Bruce Hunter , a resident of Bristow, Oklahoma, has been awarded a U.S. patent for an invention that solves a common and costly problem in metal fabrication. His tool, called a blind hole center transfer punch, was designed to accurately transfer hole locations when traditional measuring methods fall short.
The idea emerged from Bruce’s hands-on experience in industrial maintenance and fabrication. While attempting to fabricate a plate that needed to attach to an existing structure, he encountered threaded holes that did not go all the way through—making standard transfer punches useless. Measuring the hole locations manually proved unreliable, as even slight misalignments could cause major issues. Bruce’s solution was a tool that screws directly into a blind threaded hole, turning it into a precise pinpoint reference for drilling matching holes. When used correctly, the tool eliminates time-consuming measurements and virtually removes margin for error.
The patent process began years ago while Bruce was living and working in California. His father, an engineer, drafted the original prints and helped build a prototype. After facing prohibitively expensive legal fees in California, Bruce ultimately found affordable and knowledgeable patent representation in Oklahoma through the William Huxley patent attorney law firm. The application was approved in under a year— an unusually quick turnaround by today’s standards.
Although the tool is not yet in production, Bruce has been contacted by a leasing company and informed of a potential local manufacturer in Morris. He briefly owned a CNC lathe with plans to manufacture the tool himself, but high repair costs and limited local expertise forced him to sell it.
Having returned to Bristow in 2023 after years away, Bruce notes many changes in town but remains hopeful that his patented invention could one day be manufactured locally, contributing to the area’s industrial future