Reply To: Ringin’ the bell…

[david pierce]

Tom,
Your punching tool will behave like any other punch and die. The one you have was probably used for many years and will need to be resharpened. Check the punch and die under magnification for any worn areas or chips around the edges. The die must be ground flat past any chipped areas around the lip. The same thing goes for the punch but when you resharpen it put a slight angle on it. This will reduce the penetration force and allow the metal to be sheared more easily.
Also, if you have an electronic watch analyzer it will probably indicate that the watch is overbanking. The spring could be too thick but there are also other factors such as the composition of the metal and the hardness and structure from the heat treat process.
david