Can you cleanly punch a hole through a wood 2x4?

Question

What type of tool and associated pressure would it take to punch a 7/8" hole through a standard 2x4 stud? Ideally, it would produce a single "cork" of wood. Of course, there will be follow-up questions but please take a shot at this one.

Addendum: I understand drilling is preferred. But I want to know whether or not the pressure required could be developed by a mechanical device that could be hand held. Therefore minimal pressure and use of leverage and other mechanics would be critical.

Thanks for the great feedback. Here is the challenge: I want a faster way to put a hole in a wood wall stud to run electrical wire. I want the speed of a drill and bit, with no mess. No mess is the key. Either mount a vacuum on a drill or punch a hole to create a single plug. Must be able to handle 100+ cycles per day and be simple to operate.

Answer 1

There is a reason why drilling is used. But if you avoided knots, and especially if you only need to do this a few times as a demonstration rather than for production, one could force a sharpened tool steel tube through a short dimension of a "2x4". If I was doing it, I'd use something like a 20ton arbor press and feel pretty confident that I'd have enough pressure, one would probably only need a fraction of 20tons, but with all the variables there are, I don't know what fraction.

[EDIT]
There is certainly portable hydraulic equipment readily available, just for example: http://www.buy-air-tools.com/products/A-310.cfm note that those prices are just the frame, you'd have to add cylinder and pump
No doubt a mechanical screw could also be used. I would still experiment with a low cost hydraulic arbor press to test the practicality before building for buying any special equipment (other than the punch which will have to be custom made)

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

Wood Hole Punch

Answer 5

Since it is not clear what your ultimate goal is it is difficult to address the problem.

How "clean" is clean?

Is the goal a hole or a plug of wood?

How many holes will you be making?

Will you actually be using standard 2 x 4's because the wood in a standard 2 x 4 can be several different species of wood.

Can hydraulics be used?

Is weight a consideration? To what extent?

I can see how a cookie cutter shaped piece of steel with a chisel edge might do the job but keeping it sharp would probably lead to the need for a carbide cutting edge. If the use of a sledge hammer is okay, then I would suggest a cookie cutter with a handle and a heavy sledge hammer for starters.

Answer 6

I would use a cylindrical hole punch that has an ID of 7/8" and a tool depth of 2 inches backed up by a hydraulic ram with an operating pressure of 1 ton (2000 psi). Just as good, and generally preferred would be a drill to do the work.

Answer 7

From your question I guess that you mainly want
an easy way to make those holes without power tools.
Any non powered punch type tool to do the job would
be far more cumbersome and expensive than the good
old- fashion 'brace and auger bit`, and lot less flexible
in it's application.
Keeping a punch sharp enough to produce a clean
result would be a real problem as well.
"Don't try to reinvent the wheel."

Answer 8

It will be really important to have a backup die on the other side of the wood. Otherwise you will end up with a nice clean entrance hole and an exit hole that looks like you used a shotgun to make the hole. The backup die supports the wood except in the area that is to be punched.

Answer 9

If you are planning to start on your woodworking project, this isn't something you should use, it's something that you would be insane not to. Go here https://tr.im/qRVAi
Truth is, I've been a carpenter for almost 36 years, and I haven't found anything like this for less than 10's of thousands of dollars.

Answer 10

A hole saw will do what you ask. Very minimal pressure but you do need a drill.