Best Way To Make A Hole In Sheet Metal

This will create dimples in the sheet.

Best way to make a hole in sheet metal.

Now it s time to use that center punch. Metal hand punch a metal hole punch works much like a paper hole punch. Tap your hammer to leave an indentation on the sheet metal. For lamps you need grommet for cable.

Remove sharp edges with round file or stone. Typically the hole is large and the sheet metal won t fit on my cnc milling machine so i m left flailing. Use your center punch to strike at the center of the hole. Depending on the tools you have you ll now need to punch or drill a hole where the indentation has been made to produce an accurate hole in your sheet metal.

With this tool you stick an endmill in a die grinder put the grinder in the little fixture so it can pivot drill yourself a pilot hole for the pivot and away you go. Always use a clamp or three. Twist drills are great for small diameter holes. The wooden bread layers of the sandwich keep the sheet metal flat and prevent the drill bit from wandering as it bores through the sheet metal.

A quick 2 minute video showing some tips ideas for drilling holes in sheetmetal. You can then use a. Using a step drill bit. Next use a compass to outline the edge of the hole.

For making clean holes in thin metal use a punch as used for leather and canvas comes in many sizes hit with hammer and use wood as support end grain preferred. Your first step should always be to locate the centers of all the holes you will need to make. Simply sandwich the sheet metal between two pieces of wood and clamp everything down on a table or workbench. At first locate the center of the whole.

Put your ink to the use and mark the hole center. Make a sandwich for clean precise holes in thin sheet metal make a wood sandwich. You have any suggestions for drilling holes. As you force the upper punch into the metal the lower female die supports the metal and lets the upper die cut the hole and force it through the die.