John Gilmer wrote:

"Walter R." wrote in message
...

I need to make (drill?) several 3/4" holes in 1/4" thick aluminum panels.

I have a 3/8" drill, a 1/2" drill bit, a 4" angle grinder, and hand files.
It's a tedious job to drill a 1/2" hole and then use a file to enlarge it
to 3/4".

Any easy way to do this without getting blisters?


All kinds of ways.

For example, many electricians have a "Greenleaf (sp?)" punch.. To use it
you drill a 1/4" hole, asemle the male and female parts of the punch with
thru bold on the 1/4" hold and tighten the bolt. In about 30 seconds you
have your hole.

I have had to make holds for "stuff" in the top of stainless steel sinks.
Usually, I just used the biggest drill I had (usually 1/2") and then used
and "ball" or "cone" shaped grinding wheel to enlarge the hole.

An Al, you might be able to use a reamer.

Or you can use a saw to roughtly enlarge the hole and then "polish" with a
grinder wheel as above.

Except for the punch, the results usualy aren't pretty but you usually cover
up the hole so who cares.


How about a 3/4" hole saw?