will be on the punch. And again, to accommodate the different
material thicknesses, I have 10 different diameter punches.

As you can see, the number of punches and dies needed to do different size
holes and blanks in any thickness of material can be staggering.
I have never added up the amount of punches and dies I have. The amount is well
over a thousand and I make new ones every chance I get.
This is for precision stamping and being able to do just about any size.
On an ironworker, the clearance doesn't really need to be exact for punching
holes. You could get by with the same die for a couple of different fairly
close material thicknesses. It will just make a difference on the quality of
the hole.

Les