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Hints, Tips and Solutions (Do NOT post requests for help here) If you have any useful general hints and tips for vintage technology repair and restoration, please share them here. PLEASE DO NOT POST REQUESTS FOR HELP HERE! |
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Thread Tools |
26th Jan 2017, 10:48 am | #1 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Olympia, Washington, USA.
Posts: 664
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Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet
After reading the posts for feet, and one chap's solution if using an inner tube, You can make a "quick & dirty" foot cutter.
Just take a piece of EMT conduit (or pipe) the correct inner diameter, and grind a sharp edge on it. Adding a dowel to the top end of it to beat on, and a slit in the bottom to ease the "foot" removal helps too. It makes a great punch for cutting feet when used with an old cutting board or block of wood as a backing. Works fine for leather, felt, etc also. A quick touch up with a stone keeps it super sharp.( I made a storage pouch for mine after slicing my hand up on them too.) Additionally, I made up several sizes when I did service calls to cut through the carpet and matting for cable runs. I had no desire to have to replace a damaged carpet. I had a sizes for RG8, 8X, RG58, & RG59., cat 5/6, and phone wire .I did machine a couple on my lathe out of rod stock to get an exact fit too, for the odder size holes. (If you ever got a drill bit tangled in the carpet, and proceeded to pull out all the carpet threads, ruining the carpet you will love this tool. A co-worker had this happen, and cost him a months pay to replace the carpet!) |
26th Jan 2017, 4:10 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,496
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Re: Cheap foot cutter
Please can the mods change the title? I have no idea what a foot cutter is, or why anyone would want to cut his/her foot!? Seriously though, even reading the post I have no clue what this is for or how it relates to the bigger picture . Thank you
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Al |
26th Jan 2017, 4:47 pm | #3 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,936
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Re: Cheap foot cutter
Presumably the OP means that you can use the tool to cut circles of rubber or vinyl from old inner tubes, vinyl sheeting, cork tiles and a thousand other things. It seems like a useful tip to me.
I'll edit the title to remove any ambiguity.. |
26th Jan 2017, 5:15 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 13,454
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Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet
Google leather punch.
Lawrence. |
26th Jan 2017, 5:45 pm | #5 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Boston, Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 995
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Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet
.... or even 'Cork Borer' or 'Gasket Punch' - they all work well, for a wide range of sizes.
Alan |
26th Jan 2017, 5:48 pm | #6 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Shropshire, UK.
Posts: 3,051
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Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet
Or wad punch, for that matter.
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26th Jan 2017, 7:47 pm | #7 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Milton Keynes, Bucks. UK.
Posts: 2,552
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Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet
Thank goodness the topic wasn't about Bum Bags !
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When I die, please don't let my Wife sell my collection for the amount I told her I paid for it! |
27th Jan 2017, 12:03 pm | #8 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Worcestershire, UK.
Posts: 1,880
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Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet
Gasket punches are available that would do this job perfectly. Although, their intended purpose is to punch holes in gasket material where the resulting blank would be discarded. Used for this purpose the blank would become the required result!
Being someone who's dabbled in all sorts of vehicle and engine work throughout my life I have a set which has seen plenty of action for both purposes.
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BVWS member |
29th Jan 2017, 9:28 pm | #9 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 1,874
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Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet
Nice idea. A de-facto wad punch can also be made by using a thick steel washer and a steel ball bearing that's bigger than the hole in the washer. So long as the washer hole is sharp-edged and the ball is not much bigger than the hole, hitting the ball into the hole with a hammer, with the stuff to be cut placed between ball and washer, will cut a neat circle.
This will also sometimes cut if you force the ball in with mole grips across ball and washer - useful if you need to cut a hole in something (like a tent flysheet or a tarp) which is already in the air, with nothing to hit against. |