Ok, so I am a tool-porn addict .. no it is not as prev-y as it sounds, not quite.

But (like a few others here I am sure) I buy hobby tools even if I do not NEED them..

Like the Hasegawa 1.0 and 1.5mm "Modelling Punch"
http://www.hlj.com/product/HSGTT-38

nicely made product. hefty, machined grip, easily swapped heads, light coat of machine oil.. mmm tasty.
(It's really hard to type the Tool Time, Tim Allen grunt phonetically)

I am proficient with a punch and die, and thought that was generally what I though I was rounding out an HLJ order with..

But it's got a hollow head, machined to a sharp edge.
Which would seem easily damaged. There are no instructions and no cautions I can read on the package.
The HLJ item page and the translated version of the Hasegawa website do not offer any clues.

It does not seem wise to use in the standard punch and die manner directly onto the worktop surface.

It does not come with a raised framework like a PandD set.

Nor does it punch a disk exactly equal to the width of the tool, instead it would seem to cut a disk smaller than the head's outer diameter that is then contained inside the tool head.


So...
ummm ..
Anyone know how this is intended to be used?

I tried thin plastic with a styrofoam backing, not rigid enough. Tore the plastic did not punch a disk.

I tried metal foil on the foam and got great dished headlight reflectors, that I then mangled getting off the tip.

I will bring home a large school eraser from work tomorrow and try punching out plastic disks using it as a backing, but this seems excessive.

Thoughts?
Mike

I believe you use vulcanised rubber beneath the plastic.