Tips On Punching Out Thick Discs Using Your Disc Cutter

A disc cutter is an ideal addittion to your jewellery making tool kit. Cutting or stamping out the discs is relatively straight forward if you have a heavy hammer but what happens if your heavy hammer is not enough to punch out that really thick piece of metal?
Andrew shows you two ways round this.
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Andrew shows you many hints and tips that he has gained from his experience as a professional goldsmith.
Andrew Berry, a professional jeweller for 30 years, is the training director of www.AtTheBench.com, an award winning on line jewellery training website.

[@sandywood8437]

Thankyou this I very helpful

[@wmrasbold8563]

thank you for your time

[@Trampygranger]

Really wish I’d seen this before taking a 3lb monster and all my pent up rage to my cutter today, chipping it due to the wallops needed (also my cack-handed hammering… 😂). Thank you for taking the time to share. I’m new on the smithy scene and already a fan :)

[@grassCrow]

vise probably costs almost as much as the press

[@mary-annkieckhaben5026]

Thank you so much for shering.

[@lenastiward8657]

Great tip to use the vice! Thank you!❤

[@WaschyNumber1]

17 size disc cutter 40£ this days.

[@jenniefifield-bh1mj]

Hi Andrew, I use different files and blades for silver and aluminium, but can I use the same disc cutter?? Or not worth the risk!?

[@robertforbes7666]

1 ton arbor presses are relatively inexpensive ($65 at Harbor Freight)

[@WaschyNumber1]

Nice idea with the vice. 👍🖖

[@user-uq1io9cv4d]

Great tip on the vice, never thought of that one. Thank you

[@CannonCornelia]

I'm trying to find a disc cutter to punch tiny flowers, butterltys, hearts, etc to use a a base, because sawing them is a terriable task and my success rate is poor. Is there a quality cutter out there? Should I be weary of the ones I see on etsy?

[@thebrownnote7091]

Definitely the best instructional video on YT on how to not destroy your disc cutter or yourself in the process.

[@Pete4Flags]

Got a heart punch cutter from India ,but it differs from my disk cutter ; in as much the two sides of the dies are the same. Any advice on this please Andrew?

[@jenmae21]

You could just mark one side to use as your cutting edge and always use it that way.

[@Pete4Flags]

Thank You Jennifer for the tip. Gathered I would use one side,but it slipped my mind to mark it. 👍🙏

[@saracostello5728]

Thanks for the tip! Duh...i gave up on my disc cutter...but i'll have another go round now with tgat low budget vise advice! Get it? 😄

[@emmafillingham2436]

Thankyou for this vice tip, just popped into the husband's garage and used his heavy duty vice on my very basic disc cutter, what a result!! No burrs or marks, this is going to save me soooo much time 👍🏻 now what other shape cutters to buy lol!!

[@ShapingSilver]

That is a very good tip. Thank you. At about what thickness of sheet do you change from hammer to press/vise? (I think we have different views on "very, very thick". ;-) ) BR. Oliver

[@Atthebench]

Shaping Silver Simply when you find you are having trouble hammering out the discs, change to the vice. It depends a lot on the hammer weight and you

[@flyingcheff]

I As usual, couldn't live without you!

[@101mosioatunya]

Such good advice, Andrew. I have a disc cutter, and, you are absolutely right, nobody ever told me that I needed to put a second piece of metal of the same thickness on the other side of the cutter. I'll remember this in future. I also have a small vise but am not sure whether it will be heavy-duty enough to punch out discs. It's worth giving it a try, though. Thank you again for your videos - they are so informative and helpful :-)

[@BlueLineofthesky]

Yeah....that press si going right to my wish list :) I was not sure about this until now....And a kiln for burning wax because my minikiln is not suited for wax....And a Durston disk cutter because mine is old and small ...All I need is money :) So back to work. Making money to buy more tools. This is a never ending activity....Good video Andrew. Thank you.

[@beatrixwright]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! 1.5MM WAS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS HOPING YOU'D DEMONSTRATE WITH!

[@Jimmy-sb3fc]

Andrew, can you punch holes in quarters (25 cent pieces) with this method? Thank you!

[@Atthebench]

Yes of course. It would be relatively easy

[@Jimmy-sb3fc]

Thanks so much,@@Atthebench

[@NO-TRUCKS-GIVEN]

Thanks Andrew Very good advice 👍🏻

[@davidlindy273]

One very useful tip is when using the vice have a length of pipe about 55 cams long to fit over the vice lever. You then have much more mechanical advantage...no struggle at all when you put on the “ pressure “.

[@paullemay3218]

Thank you for sharing such a valuable tip. 🇨🇦😎

[@ebkw]

Would the vice work for die cutting as well? I don't yet have any dies so can't try it.

[@Atthebench]

Eleanor Kee Wellman Yes it would 👍🏼

[@8thsinner]

If I was to get a hydraulic press to punch out 1-1.5mm copper disks, 50 and 80mm wide, how much tonnage would I need in a unit to do so?

[@Atthebench]

The new 20 tonne hydraulic press from Durston would be amply or even a Potter Press 10 tonne would be fine

[@8thsinner]

@@AtthebenchI was looking at those because it was about the size you show, but is there anything smaller that would do the job do you think? I found some fly vices second hand local, that have a screw down system but I wasn't able to find much about them

[@Atthebench]

They are good. Used in the Victorian times and even nowadays. You could always use a large bench vice for now?

[@8thsinner]

@@AtthebenchOk, Might grab it then. I do have a large vice but changing the mounting orientation would be a nightmare and stamping vertically doesn't sound like a great idea with large sheets without cutting them smaller.

[@sororbudwiser]

Thanks for the tip, another way to use the vise!

[@Gord19]

Thanks a ton ,enjoy your work. Greetings from Vancouver Canada.

[@tlojewelrylove]

Very good tips especially your advice to put a shim on the opposite side. The use of a vise is an excellent idea too (I'll have to put one on my wish list). I bought a Harbor Freight disc cutter and returned it because I had problems with it.... I even got the punch stuck which may not have happened if I'd known to use a shim. Thanks for the tip! 👍🙂

[@lizw2853]

Your teaching is the best! Thankyou.

[@jenmae21]

This was so helpful to me today. Thank you!

[@anniesalter352]

Genius! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

[@jenhintz8867]

Any guidance to offer on making overlapping cuts with the disc cutter? For example, if I wanted to make a crescent moon shape by overlapping a large circle with a smaller one. It seems like order of operations might be important in this, but I’m not sure if I should do the larger or smaller one first. Perhaps the smaller one, which forms the “bite” out of the moon, then the larger one to make the moon itself? Done the other way round I’d be trying to punch out of a disc rather than sheet, and that might be trouble. Is that how you would go about it?

[@davidpayne4380]

I'll second Hilary's comment, I never knew you had to place a shim on the opposite side of the cutter. Thank you for your advice.

[@legabrin]

Very nice sir. Like others have said, nobody told me about putting something on the other side! Recently started making rings from Australian coins. Bloody tough things to bash with a hammer. Get ready vice, you got work to do!

[@kimlyons8550]

Thank you Andrew. Love the idea of using the vise. I don't have access to the hydraulic press yet.

[@itsmericlemade994]

Thank you for letting me know you have to shim the other side of the disc cutter. I also would like to know if the disc cutters would need to be sharpened after any length of time. And if so could you do a video on how to do that.

[@WaschyNumber1]

The brass hammer looks more like 1/2 pound not 3 pound 🤔

[@Trampygranger]

Maybe the one he grabbed to demo is a 1/2lb-er but tbf a 3lb hammer would struggle too and potentially damage the cutter (I have a chipped one to prove it!). The point is that there are better ways to do the job. Disc cutters for fancy shapes are really expensive still. Only the circle ones are cheaper sadly (probably because they’re significantly more popular).

[@andrefelipedossantosandrad5122]

Coloca uma legenda em português! 😂😂😂🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@albertpartridge2194]

happy birthday really old feller great vlogs spot on tips cheers

[@gwindahare9348]

hey Andrew that was great thank you. i have watched you video on how to repair a earring post ,or replace it which would be like putting a new prong on a ring ,.i am having a terriable time ,i can`t seem to get the solder to melt so i can set the prong on the ring.i have ruined 2 nice marcasite rings .what am i doing wrong . dumb blonde in the usa. gjhare

[@Vatsek]

Durston punches are slightly angled at the bottom or not, much difference?

[@Atthebench]

Vatsek Pepe and Durston are angled to help the punch sheer the metal as opposed to simply punching it out

[@Queen_Street_Sterling]

Thanks, Andrew! Unfortunately, I didn’t watch your video prior to trying out my new (sadly, inexpensive) disc cutter. I just followed manufacturer instructions. Now, my 18 gauge sterling sheet is stuck in the cutter (and I have a lousy cut in my disc). The top & bottom plates are held together with two Allen screws. I cannot undo them, nor can my husband. I did use lube on the cutter; I did not use a shim. I think it’s the now burred edges of the sheet that are catching in the hole. Do you have any advice on how I can remove my sheet of silver? Thank you!

[@Queen_Street_Sterling]

UPDATE: Solved. I let WD40 sit in the Allen screws overnight. With brute force, I was able to undo them this morning. I have rescued my silver sheet with minimal loss. Next up: I’m off to buy a decent Pepe cutter. It’s my birthday tomorrow... Happy Birthday to me! Thank you for your beautifully explained videos!

[@laurenyoungs]

Please tell me why are you decided to buy a potter hydraulic press instead of a Bonnie Doone?

[@Atthebench]

At the time it was cheaper and I preferred to support a small manufacturer

[@laurenyoungs]

@@Atthebench thank you so much I'm trying to make up my mind between the two and I really was sold on the pot or USA but just want to confirmation I was making the right decision. You are a good man to support small businesses

[@Maria-yr3tj]

Thank you very much for this video, Andrew. Would you be able to recommend a place to buy aluminium plates, like the ones you've used in this video. Also, is there a place to buy a hydraulic press likely yours in UK or does it have to be imported from US? Many thanks.

[@Atthebench]

Maria Gower The plates I got from eBay. There is no place to get a potter hydraulic press in the UK. Although there is someone making and selling their version. His name is Jon Black from Black Arts. Just google his name

[@lizmathyssen6462]

@@Atthebench Hi Andrew, I bought my press from Auto motive store, alittle large in height but works really well. Cheers

[@redhairgal174]

Great idea to use a vise! Thank you. What is the lube you use? Can any kind of wax be used?

[@Atthebench]

Any wax but we use burr life or cut lube

[@redhairgal174]

Thank you.@@Atthebench

[@flyingcheff]

My pup runs when the loud bangs happen, this is nicer!