irvined
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 11:52 AM |
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Creating Holes in Aluminium
Hello,
Whats the best way to create holes in the ali for things like the suspension arms, and fuel filler etc? I was thinking 1/2 inch drill bit with block
of wood behind panel, followed by nibbling out the right size?
Surely theres a better way....
Cheers
David
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britishtrident
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 11:59 AM |
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1/2" drill will chew sheet aluminium --- start with a 1/8" pilot hole then bigger drill so you can use a hole cutter -- either a good
quality hole saw or a puka punch die type tank cutter to give you a hole bigg enough to use the nibbler.
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DaveFJ
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 12:34 PM |
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depending on how big a hole you are after, I would recomend drawing the exact circle you want removed then chain drilling with a small drill just
inside this circle (put some wood behind the sheet if it is very thin). Then carefully open the hole up with a half round file.
Alternatively there are special punches that you can buy that are a 2 part device which you put either side of the sheet and then screw together
(obviously needs a pilot hole) ; apprently they work like a guilotine to give you a perfect hole. dunno where you get them from though.
HTH
Dave
"In Support of Help the Heroes" - Always
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locoboy
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 12:35 PM |
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I cut these by chain drilling just inside the mark i scribed on it and snipping through between the drill holes with a pair of wire cutters
then i used a file and finally a small drill mounted grinding stone to finish it off.
once polished it looked ok - took quite a long time to do and you needed to be carefull when handling it so as not to scratch it bend it.
Thats the back, the front was less scratched.
[img][/img]
ATB
Locoboy
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NS Dev
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 12:39 PM |
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hole saw??
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locoboy
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 01:03 PM |
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why buy a hole saw (if you can get one in the right size anyway) when your probably not going to use it again in the build?
For a bit of time and thought you can achieve pretty good results using other far cheaper methods.
ATB
Locoboy
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 01:22 PM |
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Chain drilling every time, it is very quick in ally
 
Rescued attachment chain drill.jpg
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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DaveFJ
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 01:24 PM |
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These are the gizmo's I was refering to.
bloody expensive though
Linky
Dave
"In Support of Help the Heroes" - Always
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SeaBass
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 01:26 PM |
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Trepanning Bit/Tank Cutter, used carefully in a decent pillar drill with scrap wood underneath. Small amount of deburring afterwards. Roberts your
fathers...
Cheers
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tom_loughlin
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 01:42 PM |
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i chain drilled small holes just inside, then opened up with a jigsaw (but remember to mask up well first.
used the same idea for fibreglass.
Tom
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paulbeyer
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 02:24 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by DaveFJ
These are the gizmo's I was refering to.
bloody expensive though
Linky
We had a few of these in my last job. The finished result is amazing. I thought they were the dogs nuts until I went to our lab in the U.S. where they
had a set of about 20 in a wooden case along with a hydraulic press to operate them. Nice.
7 out of 10 people suffer with hemorrhoids. Does that mean the other 3 enjoy them?
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MikeR
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 05:39 PM |
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I've got a set of hole saws that claim they can go through ali.....
as long as you keep the speed down with some lube i'd have thought they would be ok to pretty good (but i haven't tried them
yet).......
So if you're willing to be a guinea pig 
(come on, you should have known to ask me first by now!)
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Peteff
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 06:34 PM |
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I've done some 50mm round with a bimetal hole saw in 16g aluminum sheet. No problem as long as the sheets held firmly
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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NS Dev
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| posted on 24/1/05 at 10:28 PM |
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when making various bits for crossmembers for rally cars etc I have used a 50mm bimetal hole saw to go through 6mm steel plate, so I don't think
it'll struggle too much with ally sheet!
Mike, if yours is one of those sets with the interchangeable springy rings, chuck it!! They are crap. You are welcome to borrow my bimetal ones!!
Also, on the point about not needing them after the build, that's just not how I think!! I buy stuff cos it's useful, and finds uses for
all sorts of jobs afterwards!!
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MikeR
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| posted on 25/1/05 at 06:05 PM |
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errm, not sure what you are on about........
mine are like ........
[quick web search later]web link
although mine are cheaper!
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Mix
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 09:44 AM |
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Slight variation on the norm.
Chain drill, separate with small electrical wire cutters and clean up with a burr fitted to a die grinder.
Mick
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DaveFJ
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 09:51 AM |
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On thin sheet metal -( especially ally) - I prefer to finish the hole (post chain drilling) with a half round hand file, I find that power tools are
just too much and you end up making a mess of it, you get far more control with a hand file (IMHO of course)
Dave
"In Support of Help the Heroes" - Always
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alfasudsprint
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 10:31 AM |
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Jigsaw with very fine tooth blade and lube, file after...nice result too.
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MikeR
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 11:02 AM |
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just make sure you don't drop a 2 foot metal bar from about 3 foot onto your finger when your trying to get the bimetal saws out .....
Irvined has photographic evidence of what happened to my finger..... it hurts!
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NS Dev
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 12:24 PM |
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those saws are fine Mike, you can get really cheap ones with a big arbor that the separate spring steel blades clamp into, and are really crap. Yours
are fine!
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Jeffers_S13
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 05:10 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by alfasudsprint
Jigsaw with very fine tooth blade and lube, file after...nice result too.
snap, did my dash with jigsaw, the only issue I could see arising is that it may scratch the metal either side of the cut where the bottom plate rubs,
obviously my dash will be covered so this wasnt a problem for me, did a good job and dead quick compared to my efforts with chain drilling, I found
that to be slow in comparison.
James
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Danozeman
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 07:47 PM |
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If u mask it up when using a jig saw theres no scratches. Ive done this loads of times. You can get a decentish set of holesaws from b n q for a
tenner, thye drill throu aly no probs. If theyr shagged for a tenner u can sling em anyway........
Dan
Built the purple peril!! Let the modifications begin!!
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk
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mattplace
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 08:06 PM |
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those screw together hole punches are brilliant. i have a couple of various sizes and are very reasonable from "cromwell" industrial
suppliers.
if theres one near you, pop in and get a catalogue. its about as thick as the yellow pages and full of tools
if you get that catalogue they are on page948. eg of price is £5.50 for a 1"cutter. not a bad price i thought.
they are on the net too at www.cromwell.co.uk
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NS Dev
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| posted on 26/1/05 at 11:58 PM |
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I have mentioned Cromwell in the tools section. Our main tool account is with them at work, and it's a pretty big account (we are a steel
rolling mill so get through a few tools!)
They are a really excellent supplier, not the very cheapest, but they don't stock "cheap" (i.e far eastern and falls to bits)
stuff!! What they do stock is loads of stuff like the hole punches thatmattplace mentioned, and loads of other small and generally tricky to find
tooling, at a reasonable cost, as well as anything else you can imagine tool-wise!
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flyingkiwi
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| posted on 29/1/05 at 07:05 PM |
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Just spotted this if it's any help, not too expensive either.
http://www.nfauto.co.uk/hole_saw_kit.htm
Chris
It Runs!!!!! Bring on the SVA!
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