Abstract: A punch for attachment to a brace of a braced die has a hollow cutting nose with a leading end for cutting a material to be punched and a trailing end opposite the leading end. A shaft extends from the trailing end of the nose and is sized to pass through an aperture in a brace. An upper retainer is joined to the shaft and has an upper retaining surface adapted to abut an upper surface of a brace. A lower retainer is joined to the shaft and has a lower retaining surface adapted to abut a lower surface of a brace. An internal waste evacuation chute extends from the interior of the hollow cutting nose and through the shaft for evacuating plugs of punched material from the nose.