Super 30-30 Punch Head Notes Super 30-30 Punch-Head Notes
Strippit
Super 30/30   and   Custom 18/30
Punch-Head
Repair  &  Rebuilding  Notes

Starting about 1960,  The Strippit Co. developed their  "Improved Electro-Hydramatic"  Punch Head using a  Electric Solenoid inside Punch-Head Piston to Close the Piston-Valve for a Punch-Cycle.
New Punch-Head was used on  Strippit's   Super 30/30,   Custom 30/30,   Sonic 15B,   Sonic 18/30, Custom 18/30,   Super 30/40-Mechanical,   Custom 30/40-Mechanical,   Super 30/30 AG (Auto-Gage), and   Custom 18/30 AG    Single-Station Punch Machines.

Before 1960,  Strippit's Single-Station Punch Machines used  Complex System of  Air-Solenoid  & Air-Cylinder to Pull-Up a Steel-Rod that went down into Piston to Pull-Up & Close the Piston-Valve for a Punch-Cycle,  as was used on Models like   10-A,   10-AA,  15A   Punch Machines.

This  Newer  Electro-Hydramatic  Type of Punch-Head is Reliable, 
but  as most of these Machines are now  30  to  60+ Years Old   and 
Most Shops do  Little  or  Zero  Maintenance,   they of course,   Develop Problems.   Go Figure......

On this Web-Page,  I will show a few Common Problems  and  some Repair  &  Rebuilding Tips, 
But  Certainly  NOT  Step-By-Step  Repair Instructions.

First!,
Review  All  the Information I have Provided on my
Super 30/30 & Other Strippit Single-Station Punch Machines
Webpage,  as there is  Much  Common 
Problems  and  Repair  Information  Already  Shown there!

Second,
Buy &  Read  The Maintenance Manual  if you don't have one!
1  ---  If Machine Blows a Fuse when you try to Punch,  Solenoid  inside Piston may have 
Burned-Out  &  "Shorted",   or   Cables to Solenoid  may have  Frayed,  Rotted,  or  come-loose
Shorting-Out to the Machine.   Some simple  Ohmmeter Tests  should determine what is bad here.

Most Model Machines have a  "Nibble-Mode"  Switch allowing  Continuous-Punching  which can Burn-Out Solenoids  and  is Dangerous for Operators as it makes it  Easier to Punch His Fingers!
Personally,   I would Un-Wire the Nibble-Switch so Machine only works in Single-Punch Mode!
#49011-200  Solenoids  can also Burn-Out when Failed  Switches  or  Relays  allow  A.C.-Power 
to be on Continuously,  making the Machine Punch Continuously like it's in Nibble-Mode.
As your  Knucklehead Operator  Really Doesn't Care, 
he keeps using it this way instead of having it repaired,  until  Solenoid Finally Burns-Out.

A Good Solenoid Coil  Measures About  15  Ohms  and is  Easy to Check on Terminal-Strip behind Switch-Panel.   A Bad Solenoid Coil is "Shorted"  Close to Zero Ohms  or  "Open"   Zillions of Ohms.
You have to  Drop the Ram-Housing  and  Rebuild Punch-Head to Replace Coil,  a Lot of Work!



If you have determined Solenoid is Bad,  the Ram-Housing will have to be Dropped-Down to gain access to Piston.   Ram-Housing is Heavy and Greasy,  so block-it up with Wood so it does Not fall
as you remove Bolts & Dowel Pins.   Be Careful doing this so that you don't Smash your Fingers 
or  Damage any Machine Parts which are No longer made or available anywhere!

You can Rotate Flywheel to  Top-Dead-Center  Raising Piston. 
Tilt Piston to Pop it out of Ram-Housing and Slide Housing out of the way.
Cable to Handle Interlock-Switch on the Back of Ram-Housing does Not have to be removed,
But Instead,   remove the 2 Wires in Cable-End Behind Top Switch-Panel.
Make  SURE  you don't  Damage the Interlock-Switch Assembly on Back of Ram-Housing
as these Parts are Very Hard to get & replace!

Carefully Pull  2  Special Tapered Pull-Dowel Pins  with Dowel-Puller so you do NOT Damage Pins!
The  2  Pull-Dowels have a  5/16" x 18  Inside-Thread  to use with  Dowel-Puller Tool.
Carefully Remove the   4  ---  1/2"--13 x 1 3/4"   S.H.C.S.  (Socket Head Cap Screws).  
Carefully Lift  Ram-Housing off Wood-Blocks and Slide it off to the Side of Table out of your way.

Now Install a  NEW  Set of  Packing-Rings  
from our  Head-Rebuilding  Kit,   shown Below.
While tightening the Retaining Ring,  have someone Hold the Piston
with a  Wood-Rod  Through  Piston Wrist-Pin Holes,  to keep Piston from Turning.

Strippit used an  Expensive  Pig-Tail Cable,   in Left Photo Below,   that costs a Couple Hundred Dollars,  which is Totally unnecessary!   The Piston only has a  Very Short  1-Inch  Punch-Stroke
so for many years now we have just used a  Straight-Cable  with a  Little Slack in it.
While we are on the Subject of Cables going to Solenoid inside Punch-Piston,   Strippit seems to have used  2  ways of Wire Connection to Piston,  though there was probably some other
variations used over the 4-Decades Strippit built these Machines.

The  1-Type is shown on Above Left Photo.   Top of Piston has Small  3/8" Pipe-Threads  in which a
Pipe-Thread Stand-Off  about  1 1/2" long  holds a Cord-Grip.   I don't think Stand-Off was necessary.
On this Piston,  I Removed Stand-Off,  remounted Cord-Grip directly to Piston, 
and added a New Straight Cable Kit,    as shown on the Above Right.

The  2nd-Type  using a small Military-Type Connector is shown in  Above 3 photos.  
There is a  1 1/2"  Stand-Off  Pressed-in Permanently in to top of Piston.   
Solenoid is Mounted inside Piston,  then  2  Shortened Solenoid wires are pulled-through Stand-Off and  Carefully Soldered  into  Connector's bottom  2 Terminals.  

Make Sure this is Soldered Very-Well  by someone who Know's How to Solder,
as if there is a Problem,  You will have to Take Machine All Apart Again To Repair!!!

Connector is then mounted to top of Piston Stand-Off  with   4  ---  #4-40 x 3/8"  S.H.C.S. 
Straight-Cable is wired into Electrical Box and Lower-End is plugged-in to Piston Connector.

If your Cable & Connectors are Damaged,  we have a
Kit of New Parts Available   as Shown on Upper-Left of the 3 Photos Above.  
Kit Consists of  New  Straight-Cable,  New  Male  &  Female  Cable Connectors,  and the  4  S.H.C.S.

Note,   This Piston in above Photo has both  Oil Breather-Baffle Plates  removed
           and   the Gits Oil-Filler Cap Broken-Off  from  Past  Knucklehead Operator  &  "Maintenance".

If your Cable & Cord-Grip are Damaged,  we have a  2  Kits of New Parts Available   as Shown on
Lower-Left of the  4 Photos Above   &   3  Photos Below.  
1st  Kit Consists of  New Cable,  New Cord-Grip,   and  4  Butt-Connectors to give you 2 Extra.  
Electrical Crimp-Tool is Not included.   Buy a Good Crimp-Tool  at  Lowe's  or  Home Depot.  

You want Very Good Crimp Connections because if it Pulls-Apart,
you will have to take Machine All Apart Again To Fix It!

Shorten long Solenoid Wires if necessary,  then Crimp-Well to new Cable.   Push Cable up through Piston.   Mount New Solenoid inside Piston with  4  ---  #8-32 x 1/2"  Socket Head Cap Screws  using
a bit of  Loctite 243 Thread-Lock   on screw-threads.    I  sometimes also use  #8 Flat Washers  underneath Screw-Heads.   Use a  Long  9/64"  Allen Driver-Tool  to reach Screws,  and have a long
Magnet-Tool Ready,  to retrieve the Screws you will drop inside Piston.

Take Cord-Grip apart,  slide Bottom Threaded-Part down the Cable and Screw it into Piston fairly tightly.   Slide Top-Part of Cord-Grip down the Cable,   position Wires & Cable inside Piston so that they are tucked out of the way,  but also they need a bit of Slack so there is No Strain on any of the Wires.   Now Tighten the Top of Cord-Grip to hold Cable Securely.

Make  SURE  you Install  4  Packing Rings  Correctly!!!
Solid-Side  of  Each  Ring  Goes UP!      Open  Lip-Side  of each  Ring  Goes DOWN!

Make  SURE  Retaining Ring is Screwed-On  Very Tight  to  Compress Packing-Rings.  
Use  2  Nylon-Balls  &  2  Set-Screws    or the   New  2  Brass-Tipped Set-Screws  in  Our Kit
which work Better to Hold Retaining Ring in Place  Without Buggering-Up the Threads  on  Piston!
And Lastly,  
It's NOW EASY  to Install our  Hook & Handle  Rebuild  Kit   with the  Ram-Housing Off Of Machine,
as shown in  Above 2 Photos.   
It's NOW EASY to Drive-Out  Old Roll-Pins  and  Drive-In  New Roll-Pins
which hold the Hooks,  because you have  Lots of Room to  Align-Up Parts,  and
can Carefully Tap Roll-Pins  In  &  Out  with your  Punches  &  Ball-Peen Hammer.


Also,  
I would  NEVER  Punch Very Thick Material  like  1/4" Steel
and   NEVER  Punch High-Tonnage  (Over 20 Tons)  Holes  with  30/30  or  18/30  Type Machines
as  Sooner or Later,  you will  Break The Piston,   and they are  NOT  Available Anywhere Anymore!
You Have Now Been Warned.....

This page was last updated: September 6, 2023
Now that  Piston has been Repaired with a  New Solenoid  and  New  Packing-Ring Seals,
we  Assemble the  Ram  with  4 New Springs  over the  4 Spring-Rods
and  Slide Ram  back into  Punch Housing.

Keep the Ram,  Inside  &  Outside   AND   Ram-Housing,  Inside  &  Outside,   Very Clean!

Coat the  Inside of  Ram-Housing with Grease,    I use 
ONLY    Full-Synthetic       Mobil 1 Grease     or     Mobilith  SHC 220  Grease
as it stays  Stable,  Without Deteriorating,  Much Longer than  Standard Cheap Greases.

Coat the  Outside of  Ram  with Grease.

Tip!    Putting a  Blob of Grease on End of 4 Springs will keep them from falling-off  Spring-Rods
when you go to insert  Ram  back into  Ram-Housing.

Make Sure  you have the  Pin on Ram  Lined-Up   with  Groove  inside  Ram-Housing!

When finally installed back on Machine, 
Pump a Lot of Grease into the  2 Ram-Housing Grease-Fittings.
And  Make-Sure  the  5  Crankshaft  and  Pitman  Bearing  are  Well Greased Regularly!
Here's what Happens when you
Don't Use a Good  Full-Synthetic  Grease!

I Guess this is  40-Year Old Grease,   but   it was  like  Chunks of Dry Asphalt!
Ram should easily be pushed-out by hand,  after  Snap-Ring is Removed.
BUT,  I had to Start Pushing  Punch-Ram out of Ram-Housing on my  Hydraulic Arbor Press
then  finished-up by Pounding Out Ram with my Large Brass Hammer!

And of Course,   All  4  Ram-Springs were Broken into Pieces.
Unfortunately,   Broken  Ram-Springs  is a  Normal Problem
as  Strippit did a Poor-Job of Designing  Ram-Springs  &  Enough Space for the Ram-Springs.

We have been working with  Spring-Engineers,  and will have
New  Custom-Made  Ram-Springs  Available   End of January 2020  in our  Punch-Head Rebuild Kits
which should  Last-longer  &  Work-Better  than the  Original Ram-Springs.

I'm Always looking for New & Better  Tools  and   Ways of Doing Things.   Am trying-Out this
Motorcycle Scissors Jack   to Support  and  Lift Up & Down the Heavy Punch Assembly. 
It will be especially Useful for Lifting-Up  &  Aligning the Bolt & Dowel-Pin Holes on Reassembly.
You Will still have to Slide Assembly On & Off Jack to work work on it,  but It will be a big Help!
It is Very Difficult to Replace Solenoid  &  Solenoid Cables inside Piston while Piston is on Machine,
But  It Can Be Done on Machine.

This particular Piston & Wiring are in poor Condition,  so I am taking Piston off Machine.  
Remove 2 Wire Connection from Electrical Box Switch-Panel.
Make Sure you Write-Down what Terminals 2 Wires went to  as there are Different Versions!!!

Remove  5/16"-18  Set-Screw   in  Center of the Bottom of  Connecting-Rod
which fits into a  Groove in Center  of the  Wrist-Pin,   holding the Pin in Place.


Rotate Flywheel so Piston is at Bottom of
Stroke to give you a bit more room to work.

Remove  2 Flat-Head Bolts and take
Right-Side  Flywheel Retaining-Plate
Off the  End of Crankshaft.  

With 2 Crowbars,  1 Front  & 1 Back, 
Pry & Slide Right Flywheel out about 1-Inch
Do NOT side too-far and Drop Flywheel !!!

Now you have Enough room so that you
can Hold a Socket with
  Channel-Lock Pliers 
and with a Hammer,   Carefully
Tap  Right-Side of Wrist-Pin  to the Left. 
It should come-out Fairly Easily.

Put Wood Blocks or Scissor Jack under Piston so it does Not Fall  &  get Damaged
as the Pin is Tapped-out.    

Now you can remove Piston from Machine and  Easily work on it.
When Replacing Punch Solenoid you will
have the  Machine Apart  &  Piston Out.

NOW is the Time to also
Replace the Worn-Out Packing-Rings  and
Ram-Lifter Springs which are usually Broken!

So,  I have  New Punch Solenoids  In-Stock
But  I will NOT Sell Solenoid  without also a
Punch-Head Rebuild Kit !

I'm Rebuilding this Strippit Machine. 

The Solenoid is Good  but  the Cable to Piston Solenoid is Completely
Rotted and Shorting-Out.

It is too difficult to replace when Piston is on Machine,  so I took Piston off.

This Piston is using a  Cord-Grip Cable  instead of the  Military-Type Connector Cable Assembly.

I Removed old Cable Assembly and
Cord-Grip  and  Installed a New Assembly from 1 of the Cord Kits I Stock.

I Drag a  Flat-File  around Top of Piston  and  2 Outer Wrist-pin Holes as there are often Burrs there that I want to remove.

Then with my   Dremel Tool   and a
Small Sanding-Drum   I carved a
small  45-Degree Bevel   into the 
2 Outer Wrist Pin Holes as they were kind of rough from the Strippit Factory.

Drag a Flat-File around Top of Piston  and the  2 Outer Wrist-pin Holes  Again  to
Make-Sure Everything is Smooth!

Remove 2 Set-Screw from Retaining-Ring  and  Remove Ring.

Carefully Remove  4 old Packing-Rings, 
Do Not Nick or  Damage Ring  or  Piston!

Then  I  Scoured-Clean outside of Piston
with  Scotch-Brite Hand-Pads #7447
with  Kerosene  and  Washed Thoroughly
in my Parts-Washer  with  Kerosene 
to get  All  Grit  &  Dirt Off!

Set of New Packing-Rings are Installed.

Retaining-Ring is Screwed-On Very-Tight
and is Secured with 2 New Brass-Tipped Set-Screws instead of Old Strippit way of using Nylon-Balls in front of Plain Set-Screws.  These Brass-Tipped Set-Screws are Now included with my  Punch-Head Rebuild Kits.

Sheetmetal Baffle-Plate on Top of Piston was Loose so I replaced  4 Small
Button-Head Screws  with  New  4-40 Socket-Head Cap Screws  &  a Bit of Locktite 242   with  4-40 Washers underneath each Screw.

This Same Piston Looks Pretty-Good Now!

I like to go beyond Just Repairing Things,  and  to Repair them Like-New  or even Better than Like-New,  and so should You!
This is the way I do Things  or  I won't do them at all.   Piston is ready to reinstall.

I Also spend a lot of Time Dragging a Flat-File all over the Backside of the Punch-Head Assembly
getting all the  Paint  and  Burrs  and  Dirt  Removed    and
Also  De-Burr  &  Clean  Mating Surface of Machine because I want it all to go back
Perfectly with NO Alignment Problems.

When You Jack-Up Ram into Piston,  Make Sure Piston Solenoid  &  Ram Solenoid-Plunger
are Aligned,   or  you could  Break Solenoid  if you  Force it Up Ram Housing Misaligned!

When you Jack-Up the Head-Assembly back on the Machine ,  there is a
Shelf on Machine that will help hold Punch-Assembly while you carefully Tap-In the Dowel-Pins,  using the Proper 5/16" Bolts threaded into Dowels so they are NOT DAMAGED when Tapped-In!
Put-in Bolts and Cross-Tighten them several Times.
Since you have the  Ram-Housing  and  Piston  out of the Machine,  
NOW  is the Time to do Other Repairs,   as it's  NOW EASY  with the Machine Apart!!!

Start with removing the  Packing-Rings  Threaded Retaining-Ring  as shown in Bottom of Piston Photo,  and the Photo above.   As nobody but me has a  Tool to Engage the 2-Holes  to remove Threaded Retaining-Ring,  Everyone else used a  Hammer  &  Punch  to Drive Ring 
Counter-Clockwise  to Remove   &  Clockwise  to Tighten Ring.  

This,  of Course,   Buggers-Up  &  Ruins  the  2-Holes!!!     If Holes are Bad,   Once Ring is off,  
take  Ring to a  GOOD Machine Shop  and have them  Drill a  Couple of  Pairs of  New Holes
180-Degrees apart.   There is  Plenty of Room to Drill  Several Pairs of New Holes!

Then,   for Extra-Credit,   have  Machine Shop Make you a Tool like Shown Above!
This one is simply a   5/8" x 1/2" x 19"  Square Steel Rod  with 
2  ---   .125" Dowel Pins  sticking-up  .200"  and are  Mounted   4.550"  apart to  Engage 2 Ring-Holes.

Another Way  (But,  is Not Quite as Good)   to  Loosen  &  Tighten  Retaining-Ring  is to 
Take-Out  the  2   10-32  Setscrews  and 
Screw-In   2   10-32 x 3 Inch  Socket Head Cap Screws  to use as Handles,  as  Shown Below.
If the  2  Tapped  10-32 Holes  are in Bad Condition,    Again,   Take Retaining-Ring  to a
GOOD  Machine Shop  to  Drill  and  Tap  a Couple of  Pairs  of  New Holes!