🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Aug21.012025.13775@pony.Ingres.COM>,
bonobo@Ingres.COM (David Victor) wrote:
 
> I'm trying to make a nice-looking aluminum front panel for a project,
> and I'd like to be able to use rectangular switches, possibly other
> squared-off displays, etc.  How do you cut a perfectly-squared-off hole
> in an aluminum panel?  Is there some home-brew method I'm not aware of?

The best way, of course, is to use a chassis punch.  You drill a hole
(within the final desired rectangle, of course) and thread through the
screw.  Then the screw tightens the knife part of the punch into the
die part of the punch, and cuts the hole cleanly.  The downside is the
expense of the punch itself.

The next cheapest way is to use a "nibbling tool", a hand-operated tool
that "nibbles" rectangular chunks (about 1/4" by 1/10") each time you
actuate the handle.  You drill a hole, within the final rectangle, just
big enough to get the nibbler's head in.  Then you nibble out to "near"
the rectangles boundary, and finish up with a metal file (though
actually after a little practice you can get very precise at the border
by "nibbling" less than a full "bite").  This is especially effective
if you have a bezel to mount around the hole to hide the edges.

I should probably invest in a DB-25 chassis punch, since it is really
tedious making that odd shape with a nibbler...