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

[Mike Gorman]

Hi Dave,

I've used a tapered reamer in the past for some holes, like this one:

http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Equipment/Tapered-reamers-30540

If they are sharp enough, they should cut the laminated plastic quite well
and you can just poke them through the hole to get you started.

Worth a try if you can pick one up locally for a reasonable price. 

I just tried it on a paper address label stuck on a panel and it didn't work
well though, it lifted the edges and tore them, but laminate paper should
work better. For my temporary panels, which I use A4 laser labels for, I
fall back on the trusty X-Acto No. 11 Blades - which I find a mildly
therapeutic task.

Good hunting.

Regards

Mike
	
-----Original Message-----
From: synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl
[mailto:synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of Dave Kendall
Sent: 18 February 2013 20:59
To: Synth DIY List
Subject: [sdiy] Making neat holes in laminated front panel overlays.

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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