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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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Old 26th Jan 2017, 10:48 am   #1
FrankB
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Default 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!)
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Old 26th Jan 2017, 4:10 pm   #2
Al (astral highway)
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Default 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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Old 26th Jan 2017, 4:47 pm   #3
paulsherwin
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Default 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..
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Old 26th Jan 2017, 5:15 pm   #4
ms660
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Default Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet

Google leather punch.

Lawrence.
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Old 26th Jan 2017, 5:45 pm   #5
Goldie99
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Default 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
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Old 26th Jan 2017, 5:48 pm   #6
dseymo1
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Default Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet

Or wad punch, for that matter.
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Old 26th Jan 2017, 7:47 pm   #7
camtechman
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Default Re: Cheap cutter to make rubber / plastic feet

Thank goodness the topic wasn't about Bum Bags !
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Old 27th Jan 2017, 12:03 pm   #8
threeseven
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Default 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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Old 29th Jan 2017, 9:28 pm   #9
mark_in_manc
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Default 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.
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