What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.

On 29 Jun 2005 06:03:00 -0700, babbled like a
waterfall and said:

What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.

What sort of holes? Round, square, size?

wrote:
What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?

There exist drills that'll do holes many meters in diameter.

Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.

Assuming you mean a mains electric drill, with a 15mm or so chuck.

How big?
Is the edge finish critical?
How round does it have to be?

For aluminium, it files very fast, so a quick method can be to draw out
the circle required on the aluminium, then drill smaller holes with the
drill you have around the inside of the line, followed up by a half-round
file.
This can give very accurate holes, limited only by your patience.
For some things, you don't really need to clean it up beyond removing most
of the sharp bits.
A jigsaw is an alternative method.

wrote in message
oups.com...
What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.

No hole is too large for a drill, unless you mean too large to drill through
in one pass. You just drill lots of smaller holes just inside the waste area
of the hole you want, join them up and file the edge smooth. Alternatively,
take it to a sheet metal workshop, where they will probably use a big press
to punch the hole for you in a fraction of the time.

Colin Bignell

wrote:
What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.

Scarat cutter(or tank cutters as their known) or Hole punch which use a
allen key to tighten the punch as it's cutting

What sort of holes? Round, square, size?
Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.
Simon.

wrote:
What sort of holes? Round, square, size?

Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.

That's not big!
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=15976&ts=55081


--
Grunff

In article .com,
writes:
What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.

You might try a 20mm hole punch. You need to drill an 8mm
hole to start with. 20mm is a standard electricians hole punch
size, so it should be easy to get (can't remember where mine
came from but any tool or electrical supplier will have them).
You'll also need a very good quality 8mm allen key (or whatever
size bolt your hole pucn takes).

I've cut 2mm steal, which was about the limit this way (had
to clamp the workpiece and stand on the allen key to get the
punch to cut through) Not sure how 3mm aluminium compares to
that.

--
Andrew Gabriel

On 29 Jun 2005 15:22:54 GMT, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

In article .com,
writes:
What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.

You might try a 20mm hole punch. You need to drill an 8mm
hole to start with. 20mm is a standard electricians hole punch
size, so it should be easy to get (can't remember where mine
came from but any tool or electrical supplier will have them).
You'll also need a very good quality 8mm allen key (or whatever
size bolt your hole pucn takes).

I've cut 2mm steal, which was about the limit this way (had
to clamp the workpiece and stand on the allen key to get the
punch to cut through) Not sure how 3mm aluminium compares to
that.

3mm may be pusing it for a hole punch, depending how sharp it is.
A holesaw may be better.

In article . com,
wrote:
What sort of holes? Round, square, size?

Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.

What you really need is a Q-Max punch. This gives a near perfect hole with
no distortion of the sheet.

About a fiver from any decent tool shop.

--
*The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

wrote:
What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.

=====================
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...59404&ts=69652

Cic.

wrote:

What sort of holes? Round, square, size?

Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.
Simon.

You would end up with a three cornered hole if you used a normal drill
in that thickness of metal :-)


Dave

On 29 Jun 2005 06:03:00 -0700, wrote:

What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.


http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/...Hole%20Cutters

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 21:20:08 +0100,it is alleged that Nobody
spake thusly in uk.d-i-y:



http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/...Hole%20Cutters

That page is SO bookmarked:-) Can't believe the low prices!

--
Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.
- Albert Einstein

wrote:
What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.


How about a "cone cut" aka "step drill". Clamp the workpiece down hard
though.

--
Spamtrap in use
To email replace 127.0.0.1 with blueyonder dot co dot uk

In message . com,
writes
What sort of holes? Round, square, size?
Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.
Simon.

Something like

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSea...=TL06485&N=411

although you should be able to get them much cheaper, about £20 IIRC

--
geoff

In article , "raden"
says...
In message . com,
writes
What sort of holes? Round, square, size?
Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.
Simon.

Something like

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSea...=TL06485&N=411

although you should be able to get them much cheaper, about £20 IIRC


Someone already posted a link to one at Screwfix.

In message , Rob Morley
writes
In article , "raden"
says...
In message . com,
writes
What sort of holes? Round, square, size?
Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.
Simon.

Something like

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSea...=TL06485&N=411

although you should be able to get them much cheaper, about £20 IIRC


Someone already posted a link to one at Screwfix.

Really ?

Yes I saw it

--
geoff

wrote:

What sort of holes? Round, square, size?

Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.

Or a hole saw:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...18700&ts=98679


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
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\================================================= ================/

wrote in message
ups.com...
What sort of holes? Round, square, size?
Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.

For that diameter, I would use a No 4 Norton's fly press and a punch & die
set, but I doubt most people have them available. The easiest way with a
drill would be a hole saw or a step drill, both of which are readily
available from electrical wholesalers; 20mm is a standard size for
electrical conduit.

Colin Bignell

In article ,
nightjar nightjar@insert my surname here.uk.com wrote:
For that diameter, I would use a No 4 Norton's fly press and a punch &
die set, but I doubt most people have them available. The easiest way
with a drill would be a hole saw or a step drill, both of which are
readily available from electrical wholesalers; 20mm is a standard size
for electrical conduit.

Having punched many holes in electronic chassis etc, the best way by far
without an expensive press is a Q-max which produces a near perfect hole.
Hole saws don't, and neither do step drills. It's also difficult to keep a
step drill from wandering. A Q-Max can be as accurate as your skills in
positioning it.

3mm ally sheet will be fine - but keep the threads in the punch well
greased.

They're about a fiver for a 20mm one.

--
*If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Mike Harrison wrote:
On 29 Jun 2005 15:22:54 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

I've cut 2mm steel, which was about the limit this way (had
to clamp the workpiece and stand on the allen key to get the
punch to cut through) Not sure how 3mm aluminium compares to
that.

3mm may be pushing it for a hole punch, depending how sharp it is.

All the problems are in the early stages, when you're trying to pull the
two blunt points of the punch through the metal by brute force.

So in addition to the main pilot hole, drill two more holes 180deg
apart, with their edges just touching the inside of the scribed circle.
Settle the points into those, and then the cutting edges of the punch
will shear the rest of the hole quite comfortably.

A thin smear of moly grease on the screw threads, bearing washer and
shearing edges will also help a lot.

Another dirty trick is to file flats on the head of the allen screw,
grip it in the vice and turn the workpiece.


--
Ian White

In article . com,
wrote:
What sort of holes? Round, square, size?

Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.

About 25 years ago I bought a tapered cutter, tradename
Conecut. It needs about a 12mm to start and will gradually
widen the hole up to a maximum of 35mm. Very (very) expensive,
but one of those tools you keep for years and, each time you
need it, it pays it's ground rent.

When sharp it would even drill a perfect hole for a wastepipe
in the side of a wooden sink unit. It was only used it in the
carpenters brace, and that kept it sharp for about 15 years.
Then one day (as you do) I needed something done in a hurry and
used it in the 600rpm 1hp Stanley drill.

--
Tony Williams.

In article , "Tony Williams"
says...
In article . com,
wrote:
What sort of holes? Round, square, size?

Round, about 20mm diameter. I could maybe get a drill that size.

About 25 years ago I bought a tapered cutter, tradename
Conecut. It needs about a 12mm to start and will gradually
widen the hole up to a maximum of 35mm. Very (very) expensive,
but one of those tools you keep for years and, each time you
need it, it pays it's ground rent.

When sharp it would even drill a perfect hole for a wastepipe
in the side of a wooden sink unit. It was only used it in the
carpenters brace, and that kept it sharp for about 15 years.
Then one day (as you do) I needed something done in a hurry and
used it in the 600rpm 1hp Stanley drill.

So get it sharpened.

In article ,
Rob Morley wrote:

says...
[Conecut]
Then one day (as you do) I needed something done in a hurry and
used it in the 600rpm 1hp Stanley drill.

So get it sharpened.

Kept the old one for rough jobs and bought two
more, small and large.

--
Tony Williams.

wrote:

What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.

20 ton press and punch and die set.

Qmax cutters for the one offs

Well, I used a hole saw + hand drill in the end. I clamped the alu
sheet onto a good block of wood, punched it, drilled a very small pilot
hole, drilled a long pilot hole into the wood using the drill bit that
came with the saw, attached the saw, and it went through fairly easily.
I used quite a slow drill speed. I think steel would have been more of
a job.
Thanks for all the responses.
Simon.

In message , The Natural
Philosopher writes
wrote:

What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.

20 ton press

Ooh, I've prolly got one of those in my toolbox

and punch and die set.

Qmax cutters for the one offs

--
geoff

On Friday, in article
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote:

wrote:

What is the best way to cut holes too big for a drill ?
Aluminium sheet approc 3mm thick.
TIA,
Simon.

20 ton press and punch and die set.

Qmax cutters for the one offs

The OP hasn't said how close to the edge of the sheet the hole is wanted,
but is the Abrafile still in manufacture? I remember using this tool in
a jigsaw (that's the hand-tool, not the misnomer power-tool) for cutting
all sorts of oddly shaped holes in electronics chasses, both aluminium
and mild steel.

--
Brian {Hamilton Kelly}
"Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu
le loisir de la faire plus courte."
Blaise Pascal, /Lettres Provinciales/, 1657