CH-60 Hydraulic Knockout Punch

Bought this for a signing project I had going on at work. Easily saved us from having to buy probably $2k worth of drill bits, not to mention the time savings. We used this on 3/8" steel I-beams with a handheld hydraulic pump(not what it was listed as to be used for). But it worked, and even managed to punch through a 3/16" sheet of 304 stainless(shattered the die, but made the hole!). I've bought 3 of these so far. The first one completed approximately 600-700 holes before the frame began to deform. (Not upset, as the tool paid for itself in time/payroll savings alone). The onky thing to note is that when you try to adapt fittings to work with this, you need to be aware that the thread coming out of the unit is British thread, not SAE/Metric, or even NPT. Most hydraulic supply stores can assist you in getting set up properly. Only real problem is finding the dies for this. If the manufacturer would set different die sets separately, that would be great. The ones that came with it however, do work and are quite durable.

As with many of these discount parts, they are great if you are willing to live with it's kinks. I took a video of everything that arrives in the package, as well as pictures. Kink #1: I think the back uses a non standard pressure fitting - see picture, i used a caliper in inches Kink #2: (not suprising, and pretty normal) the actual press parts are garbage, if you can replace these you will be happier. Mine weren't hardened enough. Kink #3: I do wish the packaging for the press would have been better, but it did arrive fine and the important (hydraulic) part did have foam surround so - this might just be me being picky. However, considering the low cost this is an excellent value. Buying one of these years ago from an american supplier would easily cost 5-10x as much, so for the price you really are getting your money's worth.

I like the hole punch but because of its size it is very hard to get it in tight spots. It works well but the punch wore out fast than I anticipated so we had to order more to finish or project.

first one i got the dies didn't line up so wouldn't punch all the way through. i immediately ordered a replacement and that one worked perfect and punches clean holes 3/4" hole in .25" mild steel plate with ease

Makes short work on 3/4 button light panels on tractor trailers... Custom make light panels, Grommet holes, or what ever.... I've used this to puch 3/4 holes in 1/16", and 1/8" stainless 1/8", 3/16", and 1/4" aluminum 1/8", 3/16" mild steel. Hasn't failed me yet. I am using a 10 ton porta power ram, and some times a 10 ton electric over hydraulic pump, for repetitive holes. Well worth the money.

So I have no idea what kind of adapters are needed to even use this thing. There is no manual, and I can't elicit any kind of response from the manufacturer or distributor. While I haven't been able to use it, the dies are very loose fitting as I read in many reviews. So for what it's worth, I hope you are smarter than me. Grr, I would really like to be able to make this work.

If you are looking for a bench punch that will tackle most tasks on medium mild steel and non ferrous material then you will not be disappointed with this purchase. I would also recommend that you purchase the CP-180 hand pump if you don't have a power pack or hand pump to fit this unit. Even though it is a bit slow in punching a hole with the CP-180 hand pump it is more than up to the task at hand. I hope this helps

Makes nice holes Fast enough to have fun making flanges out of 5/16 steel plate

Great press works as if should have used it to punch holes in 1/4 inch plates and I have done just about 400 holes so far. Works very well. One thing that I find an issue is the die unscrews itself after about 10 punches so keep an eye on the die to tighten it every so often. If I was only just using one die then I would just apply some loctite on it. But I’m changing dies for various projects.

This tool is awesome. There are many dies available to suit your requirements.

This unit is impressive, but I didn't receive the 1/2" dies, and am having a hard time getting it sorted. My only option is to return or exchange. Other than that, it seems like a great addition to the shop.

Works well and reliably. Instruction manual pretty poor. Really well packaged.

Disappointing