NEIKO 02638A 5-Inch Automatic Center Punch for Metal, Adjustable Impact Spring Loaded Center Punch Tool, Spring Punch, Center Punch Spring Loaded, Auto Center Punch

Strong and accurate. Very positive punch. Does the trick. Update: note that the spring in this punch is strong enough to deform light gauge (under 2mm) aluminum. That might be obvious to you, but it wasnt obvious to me until I had to pound a dent out of a curved panel. :)

Extremely useful.

The seller shipped quick and the item looks great. Its not as hard to make it fire as some people report and it feels beefy in your hand. BUT it just doesnt pack a punch. I took it apart and the spring is super stiff.. I cranked it all the way down to compress it as far as it would go and still it just doesnt do the job. Im sure its decent for wood but so is a ball point pen. It barely even marks a steel barrel band. I found myself trying to get it to mark the spot 2 and 3 times. Whats the point? This thing is a dud. Nothing to see here.. move along.. this is not the autopunch youre looking for.

I have gained trust in Neiko through several purchases, I try to get only heavy duty tools, but often I cant justify the high cost for only occasional use. Neiko has provided good quality at a reasonable price. for instance, I bought a Neiko torque wrench, after a disastrous failure of a loaner torque wrench which literally fell apart while i was using it (luckily the parts did not fall into my engine). I would rather buy an inexpensive tool and keep it in good condition, than use a loaner professional tool that has been beaten up. These punches were perfect for my home shop.

Right off the top I will say this is my first auto punch, and it is 4/5 star simply because I wish the spring had just a tiny bit more force. That said 2 hits instead of one is always enough and very easy to do. So much better then trying to hand mark a spot, or use a hammer and punch the way I’d done it for decades. Excellent product!

Works as advertised

I have owned many of the automatic center punches. This is by far the strongest and most heavy duty I have found.

This is the first time I used a punch-down tool. The purpose for making holes to drill on a piece of MDF plywood it worked great.

This does everything it should. Im happy.

Not the highest quality, feels a little wiggly and wobbly in the hand, but does the casual job just fine. Works on wood, metal, even dry wall. Prevents the bit from walking or straying too much from the intended target.