The Harbor Freight Dapping Punch and Die Set

I have not needed a dapping punch and die set but I've always wanted one to play with when coming up with jewelry designs. A Dapping set is a tool that allows you to hammer metal into hemispherical and generally concave shapes, such as a hollow bead. A good quality set isn't terribly expensive and I have made my own single purpose punches and dies when the need arose but I never bought a set. Anyway, Harbor Freight has a set, made in India, for the extremely low price of $29.99, on perpetual sale. So I bought one.

The box looks nice!

A wood stand, the block and the punches.

The punches are covered in what is likely a highly toxic red oil.

I slit the bag open and grabbed each punch in a paper towel, wiping off the excess oil.

At first glance the block looks well polished...

But, as with most cheap tools, what you get is what you paid for, so there are numerous scratches, dings, blemishes and such in the hollows of the block. These can be polished out, so in essence you are trading your time perfecting the tool for the money you would have spent on a better set.

The punches are similarly imperfect, with flat spots, scratches, etc.
Some time spent sanding those out on the lathe is likely in my future.

So, not a great tool, but one that allows you to do basic doming without breaking the bank.