[sdiy] Re: [AH] Making holes in Aluminum?

[flightofharmony]

Here's a good technique if you're particular about getting your holes
located exactly:
Get a hand-punch like one of these (a Roper-Whitney knockoff):
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Portable-Hand-Punch/G8780.
These are light-duty punches, and can't punch a hole larger than 5/32" in
anything over 0.04", but can be used to punch a 1/8" starter hole in the
thicker stuff. The punches have a tiny point in the center, so just use a
pushpin to make a locating dimple in the panel and you can get really close
tolerances on your hole positions.

The 1/8" hole is a perfect starter hole for stepped drill bits like these:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/3-16-1-2-Unibit/G4959.
Twist drills can not drill a round hole when used in a hand drill. Step bits
give a beautifully circular hole.

~flight
flight at flightofharmony.com
http://www.flightofharmony.com


-> -----Original Message-----
-> From: synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl [mailto:synth-diy-
-> bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of Andre Majorel
-> Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 6:31 AM
-> To: analogue at hyperreal.org; synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
-> Subject: [sdiy] Re: [AH] Making holes in Aluminum?
-> 
-> On 2008-10-26 19:39 -0700, Kylee Kennedy wrote:
-> 
-> > Can anyone point me to a few webpages on how to make holes in an
-> aluminum
-> > faceplate?
-> > I have a bunch of Frac Rack blank faceplates and I'm clueless.
Something
-> > about a tap and carbide bits I believe.
-> 
-> A tap does not make a hole, it makes a thread. :-)
-> 
-> No carbide bits needed. Aluminium is a soft metal, any HSS bits
-> should do. Mark the spot with a centre punch. Start with a small
-> hole, say 2.5 mm and gradually work your way up from there. For
-> example, to make a 9 mm hole, you might want to use three bits :
-> 2.5 mm, 5.5 mm and 9 mm. The diameters are not critical, it's
-> just an example.
-> 
->   http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Fasteners-Production-Equipment/Hand-
-> Tools/Punches-Rivets/Automatic-centre-punch/32193/kw/punch
-> 
-> If this is a large diameter hole (say > 5 mm) in thin sheet
-> metal (say <= 2 mm), a stepped bit will help a lot.  You'll see
-> why when you have tried making a 10 mm hole in 1 mm sheet metal
-> with a normal bit...
-> 
->   http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Fasteners-Production-Equipment/Power-
-> Tools/Drill-Bits/Multicut-step-drills/68134
->   http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Fasteners-Production-Equipment/Power-
-> Tools/Drill-Bits/Conical-drill/76430
-> 
-> Drilling metal is not about high rotation speeds : it's about
-> slow-to-medium speeds and applying pressure (one of the reasons
-> why a press is desirable). With cutting oil, you can drill
-> faster and the bits stay sharp longer.
-> 
-> --
-> André Majorel <URL:http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/>
-> Do not use this account for regular correspondence.
-> See the URL above for contact information.
-> _______________________________________________
-> Synth-diy mailing list
-> Synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
-> http://dropmix.xs4all.nl/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy