[sdiy] Making neat holes in laminated front panel overlays.

[bbob]

i did it w/ an xacto knife for years, and still do for prototypes.  i
usually either spray w/ a matte-finish clear coat, or cover w/ plastic
laminate before cutting.  since all of the actual hole edges get
covered by washers or screw tops, nobody will ever see a little ragged
around the edges.


On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 3:58 PM, Dave Kendall <davekendall at ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Hi Guys.
>
> As I'm a cheapskate, I'll be using laminated laser-printed thick paper
> overlays glued onto prepared aluminium front panels for the modular. The
> panels will have all holes drilled before the front panels go on.
> Does anyone know of a hole punch, or similar tool, with different sized
> punches that would be suitable for making neat holes relatively quickly?
> There will be *lots* of holes to make for pots, switches and sockets, and
> doing it with a Stanley knife or X-acto type knife is possible, but from
> experience, there is a risk of ragged edges if not done very carefully and
> slowly.
>
> I once had a hand-held leather punch with exchangeable bits, but from memory
> it was relatively crude.
>
> Sorry for all the questions - I'm finally getting around to trying to turn a
> pile of miscellaneous PCBs, modules and perfboard lash-ups into an *actual
> synth*...  :-)
> Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome.
>
> cheers,
> Dave
>
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