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Best way to cut holes in aluminum panel? Label controls?
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! |
"Paul Clay" wrote in message ... 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). Buy a good set of Greenlee punches - they'll cost a bundle but there's no other good way to do it. 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? Go to a trophy shop and buy engraved phenolic plaque labels. They'll cost ya about $2 each but look GOOD. JOE |
Paul Clay wrote in :
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. |
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). I use a tapered drill, it produces a very neat 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? Print them on a sheet of paper, put that on the panel and cover it with a sheet of plastic. You'll have to make holes for the controls, etc. Leon -- Leon Heller, G1HSM Email: My low-cost Philips LPC210x ARM development system: http://www.geocities.com/leon_heller/lpc2104.html |
On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:46:26 -0800, 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! Get a laser etcher and greenlee punches.....I'm think of labeling panels for people. Something like 1 dollar a word. Tracy |
You can make a template of the front panel with a graphics program with hole
locations, text, etc. Print them out on 8 1/2 by 11 inch label material. Cover the panel with a section of the same size plastic laminate, and you are all set. I did a panel with this method 4 years ago, and the glue has not yet turned yellow. Pete "Tfort" wrote in message ... On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:46:26 -0800, 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! Get a laser etcher and greenlee punches.....I'm think of labeling panels for people. Something like 1 dollar a word. Tracy |
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). Buy a good set of Greenlee punches - they'll cost a bundle but there's no other good way to do it. I don't think I have ever seen a Greenlee punch for a hole that is only 1/8 of an inch in diameter. Most of the holes for the bolts I have seen are much bigger than that. To drill small holes you can get or grind your own bits. They will have a point on them and be something like the spade wood bits. Also take a piece of scrap wood and put behind the aluminum. |
Paul Clay wrote in message ...
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! A big question, but briefly. 1.Buy sheet metal drills - might be worth it if you are only looking at 2-3 sizes. 2.With ordinary drills, use a backing board to stop the flared effect. Start with a small size and work up in 64ths till you get the desired size. Tedious, but works. 3.Buy a tapered reamer, and use it to widen a say, 0.25inch hole. Ream from both sides, needs a bit of practice. Clean up edges with a bunny knife. For labels:- 1.The new DYMO labelling guns are good - much better than the old embossed plastic ones - its a thermal printing sustem, works well. 2.Do your arwork on good quality paper to size, print it out, trim to size, stick to front panel with clear self adhesice contact film. (Its called "contact" here in VK, may be the same there, dont know.) A bit of stuffing around, but worth it. 3. Buy a lettering template and draw directly on the aluminium with a say 1mm overhead projector trnasparency pen. looks ok, then spray with clear lacqer. Dont be too hung up on what it looks like, it can get in the way of actually getting a project on air - and besides, the person at the other end of the QSO wont know anyway!. 73 de VK3BFA Andrew |
On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:46:26 -0800, 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! 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. 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. |
On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:46:26 -0800, 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! A drill press will hold the drill much more steadily for cleaner holes. Not always available, though. There are various things which you can attach to a hand drill to get much of that steadiness, kind of a ring plate with two rods that the drill rides on. You could even clamp this on to your piece to get the equivalant of drill press accuracy. Marking the hole with a center punch is very helpful. You will do better with a hand drill by using a pilot hole, then up to the actual size you want. Step drills are another way to do this, and work quite well. An aluminum cutting fluid will help. When drilling, patience is important. Let the drill speed do the work, not the drill power or downward pressure. Forcing the drill will create the raggedness. You will also do better with specialty sheet metal drills, rather than general purpose. Sharper is better. The TiN coated ones will stay sharper longer. For square holes, a metal nibbling tool is ideal. As for labels, there are many types of clear labels which a laser printer will print on, the inkjet ones can smear. Artist's fixative spray will help. Also look at things like the Brother P-Touch label maker, especially the ones which attach to a PC. Happy trails, Gary (net.yogi.bear) ------------------------------------------------ at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom |
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 |
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