Klein Knock-out set and stainless steel

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titan1021

Senior Member
Does anyone know if the Klein Knock-out set can be used on stainless steel?

Someone wants to borrow mine to cut stainless and I don't want to have the punch ruined if its not meant to be used on stainless.

Didn't see anywhere in the owner's booklet that stated it either way, it just says mild steel. (doesn't seem like stainless would be considered mild, but not sure)

Thanks.
 
Does anyone know if the Klein Knock-out set can be used on stainless steel?

Someone wants to borrow mine to cut stainless and I don't want to have the punch ruined if its not meant to be used on stainless.

Didn't see anywhere in the owner's booklet that stated it either way, it just says mild steel. (doesn't seem like stainless would be considered mild, but not sure)

Thanks.

I wouldnt lend it out for that. Generally sheet metal machines and equipment have ratings for "mild steel" and a separate one for "Stainless" and the stainless rating is almost always less/thinner. Im not saying that it will instantly destroy the punch but it will take some life force from it for sure.
 

PetrosA

Senior Member
Anyone that wants to borrow my tools has to either already have had their credentials checked by me or has to go through a 40 hour training and observation period. To borrow my tools to work with stainless, the training period is extended to 80 hours. Unpaid, of course ;)

Honestly, I wouldn't use a regular punch set on SS. I would probably use my Ideal TKO carbide tipped cutters with oil.
 

norcal

Senior Member
Thanks for the replies, that's all I needed to hear. Don't mind helping a guy out but not at my expense.


For stainless perhaps suggesting buying a Harbor Freight KO set may be in order, if ruined no great loss unlike a Greenlee, or Klein, set.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Thanks for the replies, that's all I needed to hear. Don't mind helping a guy out but not at my expense.

there are ko punches specifically for stainless.
they have different clearance between the punch and the die,
and are of a different tool steel, hardened differently.

i've used my punches on a lot of stainless, and they work ok,
but it dulls them a bit after a while. however, if you use the
stainless punches on mild steel, they leave a nasty shear edge,
and that is why i didn't buy stainless punches. that, and the cost. :jawdrop:
 

JDB3

Senior Member
Watched some guys cutting a hole in a mirror. They use something like duct-seal to form a dam around the area to be cut, put some anti-freeze / coolant inside. Said that this greatly reduced the friction / temperature so hole saw was a lot cooler.
 

Aleman

Senior Member
Location
Southern Ca, USA
The Klein set is all I had for awhile and I knocked quite a few holes in the thinner SS with it. For the thicker panels like 1/8" forget it. It wasn't easy and I replaced the 1/2 a couple
times. Used a lot of lube. Now I have a Greenlee set made for SS with a hydraulic ram and life is good. I wouldn't lend a regular set to anyone for use on SS. If I kill one of my tools
it's bad but no way is someone else going to kill it for me. Tell the guy to use hole saws and a lot of lube and hang onto your set.
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
Pretty much everything from Harbor Freight is disposable.

That's what I used to think.

Except I haven't had any Harbor Freight tool break yet. I still have the first thing I ever bought from them, a 7 dollar pry bar set.

If you are nice to HF tools, they will last a long time. I just bought three torque wrenches from them, one is a 1/4" drive inch/pound for small stuff.

I have a very nice motorcycle lift that is good for 1500 lbs. It was on sale for $70.

Don't trust their meters on live stuff, though. Cheap meters go boom. They are great for testing batteries, transistors, diodes, resistors and the like. Especially for the price. On sale that day for $0.

There are only two people I lend tools to. I have worked with both of them and I have borrowed their tools many times. Other than those two guys, if someone wants to borrow a tool, they have to borrow me to operate the tool along with it.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Thickness of the stainless to be punched can be a big factor in how well it works and how hard it is on a punch not intended for stainless, especially if just punching an occasional hole in stainless.
 

GerryB

Senior Member
After reading this thread I went to Harbor Freight and bought the Pittsburgh hydraulic punch set, just so happens I need to make a 2" hole in a trough this week. I was going to use a hole saw and blank the existing hole but this will be cleaner and the price was $89.00. I don't often need a punch set so hopefully it will last. According to the box it says 11 gauge mild steel and 16 gauge stainless.
 
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