On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 08:21:57 -0500, Eskay
wrote:

There is only one good and safe way to do this.
Buy a Klein Unibit drill ( there are other makes too ) Step tapered from
1/8 inch to 1/2 inch. They do a nice clean job and the holes are always
round.

That was the name of the step drill I was thinking of. Home Depot does
in fact have them, several versions with varying sizes. They also vary
as to material thickness capability (the rise between steps).

Very nice product. About $20-25 USD each.

The tapered reamer is in my opinion an antique and looks like too much hard
work. Home Depot should have the Unibit.
73 de Eskay.

This would work, but is hacky. With thin aluminum in particular, it is
very hard to get a good looking round hole with these.

If your time is worth more than minimum wage, it is very cost
effective to buy and use the right tool for the job.

If you have friends with similar tool needs, you can extend your range
of tools by borrowing back and forth.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

In article , Paul Clay
wrote:

What's the best way/tool to cut or drill holes 1/8 inch to 5/16 inch in
diameter in thin gauge aluminum (for inserting potentiometers and
phono, power jacks, etc.)? I've tried using just a power drill and
genernal purpose drill bits and the results have been sort of ragged
(the edges of the hole are ragged and the process of drilling creates a
depression surrounding the drilled hole).

What's a good technique for labeling front panel controls on a piece of
homebrew gear? Are there self adhesive labels or decals that
stick/wear really well?

Tnx!


Don't drill em, punch em.

Hand held squeeze punches are available everywhere. I also bought a
Greenlee 1/2 in punch; expensive, but it saved a lot of filing.

Al

--
There's never enough time to do it right the first time.......

"Mike" m.j.willis @rl.ac.uk wrote in message
...
In order to avoid the problems you have noted,
find a thicker piece of scrap
material. Make a sandwich with your aluminum
panel as the filler. Clamp
together solidly as near to the hole position as
possible. Drill through the
whole sandwich. It is the only way I know to
drill neat holes in really thin
panels.

If your panel is not that thin, say 1mm, drill a
very small hole, say 1 mm
using a PCB drill and open it out to the
required size using a sequence of
slightly larger drills and a reamer.

The best way is to use a hole punch. You don't
find these very often. A QMAX
type cutter is a good substitute but you have to
drill a hole for the screw.
Fortunately, the damage caused in drilling the
screw hole is usually
confined to the scrap "int' middl' t'ole".

A Punch is a good way if you are within about 2
inches of the edge...
Try a Whitney #5 punch. You can find the punch
kit and accessories here

http://www.newmantools.com/roper/5jr.htm

I've been using one of these for over 25 years.
They also last if you don't abuse them.

Paul Clay wrote:

What's the best way/tool to cut or drill holes 1/8 inch to 5/16 inch in
diameter in thin gauge aluminum (for inserting potentiometers and
phono, power jacks, etc.)? I've tried using just a power drill and
genernal purpose drill bits and the results have been sort of ragged
(the edges of the hole are ragged and the process of drilling creates a
depression surrounding the drilled hole).

Hi.
I've read a very cool suggestion somewhere (GQRP's list perhaps) for
drilling clean holes in Altoids boxes (therefore all aluminium boxes):
fill the box with water, freeze it, then drill.

I usually start with 3mm bit for metal, then 4mm, 5mm and increasing in
small steps. Having a general purpose drill with linearly variable speed
helps too.

Cheap but somehow slow :-)

HTH,
Paolo ZYW

--
QRPp-I #707 + www.paolocravero.tk + I QRP #476
Beacon @ 28.32210 MHz + QRPp + QRSS3 + JN35TC

"Roger Gt" wrote in message
m...

"Mike" m.j.willis @rl.ac.uk wrote in message
...
In order to avoid the problems you have noted,
find a thicker piece of scrap
material. Make a sandwich with your aluminum
panel as the filler. Clamp
together solidly as near to the hole position
as
possible. Drill through the
whole sandwich. It is the only way I know to
drill neat holes in really thin
panels.

If your panel is not that thin, say 1mm, drill
a
very small hole, say 1 mm
using a PCB drill and open it out to the
required size using a sequence of
slightly larger drills and a reamer.

The best way is to use a hole punch. You don't
find these very often. A QMAX
type cutter is a good substitute but you have
to
drill a hole for the screw.
Fortunately, the damage caused in drilling the
screw hole is usually
confined to the scrap "int' middl' t'ole".

A Punch is a good way if you are within about 2
inches of the edge...
Try a Whitney #5 punch. You can find the punch
kit and accessories here

http://www.newmantools.com/roper/5jr.htm

I've been using one of these for over 25 years.
They also last if you don't abuse them.

Can order on line at:
http://order.harborfreight.com/EasyA...ht/results.jsp

"Roger Gt" wrote in message
m...

"Mike" m.j.willis @rl.ac.uk wrote in message
...
In order to avoid the problems you have noted,
find a thicker piece of scrap
material. Make a sandwich with your aluminum
panel as the filler. Clamp
together solidly as near to the hole position
as
possible. Drill through the
whole sandwich. It is the only way I know to
drill neat holes in really thin
panels.

If your panel is not that thin, say 1mm, drill
a
very small hole, say 1 mm
using a PCB drill and open it out to the
required size using a sequence of
slightly larger drills and a reamer.

The best way is to use a hole punch. You don't
find these very often. A QMAX
type cutter is a good substitute but you have
to
drill a hole for the screw.
Fortunately, the damage caused in drilling the
screw hole is usually
confined to the scrap "int' middl' t'ole".

A Punch is a good way if you are within about 2
inches of the edge...
Try a Whitney #5 punch. You can find the punch
kit and accessories here

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44060

Better address!

I've been using one of these for over 25 years.
They also last if you don't abuse them.

What's the best way/tool to cut or drill holes 1/8 inch to 5/16 inch in
diameter in thin gauge aluminum (for inserting potentiometers and
phono, power jacks, etc.)? I've tried using just a power drill and
genernal purpose drill bits and the results have been sort of ragged
(the edges of the hole are ragged and the process of drilling creates a
depression surrounding the drilled hole).

Get yourself a step bit. You just drill the starter hole, and then drill
with the step bit until you have the size hole you want. Much cheaper than
punches.
==========================
I am getting good results with 2 sizes of tapered reamer
Initial hole drilled 1/8 inch.
Small diameter reamer from 3 to 13 mm (1/2 inch)
Larger diameter reamer from minimum 6 mm to 30 mm ( approx 1.25 inch)

My reamers are Nipponese ,made by Futaba Tool Mfg. who produce 4 sizes ,of
which the 2 I use are size 1 and size 4

For larger holes (say for moving coil meters ) I drill multiple holes ,
knock out and finish with half round file.
The latter takes some time obviously , if it is to be done neatly.

Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH

Mike wrote:

"Bill Turner" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 08:44:00 -0000, "Mike" m.j.willis @rl.ac.uk wrote:

It is the only way I know to drill neat holes in really thin
panels.

__________________________________________________ _______

You haven't tried a Unibit. It can drill holes in any thickness of
panel you're likely to ever use. Might even work on aluminum foil;
haven't tried it but wouldn't be surprised.

Are these available outside the USA?


There seem to be a number of makers now. G&J Hall, England, make the
Bradrad/Multicut series (available in either metric or fractional-inch
steps) and the Conecut (smooth taper, available in both metric and inch
:-)

Going back to an earlier comment, do think about buying a drill press -
even a cheap import is so much better than a hand-held drill.


--
73 from Ian G3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
Editor, 'The VHF/UHF DX Book'
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

"Mike" m.j.willis @rl.ac.uk wrote in message
...
In order to avoid the problems you have noted, find a thicker piece of
scrap
material. Make a sandwich with your aluminium panel as the filler. Clamp
together solidly as near to the hole position as possible. Drill through
the
whole sandwich. It is the only way I know to drill neat holes in really
thin
panels.

The extra sandwich material can be other aluminum OR hard wood,
dense fiber board, etc. Only trouble is that you can't see through to know
where you are drilling and must devise ways to line it up. A small pilot
hole in the top cover piece to line it up with a mark on the work.

The frozen water is a neat idea.

I have seen the uni-bit used on sheet metal ductwork & it makes clean holes,
but usually larger. Perhaps there are smaller ones.


HEY! Where do you get replacement thread-in tips for the old "automatic"
center punches, the spring loaded ones...slowly push until it pops ?
--
Steve N, K,9;d, c. i My email has no u's.

In article , Paul Clay writes:

What's the best way/tool to cut or drill holes 1/8 inch to 5/16 inch in
diameter in thin gauge aluminum (for inserting potentiometers and
phono, power jacks, etc.)? I've tried using just a power drill and
genernal purpose drill bits and the results have been sort of ragged
(the edges of the hole are ragged and the process of drilling creates a
depression surrounding the drilled hole).

If it really is thin gauge aluminum, then I'd suggest a hand-operated
reamer to enlarge a hold from about 3/16" pilot hole. Those are
in general purpose tool stores and can typically go up to 1/2" dia.

Also, it builds up the lower arm muscles... :-)

What's a good technique for labeling front panel controls on a piece of
homebrew gear? Are there self adhesive labels or decals that
stick/wear really well?

There are still decals and press-on lettering kits in the electronics
stores but I prefer a better (but takes longer) process to insure that
normal fingering doesn't scratch or rub off the markings. Get some
1/16" thick (or thereabouts) plexiglass, lucite, even Lexan sheet
and use that for an overlay. The real markings can be done via PC
and inkjet or laser printer, black on white, or white on black, or even
with color. The clear cover sheet keeps the markings clean and
unblemished.

Takes some care to drill the acrylic sheet though, most need slower
speed cuttings and careful clamping to avoid fracturing when cutting
to size. Pilot-hole drill both the overlay and the front panel with the
overlay clamped onto the panel to insure good justification.

Len Anderson
retired (from regular hours) electronic engineer person