NEIKO 02612A Hand Held Power Punch and Sheet Metal Hole Punch Kit, Various Size Hole Punch in 3/32 to 9/32, Heavy Duty Hole Punch for Metal, Leather, Compound Leverage Punch

Its not hyperbole to say this revolutionized the way I make small aluminum brackets and fixtures. If youre on this page, you will find it useful, stop debating and just buy the thing. I was introduced to this tool on a jobsite a few years ago, and immediately bought my own. One of the best bang-for-the-buck tool purchases Ive ever made! Punching doesnt leave the area covered in dust like a drill, and that means I can often take the punch to the work wherever it is, rather than bringing the work back into the shop to contain the mess. Its also purely muscle-powered, which can be a pain if the angles are awkward, but it means no batteries to charge, and nearly silent operation. Consider how those two attributes would change your workflow! I wish it had longer levers, but thats not really a Neiko complaint; this is a straight-up clone of the genuine Roper Whitney punch thats been sold for decades. When I break a punch, I order American-made spares from Roper Whitney, but thus far Ive only broken one. The Neiko knock-off tool itself seems fine, though the thumbscrew is bound to fail someday -- they couldve improved on the original by putting a beefier shoulder screw in the obvious place, but didnt. The product photos show a blue case, mine was black, and they dont show how the punch fits into the case, which is just fine. I use mine primarily on aluminum. I can get through 1/8-inch stock if I put the punch on the chair and give it some grunt. 1/16-inch goes through like a paper punch. I occasionally use it on nylon and ABS plastic, which of course it barely notices, and I showed my leatherworking friends who were *completely blown away* by this revolutionary bit of centuries-newer-than-their-other-tools wizardry. One caveat: Due to how far the chin and nose stick out past the active area, this cant punch a hole right back against the wall of an L-channel, and due to the size of the chin, it cant get into small U-channel. I still use the drill press for those when theyre needed, but Im pretty adept at avoiding those situations entirely so I can completely eschew drilling.

Im not a tool person nor do I work in any kind of shop and Ive got arms like noodles. Despite all that, even I can use this thing to punch tiny 3/32nd holes in sheets of steel. But it is a bit difficult for me to punch a hole in steel, Im not very physically strong. It still does MOST of the work for you though. Its PERFECT if youre like me and youre a nerd whos making a homemade set of steel armor for ren-faire and you need something to punch holes to make rivets. My 1/8th rivets slip inside the 1/8th holes this thing made with no problems. No electricity, no powertools. Steel gauntlets holed and riveted with ease, blam! One problem, though. Be careful to make a dark and clearly visible mark for where youre punching your hole, it becomes a bit difficult to see small marks when you actually have your material in the mouth of this beast. If you make a good mark and youre careful, then it makes perfectly accurate punches. As with anything; dont rush it or your project will be junk.

It punches perfect holes in the aluminum material that Im using. The only improvement that I can see is to make the handles ratcheting. Other than that it is a good tool to have around.

This thing punches holes in aluminum sheet like a hot knife (or straw) through warm butter. I also like the way it is shaped, because I can get it into tight spaces and still have the punch perpendicular to the material Im punching.

I was wondering if this could work, I just couldnt wait to test it on my copper bars. Without efforts the punch was amazing, what a wonder, amazing item bought on Amazon.

See picture. Worked well on the sheet metal I bought for making some auto tailight holders. The metal I used it on was think sheet metal - 0.018 Inch thick. I effectively punched out holes for the various size bits and did not leave any rough edges. Its design means it just punches out the hole. It was a little tricky to use the first time, a fair amount of pressure is needed and then it goes pop. Once I got used to that it was fine. Changing the bits is a little tricky with a couple of adjuster screw.s Nothing that bothered me once I got used to it. Be sure to use the matching cup for the bit to ensure that the right size hold is punched out.

Price was very good. The casting for the tool and quality build is excellent, what you would expect form a Taiwanese company. I was able to punch 16 gauge .070 metal galv. sheet metal. I did have to use the edge of a table and bear into the tool to gradually punch through the clip. it took a lot of grunt power, but the tool didnt flinch it powered through. The stop that sets the depth is not particularly good, but it will work. The case is good and the female die on the bottom is a bit loose. I think you could wrap around a little teflon tape around the bottom die to make it more secure. I was tossed between the four star and five star. But with the price so affordable and shipping fast it gets 5 star. I havent used the tool much but i am fairly impressed and i think with casual use it will last a long time. If you were a professional and wanted to use it everyday, for hours on sheet metal, you might opt for the Roper Whitney, but is is really hard to fault this tool which is nearly an exact copy of the RW 5 Jr for less than half price. The dies seem to be quite good. I have used the 1/4 and 1/8 die set. The smaller size punches cut through the metal like butter. I will get back to the review in a few weeks after i have used the tool for more than a few times. Only had the tool for around 10 days. this tool is nearly an exct copy of the RW, their 50 year old patent has expired, so the negative reviews are probably from Roper Whitney?

This punch is built like a tank. It weighs more than 2 pounds -- but it is designed so well that you can hold it comfortably and use it easily. It comes with the smallest punch already installed -- so, dont freak out when you open the box and see empty slot where the 3/32 punch and die are expected to be. You will need to see online videos to figure out how to change the punch bits. When you press down on your belt or handicraft, it is almost as though some hydraulic powered press kicks in -- and the bit will punch through the toughest belt *cleanly* and with a snap. It was a breeze using it, and I am very happy I bought it.

Needed this for canvas as none of the grommet tools were doing their job. This is adequate for the job but leaves a lot of chads hanging. Good for metal on the test that I ran. This is better than any of the others I have bought and returned. Sad we live in a time when Itll do is the motto of companies.

Bought three of these as gifts. All recipients like them and say they work well on leather.