Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
I recently purchase some used, retired SU! punches and a couple of them are very squeaky. These are the old style SU! punches, but I would imagine that this could eventually happen with the newer style too. Has anyone had this problem and know how to safely clean the inner mechanism (spring area) so that it will stop squeaking?
Thanks in advance for any helpful tips and suggestions .
Have you tried punching wax paper. That is a method to lubricate a punch so it might work to stop the squeaking.
I don't recommend using any kind of liquid oil (WD40) as that might take awhile to 'work' out of a punch. The oil would continue to stain your cardstock as long as it is still drippy.
Sewing machine oil might work since it works in the mechanism of a machine that sews on cloth. No one wants oil staining your sewn project.
Even with sewing machine oil there is residue that requires some attention to wiping away or risk getting it on your project (I sew for a living). It would be less dramatic an issue than, say, WD40, but you'd still want to wipe up any excess and punch scraps a time or two to see it you were going to have a problem. I'd say try either/or on one of the punches, wipe it down, punch some scraps and see how it does. If all is well, you can feel comfortable doing the others the same way...
It sounds like the squeaking is coming from inside the punch (maybe the springs?), so I'm not sure if wax paper will help that, but I'm going to give it a try anyway.
I'm sure a liquid type of lubricant would work, but am definitely afraid of it working its way down to where there's contact with the cardstock, so I'm not sure if I want to try that or not.
Just remembered something I found at Michael's/JoAnn's. It is a little kit - 'Punch Revitalizer'. It came with small pieces of foil, brown paper that had a waxy finish and a small bottle of silicone lubricant. Don't know if they still sell this 'kit'. You turn the punch over and put drops of the lubricant on the metal. It is to make the punch's metal parts work more smoothly but I think it still might get to the spring part.
Michelle, I have a lot of old SU punches and only one or two (one that I can think of for sure) do it, and they've kind of done it from the beginning. So I don't think it's age.
I know what you mean, you squeeze and it makes a squeaky noise like all the springs are shrieking, right???
I've never tried to make it stop, all of the suggestions here I doubt would help, because it's up there in the spring. If you do try to squirt something up in there and it works, please post it here and maybe I'll try it! lol
I haven't wanted to ruin the punch though, so I've just tried to ignore it.
One of them is my scallop punch, I forget if it's the oval or circle, but it's one I've had a few years.
__________________ Kathy Wrose "Fun must be always." - Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks "It was fun." - Kirk, Star Trek: Generations
Don't know if it would work but there is a spray lubricant for punches called Punch Doctor. I bought it at a craft show, but you might be able to find it on line. I don't have the squeak problem, but I have used it on some punches with no problems just for maintenance.
Don't know if it would work but there is a spray lubricant for punches called Punch Doctor. I bought it at a craft show, but you might be able to find it on line. I don't have the squeak problem, but I have used it on some punches with no problems just for maintenance.
Thank you so much! I'm going to do a Google search right now ;).
Squeaky SU! punches
