tungsten for granite working

["Simon Brown" <moonsong@zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz>]

Hi Jacques,

I have had a lot of experience with tungsten tools, I was just disappointed
after having bought a complete new set of granite punches and then breaking
the first ones I tried.

The tools in the training workshop I look after need to be absolutely
indestructible because most users are beginners, and some have no respect
for Government property. After some bad experiences with tool importers, I
have been buying from a tool supplier in Melbourne (Wm Ashcroft & Co)
because they have their own tool smith and will repair their tools as well
as tools from other suppliers who have refused to repair.

So after breaking most of the crappy 'marble' punches that had sat on the
shelves in our store for many years without being used, and making my own
rough'n'ready punches from quarry tips, I specified that the new tools had
to be capable of being smashed into the hardest stone by beginners.

The two tools that broke appeared to have failed in the silver solder first,
weakening the support for the tungsten tip which then broke. The others are
travelling well. The manufacturer has agreed to replace the cracked tips,
and as they have batch numbers stamped on the tools, they will probably
track down the cause of the failure.

Simon