Best Way To Make A Hole In Sheet Metal

For lamps you need grommet for cable.

Best way to make a hole in sheet metal.

You can then use a. Your first step should always be to locate the centers of all the holes you will need to make. Make a sandwich for clean precise holes in thin sheet metal make a wood sandwich. How to work with sheet metal.

At first locate the center of the whole. Always use a clamp or three. Now it s time to use that center punch. Typically the hole is large and the sheet metal won t fit on my cnc milling machine so i m left flailing.

Place your sheet metal on your steel block and position your centre punch at a central point in your cut out design. Twist drills are great for small diameter holes. Simply sandwich the sheet metal between two pieces of wood and clamp everything down on a table or workbench. Tap your hammer to leave an indentation on the sheet metal.

A quick 2 minute video showing some tips ideas for drilling holes in sheetmetal. Put your ink to the use and mark the hole center. 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. Next use a compass to outline the edge 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. There is a male punch that is just a few thousandths smaller than the lower female dies. Remove sharp edges with round file or stone. 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.

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. This will create dimples in the sheet. You have any suggestions for drilling holes. Use your center punch to strike at the center of the hole.