Fig. 9.
Fig. 10.
It is much better to purchase a regular punch or punches for punching round holes, as these may be purchased for 10 or 15 cents at almost any hardware or 5-and-10 cent store. Several different sizes will prove useful, ⅟₁₆, ⅛, ³⁄₁₆ inches in diameter being the most used sizes. As these punches are made of hardened steel they hold their edges for a long time, but nails are made of a fairly soft steel and when used as punches have to be frequently filed sharp.
Forming the Handle.—After the hole is punched in the top of the biscuit cutter, a suitable handle is the next thing to be made. This handle may be made from the piece of tin cut away when cutting down the can for the biscuit cutter. Cut away any rough or jagged edges and then place this piece of tin on the bench or a flat anvil surface and flatten it out with light mallet strokes. Heavy strokes with a mallet will dent the tin.
Trim away all rough edges including the rolled edge at the top and square up the piece of tin as described on [page 34, Chapter II]. Mark off a strip of tin 1¼ inches in width and 4 inches long. Cut this strip out and be sure that it is square at the ends. Open the dividers and set the divider points ¼ inch apart and scribe a line ¼ inch inside each of the long sides of the strip. The edges of the strip of tin thus marked off must be turned or folded in so that the edges of the handle will be strengthened and will not cut the hand. These edges may be folded over with a mallet or by the use of a folding machine. The mallet should be used for this first folding operation; the folding machine and its use will be described further along in the book, [page 120, Chapter XI].
To fold the edges over with the mallet, proceed as follows: Secure a block of hard wood, maple preferred, the block to be about 3 inches square and 6 inches in length. See to it that the block is cut cleanly and squarely across so that the edges at the end are sharp and at right angles. A maple block of this sort may usually be picked up at any lumber yard or carpenter shop, or a maple log may be secured from the wood pile and trimmed up square. One end of the block may be used to punch on.
Fig. 11a.
