"J. Clarke" writes:

On 9/4/2010 6:54 PM, James Waldby wrote:
On Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:38:04 -0600, Joe Pfeiffer wrote:
following up to several different responses at once:

It's 22 of the smaller rectangles in one panel, 22 of the larger ones in
a second panel. Some will be too far away for a jeweler's saw. I don't
have good access to a plasma cutter (else the plasma cutter would almost
certainly be the right answer) or mill.

The wood chisel idea is certainly worth a try.

If the chisel approach doesn't work out, consider using a scroll
saw. Typically they have a 16" - 22" throat and use 5" blades,
with or without pins. I've used the same blades (without pins,
30 to 40 tpi, 0.014 thick, 0.30 wide, 5" long) on both a little
Hitachi scroll saw and an 'Aven PS-21 Delux' jeweler's saw.

Not seeing the original post and not finding it on Google Groups so
don't know what the question was, but that said, if there is a need to
make rectangular holes in thin aluminum of the kind typically used for
instrument panels or the like, one possibility is a nibbler--you can
get a hand nibbler for 7 bucks from Harbor Fright, or if you're got 18
CFM at 90 PSI an air nibbler for 30. Takes a little practice to get a
clean hole but the cheap handheld nibblers work surprisingly well.

I need to check to see if I can nibble as small as needed here -- the
smaller holes I need is roughly half an inch on a side...
--
As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should
be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours;
and this we should do freely and generously. (Benjamin Franklin)