I've had Leabarjan perforators for about 25 years now -- three of them.
I had some trouble with the first two going ragged.  I had new punches
and dies made but they didn't last all that long.  In some of the dies
the holes for the mounting screws were drilled askew, enough that there
was no way they could be screwed in place properly.  I found another
machinist after that.

The last set I had were made 10 years ago by a small machine company
in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.  I've been punching regularly on the same
punch and die ever since and they haven't gone dull yet, much to my
surprise.  My punching has included several long play rolls, some
shorts, and cleaning up the tiny perfs on about 30 of Ray Siou's
long-play rolls that were made by Play-Rite and have note holes too
tiny to register.  Any one with a substantial collection of those rolls
is probably familiar with the problem.

I'm certain the difference is primarily the hardening process and the
precision making both the die and punch, but I can also say that it is
quite possible to ruin the die when installing it and/or the punch if
they are not perfectly aligned.  When I do it, I press the punch down
through the die before tightening the four screws that hold the die.
This assures the die won't have a nipped edge.  Also, I set the travel
of the punch so that it just goes far enough through the die to make
the cut; and further just risks unnecessary wear and tear.

I have my Leabarjan conveniently located in the living room, where when
there's a little slack time it's easy to sit down and punch for a few
minutes, or an hour if I please.  I have dies for 65-note rolls and
Orchestrelle rolls, but I have never made the index to copy them.

Bruce Grimes