Starrett Steel Automatic Center Punch with Adjustable Stroke - 5" Length, 9/16" Punch Diameter, Lightweight, Knurled Steel Handle - 18A

So let me tell you a story. I work in the automation industry for warehouses and mailing. I had to assemble 79 pulleys with flanges on both sides that needed to be pressed down and swaged. Unfortunately the tool they had does not work well at all and I had to resort to manually punching 8 points around the flange both sides to ensure it stayed properly and securely in place. That's 16 points per pulley x 79 = 1,264 hits x 3-4 hits per initial hit to ensure the material went over the flange to hold it in place. Thats a whopping total of roughly 5,056 total hits in a 8 hour shift. NOT ONCE did the punch seize up or give me any trouble. the tip still retains its sharp point and the punch still works smoothly and effortlessly compared to the junk one at my job they gave me originally that at every 3-4 presses it would seize up and not want to follow through. If this doesn't scream quality and durability then I don't know what does. Starrett know what they are doing and do it well. Fantastic tool, it won't let you down.

High quality. Nice weight to it. Plenty sharp. Perfect size. I think that checks all the boxes. It also comes in a nice box that I use to store it in

Real heavy-duty punch. I had a cheap one previously, but it broke after just a couple of uses.

You get what you pay for. You can tell it's well made just from opening the box. Works great.

This little device works wonderfully. An old beat up junked car was about to be towed. I asked the dismantler if I could test my newly acquired punch. He said sure. Wow. The glass exploded. It works real good. Highly recommend. Unit is well constructed and is not a cheap foreign country knock off. My only gripe is I wish there was some kind of case I could use to apply on my belt. Get it; do not hesitate.

Build quality is great, typical starret. I suspect this is designed for lighter duty applications, im a welder by trade so im used to the heavy duty starret punches, so I jumped at the chance at buying one for 36 bucks. Issue is its not the heavy duty one, perhaps a stronger spring would help but as is not super powerful even on like 20 Guage sheet metal (steel) works great on aluminum tho!

Yeah, I know HF has a version of this because I had one. When it broke I decided to 'buy once, cry once' and pay the premium price for the Starrett. Yes, it was worth it.

This is the Rolls Royce of punches. The standard. Buy once, cry once. A Starrett is a tool you keep your eyes on, because your buddy will try to steal it.