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Drilling a big hole in small steel plate
On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 13:13:31 GMT, Ignoramus27279
wrote: For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. It's actually possible in the vise (I did it the other day) but it does take some feel. Two other options. Mount the cover on the box and then clamp the box in the vise. Or get a piece of wood and use a C-clamp to clamp the cover to the table of the drill press with the wood between the table and the cover. |
I would probably put a piece of scrap wood in the vise that is slightly
larger than the plate and low enough in the vise so the plate will not turn when placed on top of the wood. Some chance that the plate will be sucked up the drill when it breaks through so watch the fingers. Dan Ignoramus27279 wrote: The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. i |
On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 13:13:31 GMT, Ignoramus27279
wrote: For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i Use a c big c clamp and clamp it to the drill prtess table. Then use a "Bullet" drill to put in the hole. Run the drill slowly. Or, step on the thing while it's on the floor and use the "bullet" drill to drill the hole. I just checked on the web. Black and Decker still make Bullet drills and they can be purchased at ACE Hardware. You will not need a pilot drill hole when using a bullet drill. ERS |
In article , Ignoramus27279 says...
The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. This is typically done with greenlee chassis punches. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
"Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i Like someone suggested, mount the plate on a steel handybox and clamp the box in the vise And check the OD on those switches-a lot of them are 15/32"... |
GREENLEE punch
"Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i |
The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate.
This is typically done with greenlee chassis punches. Or, lacking those, a small drill bit + a hand nibbler or hacksaw. |
In article ,
Ignoramus27279 wrote: The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. There's been a wood theme to the answers. My variation is two pieces of wood, with the plate sandwiched in between. If you need to see the plate to line up the hole, pre-drill the top piece of wood. Clamp or screw the pieces of wood together, and stick the mess in your vise. That avoids bending the metal and keeps the drill from pulling it out of your clamp setup. Or, if you have some time to kill, just punch the hole with a nail and file it out to a larger size. (: -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net http://web2.airmail.net/thegoat4/ |
Greenlee punches are really good for making holes in sheet metal that's
too small, flexible, fragile or inaccessible to drill, but they are fairly expensive. Otherwise use a less-grabby step drill (Unibit, etc) or drill a small hole and enlarge it by hand with a tapered reamer like this one: www.dansdata.com/ images/tools/reamer500.jpg Jim Wilkins |
..50 cal BMG and file off the little burr. (Somebody HAD to say it!)
"Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i |
"Ignoramus27279" wrote in message
... | SNIP | | The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply | fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes | and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me | resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. SNIP Some have suggested a greenlee or similar punch, but I doubt you're doing a lot of holes. Even when I did a lot, I hated that tool because it took so much effort on my part. I suggest going down to the hardware store and getting a step drill. They come in different size ranges, and once you have one, you'll use it for a million other things. Clean and fast hole, too. Unibit was the first ones to come out with it, and a lot of knockoffs are out there now, but any decent brand will do fine. Home Depot has a variety. Just dawned on me that I don't have one myself and I really orta get me one o' them! I hate to say it, but they start at around $17 and head up. Well worth it, though. I used the heck out of them as an electrician. They sucked in stainless boxes, and I had to use the punch set as a last resort, hence my disregard. You could, however, get hydraulic sets, which were sweet, but they're not for my pocketbook, that's for sure! |
Use a unibit and a block of wood and clamp it on your table. The .50 raises
too big of a burr. "Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 16:30:02 GMT, Tom Gardner wrote: .50 cal BMG and file off the little burr. (Somebody HAD to say it!) that's the best one so far... o "Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i -- |
On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 13:13:31 GMT, Ignoramus27279
wrote: For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. I used to use a plumber's tapered reamer to make holes for tube sockets. The reamer had a tapered rectangular tang that fit in a hand brace -- as in brace 'n bit. Drill a 1/4" hole and ream as needed up to about 1.5" dia. Yow, I see that a basic Stanley brace now goes for $79, but they're on Ebay for less, and might be found cheap at garage sales or estate sales. Uni-bits are available up to 1" dia, work very well in a drillpress (low speed, please) for making nice holes in sheetmetal. |
In article , Don Foreman says...
Yow, I see that a basic Stanley brace now goes for $79, but they're on Ebay for less, and might be found cheap at garage sales or estate sales. Greenlee punches are pretty inexpensive: http://cgi.ebay.com/GREENLEE-KNOCKOUT-PUNCH-AND-DIE-SET-5-8_W0QQitemZ7533622321QQcategoryZ73116QQrdZ1QQcmdZV iewItem Buy 'em once, use forever. Jim -- ================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================== |
Ig's concept of a "big hole' is a little different than ours : ) By the time you drill the pilot for a Greenlee, you're almost 1/2"! "Eat at Sloppy Joes" wrote in message ... GREENLEE punch "Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i |
Ignoramus27279 wrote:
For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i Hole saw |
"B.B." u wrote:
My variation is two pieces of wood, with the plate sandwiched in between. If you need to see the plate to line up the hole, pre-drill the top piece of wood. Now we're getting somewhere. Sandwhich the thin stock between two pieces of thicker stock. Wood will work but to really keep the thin plate stock from lifting/burring at all when the drill flutes get a bite on it, I'd use scrap metal (steel or alum) and really pinch the plate tightly. Also firmly secure the work to your drill press table, forget about the bench vise and the hand drill. If the work is not firmly secured and drilled with a rigid spindle (as opposed to hand drill), the thinner the stock is the more likely you end up with a "triangular" (also under sized) instead of perfectly round hole. This is the sort of drilling operation that a mill is real handy for but there's no reason you can't do just as well with a drill press, it will just take longer to set up. Dennis van Dam |
Ignoramus27279 writes:
The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Screw it down on a scrap of lumber. |
"Richard J Kinch" wrote: Screw it down on a scrap of lumber. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is the best idea in the list, if you juat want tio get the job done easily. Make sure the wood is long enough and slender enough to hold in one hand, to prevent rotation, while feeding the drill with the other. |
Ignoramus27279 wrote: For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i There's Greenlee chassis punches that will do this in a jiffy and leave nice clean edges, downside is that for a couple holes they're outrageously expensive unless you can find some used or surplus. A sheetmetal shop should have punches that size, might take some sucking up/doughnuts/six pack for them to do it at a reasonable cost, though. Alternative, Unibit stepped bit. Think the company is Irwin-ed now but the major hardware chains carry them now. Also kind of spendy, $14-20 range, but will also cut cleanly and leave fairly smooth edges. Screw your piece to a wood block and drill it that way. Beats getting your hands sliced up when(not if) the drill grabs and you get the whirlaway. Stan |
Unibit stepped drill bit makes this pretty easy to do if you use the piece
of wood behind the metal as was suggested by others. then you are only drilling a small amount with each step. Doug "Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i |
If I want a hole much larger than I can drill, this is what I do. Mark
the centre of the hole using a centre punch, then score a line around the circumference using a pair of dividers. Then, inside the first circle, score another circle with a radius about 1 mm smaller. Then use a small drill (say 3 mm) and a drill press to drill a ring of holes, nearly touching, inside the smaller circle. Then take the metal plate, put it in a vice and use a punch to knock out the circle inside the small holes you've drilled. Then take a half-round file and carefully enlarge the hole until it meets the first line you scored. You can make quite a neat hole this way if you're patient. I've often used this method to make mounting holes for switches, etc. Chris |
In article k.net,
Rick wrote: Ig's concept of a "big hole' is a little different than ours : ) By the time you drill the pilot for a Greenlee, you're almost 1/2"! But a Greenlee punch is available to punch the 15/32" hole with a key tab to keep the switch from rotating in the hole. And a 15/32" Greenlee chassis punch without the key would use about a 3/8" drivescrew, IIRC. Enjoy, DoN. -- Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564 (too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html --- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero --- |
also check out the step drill bits - real slick - and expensive too. makes
short work of hole making. "DoN. Nichols" wrote in message ... In article k.net, Rick wrote: Ig's concept of a "big hole' is a little different than ours : ) By the time you drill the pilot for a Greenlee, you're almost 1/2"! But a Greenlee punch is available to punch the 15/32" hole with a key tab to keep the switch from rotating in the hole. And a 15/32" Greenlee chassis punch without the key would use about a 3/8" drivescrew, IIRC. Enjoy, DoN. -- Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564 (too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html --- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero --- |
My Greenlee 1/2" is a 1/4" bolt.
Martin Rick wrote: Ig's concept of a "big hole' is a little different than ours : ) By the time you drill the pilot for a Greenlee, you're almost 1/2"! "Eat at Sloppy Joes" wrote in message ... GREENLEE punch "Ignoramus27279" wrote in message .. . For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. Just a little more detail. The electrical box from home depot will be mounted on outside. I will punch out a hole in the side for incoming electcical cable that will then go into the back of the box iinto the inside of my RPC. The electrical box will be covered by a solid, "blind" standard cover. I will drill two 1/2" holes in the cover to accommodate my pushbutton switches that I salvaged from some equipment earlier. One switch (NO) will be the start switch and the NC switch will be the stop switch. The issue is, how do I drill big holes in small plate. I cannot simply fixate it in my vise, because it would bend. I cannot drill 1/2" holes and hold the plate with pliers, I know that it is unsafe. Help me resolve this quandary. I have a regular floor drill press. Maybe I will drill a small hole with my DP, holding the cover with pliers, and then would mount the plate in my bench vise and use a hand drill. i -- Martin Eastburn @ home at Lion's Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
jim rozen wrote:
In article , Don Foreman says... Yow, I see that a basic Stanley brace now goes for $79, but they're on Ebay for less, and might be found cheap at garage sales or estate sales. Greenlee punches are pretty inexpensive: http://cgi.ebay.com/GREENLEE-KNOCKOUT-PUNCH-AND-DIE-SET-5-8_W0QQitemZ7533622321QQcategoryZ73116QQrdZ1QQcmdZV iewItem Buy 'em once, use forever. Jim One thing - Greenlee chassis punches are measured using the bottom cutter. e.g. the hole size it punches is the punch size. Knockout punches by Greenlee - are for the Electrical trade - and are Conduit inside sizes. e.g. a 1/2" Knockout is for tubing with ID 1/2". It punches the outer size that is larger than the marked size of 1/2". I bought a nice set of Knocks and couldn't use them. 1972. Had a nice handle system... Martin -- Martin Eastburn @ home at Lion's Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
Leo Lichtman wrote:
"Richard J Kinch" wrote: Screw it down on a scrap of lumber. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is the best idea in the list, if you juat want tio get the job done easily. Make sure the wood is long enough and slender enough to hold in one hand, to prevent rotation, while feeding the drill with the other. On something like that, I make it long enough to hold up against the column. It is far stronger than my hand and won't break under extreme conditions. Martin -- Martin Eastburn @ home at Lion's Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
Costco carries a set of them at a reasonable price. Chinese quality I expect
but might be ok for low usage. Karl "Eat at Sloppy Joes" wrote in message ... also check out the step drill bits - real slick - and expensive too. makes short work of hole making. "DoN. Nichols" wrote in message ... In article k.net, Rick wrote: Ig's concept of a "big hole' is a little different than ours : ) By the time you drill the pilot for a Greenlee, you're almost 1/2"! But a Greenlee punch is available to punch the 15/32" hole with a key tab to keep the switch from rotating in the hole. And a 15/32" Greenlee chassis punch without the key would use about a 3/8" drivescrew, IIRC. Enjoy, DoN. -- Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564 (too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html --- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero --- |
|
"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message ... In article k.net, Rick wrote: Ig's concept of a "big hole' is a little different than ours : ) By the time you drill the pilot for a Greenlee, you're almost 1/2"! But a Greenlee punch is available to punch the 15/32" hole with a key tab to keep the switch from rotating in the hole. And a 15/32" Greenlee chassis punch without the key would use about a 3/8" drivescrew, IIRC. Enjoy, DoN. I'd have to look. Most of the ones I use are 3/8 or the larger hydraulic ones. As I see it, he's got 2 holes to drill, he's probably not going to buy a punch or unibit (he said he may not even have a 15/32" twist drill). The hole is probably going to be distorted if he uses a twist drill, so he might as well drill to 3/8" and hand work from there . I like your other idea of using a tapered hand reamer, but he may not have one of those, either. And truth be known, in an emergency I've used a spur tipped spade bit : ) |
"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message ... "Richard J Kinch" wrote: Screw it down on a scrap of lumber. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is the best idea in the list, if you juat want tio get the job done easily. Make sure the wood is long enough and slender enough to hold in one hand, to prevent rotation, while feeding the drill with the other. The hole may still be distorted, though. Much nicer results when the work piece is clamped between 2 pieces of wood (or steel)... |
"Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. ..===snip--- I'd use a hole saw. They sell sets at Harbor Freight on the cheap. Clamp the sheet metal piece in a sandwich of wood on your drill press table using two C clamps. Set drill speed low and feed with frequent backups to clear chips. |
Pete Keillor wrote:
On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 07:39:36 -0400, Pete Keillor wrote: On 29 Jul 2005 20:16:48 -0400, (DoN. Nichols) wrote: In article k.net, Rick wrote: Ig's concept of a "big hole' is a little different than ours : ) By the time you drill the pilot for a Greenlee, you're almost 1/2"! But a Greenlee punch is available to punch the 15/32" hole with a key tab to keep the switch from rotating in the hole. And a 15/32" Greenlee chassis punch without the key would use about a 3/8" drivescrew, IIRC. Enjoy, DoN. I agree with DoN for home. For work, I design the entire enclosure with all holes larger than a 1/4" or so, and send it to Saginaw Controls down the road. They plasma cut the entire sheet, including tabs for standard controls, and then bend it up and weld it. This works especially well in stainless (I do a lot of sanitary stuff), which is a pain to punch with a Greenlee. By the way, I told one of the older electricians about the trick I learned here to NOT centerpunch stainless before drilling, use low speed and lube. He was amazed at the improvement. Pete Keillor On second thought, I'm not sure whether its plasma, abrasive water jet, or what. Would plasma work on stainless? It is CNC. Pete Plasma loves Stainless. Turns the edges blue and brown. Beautiful. Deposits chrome balls - that have oxides on them under the cut area. But yes - cuts like a dream. Really any conductive or semi-conductive material. Plasma is a current - high burst of electrons that blast a heat spot and the air pressure blows out the molten metal. Martin -- Martin Eastburn @ home at Lion's Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 21:06:34 GMT, the opaque Ignoramus27279
clearly wrote: On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 15:26:46 GMT, Wayne Lundberg wrote: "Ignoramus27279" wrote in message ... For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. .===snip--- I'd use a hole saw. They sell sets at Harbor Freight on the cheap. Clamp the sheet metal piece in a sandwich of wood on your drill press table using two C clamps. Set drill speed low and feed with frequent backups to clear chips. I have never seen 0.5" OD hole saws... Spot weld cutters are that size hole saws and come larger/smaller. http://www.tools-plus.com/ast722.html Center pin is spring-loaded. http://setools.com/miva?/Merchant2/m...ory_Co de=SWC I have a diamond dust set (Ebay vendor mistake) with a 1/2-incher. Similar to: http://www.toolprice.com/product/7130A -- Guns don't kill people. Rappers do! ----------------------------------- www.diversify.com Rap-free Website Development |
Ignoramus27279 wrote:
On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 15:26:46 GMT, Wayne Lundberg wrote: "Ignoramus27279" wrote in message .. . For my rotary phase converter, I want to install an electrical box to take in incoming electrical wire and to install two pushbutton switches on it. .===snip--- I'd use a hole saw. They sell sets at Harbor Freight on the cheap. Clamp the sheet metal piece in a sandwich of wood on your drill press table using two C clamps. Set drill speed low and feed with frequent backups to clear chips. I have never seen 0.5" OD hole saws... i Just get a step drill and get your hole done;-) Serious, they're one of those tools you can do without for a lifetime, but once you try it you'll probably always have one around. John |
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