(Part 2) Best hole punches according to redditors

iMac first came out in 1998, and a lot of oddball products came out soon after with translucent colored plastic to grab some sales off the iMac's design and popularity. (Even today you can still find 'fashionable' hole punches using original iMac colors.) When was this TV made?

You could always cheat...

SE 7933LP 4-Piece Thin Hollow Leather Punch Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071DM4W6/

I used that to convert one of leather straps for use with quick release bars. I'd suggest putting the bar half way in to have something on the underside to cut against

The card in your photos doesn't look to be laminated paper, but rather a sold plastic card. The large number (139124) is an adhesive-backed label from a labelmaker. The barcode appears to be thermal printed directly onto the card.

Reading the thread, it sounds like all you're looking for is a method for laminating cards without leaving a border of laminate around it. The answer to that question is actually quite simple: cut it off. Items laminated in laminating pouches don't have to have the border around them. (The laminate isn't just encapsulating the paper. It's adhered to the entire piece with a heat-activated glue from the inside of the laminating pouch.) In fact, if you have something professionally printed laminated, it won't have a border. Typically, the piece is printed slightly larger then the finished size, laminated, then cut down to the final dimensions.

The advantage of cutting off the border is that it looks better. It's a cleaner, more professional look in the final piece. The disadvantage is that the paper isn't protected on the edges anymore, so liquid can seep in and damage the paper if you spill something on it. Also, the laminate border helps to prevent de-lamination, which is when the adhesive begins to fail and the laminate separates from the paper.

You don't need any special equipment to achieve the look you're asking about. Just laminate the cards normally (you'll want a heavy laminate, 7-10 mil) and trim the edges with a paper cutter or razor & ruler. A hand-held slot punch will finish the job. (If you're planning on doing a lot of these, you may want to consider a desktop punch with side and depth guides.)

I use a set like this: http://www.micromark.com/pin-vise-and-drill-bit-set,7804.html



There is a less expensive set that is similar on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Commando-Precision-Anodized-Series-Handle/dp/B0002BW6CW

I'm not that sure where to find guides. There are a lot of premade kits available, check amazon or home depot or similar stores. You can purchase the individual parts or just purchase a kit.

Here is a typical water pump, this one is the smallest and cheapest I can find on Amazon, or close to, as it takes very little flow to supply the drippers. Don't let them run dry though, reservoir should always have water in it.

I currently use this bad boy to split from 1/2 inch hose from a water pump to the thinner spaghetti hose, I think it's 1/4 inch, that leads to the drippers. The trick to using this manifold is finding a fitting to go from 1/2 inch hose from the pump to the required thread for the manifold, which is garden hose size. I use a totally standard 1/2 inch threaded fitting that is stocked at all my local hardware stores. You can adjust flow on the manifold but I prefer not to, just leave it and let the drippers modulate flow.

Instead of a manifold, you could also find some way to go right to spaghetti tubing from the pump, and just run one master line to all the plants, and use a tee for each dripper.

You could also run the 1/2 inch supply line as your master line and puncture a hole in it with this or this and just use a little fitting like this to run the spaghetti hose to each dripper/plant, but I feel like these connections are prone to leaking. It is a very popular way of setting up drip systems though. With less than very many plants I would go with a manifold or spaghetti hose with tees.

I like this style of dripper because it sends a consistent amount of water to the plants and I adjust volume by setting an electronic timer (24 hr/7 day timer) to run the right amount of minutes per day, the amount of times I want. Math is nice.


So basically parts list can fluctuate pretty heavily depending on how you want to do it.

Another handy tool to have around is a set of transfer punches, they are intended to transfer hole locations from one item onto another to prepare for drilling them.


https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-02621A-Transfer-Punch-Treated/dp/B000JI6HFA

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thanks, my own searching turned up this:

http://www.amazon.com/Anytime-Tools-HOLLOW-LEATHER-GASKET/dp/B000Q7AVL0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_indust_1

which i think would really help

I've been down the Cobalt drill path but found they dulled fairly quickly. I did try sharpening them but TBH got sick of mucking around with them. In the end I purchased a hand punch which works really well. It punches holes in 0.025" Starrett Feeler Stock, 301 high yield stainless and Gov Steel. This is the one I have and although not cheap, I think the savings I make on cobalt drills will eventually pay for it.
https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Power-Punch-Sheet-Metal/dp/B0058VEE9Y

Fair enough, I didn't look at the Female one, I figured they were the same size. Arguably the male connector is more important since it's on every piece of equipment and not all of them have pass-throughs.

Even so, if you're making custom panels it's not terribly all that difficult to get a slightly larger punch. Yeah it's tedious but not impossible. $20 off amazon and ebay.

https://www.amazon.com/Q-Max-Sheet-Metal-Punch-29mm/dp/B005LV1JEE/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1494734383&sr=1-1&keywords=29mm+sheet+hole+punch

https://www.ebay.com/p/?iid=162015301731&lpid=82&&&ul_noapp=true&chn=ps

I had a hot minute last year where I thought I'd get into leather working and bought a bunch of tools. That only lasted about a month but the leather hole punch (like this) is getting plenty of action these days. Had to add a new hole myself the other day, that's the third added in that belt too.
It IS a pretty awesome feeling.
Congrats!