Originally Posted by
Ned Christiansen
That is some mighty fine automatic center punch work right there.
I've had a few requests to make a tool that is an analog to my (above pictured)MOACKS too, for staking castle nuts. But, there is a place for the creation of a special tool and place to take the easy way out-- as you can see, that Starrett automatic center punch does a great job. It's worth the extra money to get the actual Starrett one. It's what I've been using and recommending for a couple decades-plus.
The thing you'll run into sometimes is a very hard receiver end plate. They are not supposed to be glass-hard and I don't know why anyone would make them that way. Same deal with carrier keys, some are, for an unknowable reason, super hard. In either case it makes staking a bitch. I've noticed that some, not all I think, but some, of the hard carrier keys are MIM'd.