Slinging.org Forum - How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal

xxkid123

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How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal
Jun 25^th, 2012, 8:48pm

Hey, I've been designing and working on making a brigandine vest for some time (see this thread: http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1336450954/0)

Right now I'm trying to think of the best way to punch holes in sheet metal. I'm going to be using aluminum (probably 12-16 gauge, still not sure until I actually go to the store and see the stuff) to make the plates with. I'm probably going to need to punch 200 holes around 1/8in diameter, preferably within 15 hours of consecutive work (or around a week or so of punching). Are there any specific punches for sheet metal that are similar to a rotary leather hand punch? Or anything that can punch holes without needing something terribly elaborate?

I have a drill, but I'm hoping for something faster. I know there are pneumatic punches out there, but I'm not the one paying for this stuff (my parents are) so I'm hoping for some tool less than 20 dollars.

The holes don't need to be terribly precise, as long as I can keep it within maybe a 1/4 inch area I'll be fine. They're for rivets, which I'll be attaching to a canvas doublet.

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Pikåru Interfector Viris Spurii Experience teaches only the teachable... Posts: 1357 Gender:	Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal Reply #1 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 12:48am Punching holes in alluminum will cause warping unless it is an aluminum alloy that is hard enough to punch without distortion. Your best bet may be a drill. It will take time but without an automated system that will employ a punch and an anvil, you may be restricted to just drilling holes.
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xxkid123

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Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal
Reply #2 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 1:17am

Quote from Pikaru on Jun 26^th, 2012, 12:48am:

Punching holes in alluminum will cause warping unless it is an aluminum alloy that is hard enough to punch without distortion. Your best bet may be a drill. It will take time but without an automated system that will employ a punch and an anvil, you may be restricted to just drilling holes.

hmm, would I be able to pound it flat with a mallet or hammer after? Actually, I might be using tin snips to cut out the plates anyways, so I'll have to hammer it flat. That said, are there any punches designed for sheet metal?

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curious_aardvark

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Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal
Reply #3 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 6:23am

A hammer and suitably sized nail.
Quick, accurate but not as neat as a drill.

Also bear in mind that a drill removes the material from inside the hole (nasty shards of sharp curly metal). Any other method of hole punching leaves it there.
You can debur afterwards to remove the punched out metal.

But at the end of the day a cheapo rechargeable drill and a titanium coated drill bit are your best option.

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jlasud Interfector Viris Spurii Programming stones Posts: 1659 Gender:	Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal Reply #4 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 6:43am 200 holes holes is easy,i've worked with metal in series...specially alu.I would just drill them,or if you don't want it too tidy,nail them.If you choose to drill them,i would make a simple clamp to hold 10 at a time,and drill them at "once".
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Mauro Fiorentini Slinging.org Moderator Forge your future with the hammer of your mind! Posts: 3072 Gender:	Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal Reply #5 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 6:51am Hammer and nails, luckily you're working with aluminium, I once had to make some iron lamellae for a Lombard helm (+- 30 pieces) and it was terrible to heat the iron, pierce it, and after all refine the holes with a small file! Greetings, Mauro.
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Dan Interfector Viris Spurii SlingingGuide Moderator Slinging Rocks! Posts: 3389 Gender:	Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal Reply #6 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 8:02am A drill or a hammer and a nail will work but I think the best tool for the job would be a drill press. Aluminum is pretty soft so you shouldn't have too much trouble with any of those tools, a drill press would just be way neater and faster.
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Bill Skinner

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Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal
Reply #7 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 9:38am

Aluminum work hardens very quickly, depending on the alloy you have, it may crack when you try to punch a hole or when you hammer it flat. Get a small piece and try. If you want to get fancy, you can use a hardened taper punch of the correct size but until you get some experiance, your holes will be different sizes when the punch goes deeper or shallower, that will also crack some of them, also. If a nail will work, it has parallel sides, it will make the same sizes holes. You may want to round the tip of the nail some, the point is stamped and has some edges.

If you can clamp 4-10 pieces together, a drill will work much better and a drill press would be the best.

How are you going to cut the metal?

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Arcane Tinker Descens Slinging everything 'cept b.s. Posts: 308 Gender:	Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal Reply #8 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 11:56am If all your holes need to be made near the edges of the metal, I might suggest a "Whitney " punch. That's what us tinners call them anyway. Obviously, Roper Whitney. Makes them, but I heard the Malco brand one is pretty good too. They're not super cheap, but you'll probably have it for life.
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Torc Descens Slinging Boar Shot! Posts: 163 Gender:	Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal Reply #9 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 12:00pm http://www.anytimesale.com/servlet/the-11/1-TON-Powerful-Sheet/Detail http://compare.ebay.com/like/280887544525?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes &var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y - $36 with free shipping. Unfortunately you will not likely find a tool to do the job for less than that.
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xxkid123

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Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal
Reply #10 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 3:05pm

Thatnks for the replies. Neatness is not an issue, so I'll give the hammer and nail method a try. If that doesn't work I'll use the drill and clamp the pieces together. I don't have many tools so I'm pretty limited in what I'll do.

As for cutting out the plates, I'll be using a hacksaw and file. Certainly not as fast as things go... But I prefer doing the work myself then giving it to a shop to do. Most of my plates will be strips anyways, and home depot/lowes sells aluminum straps that are the right width. I'd just need to cut the strips to the right lengths and file the edges.

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Pikåru Interfector Viris Spurii Experience teaches only the teachable... Posts: 1357 Gender:	Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal Reply #11 - Jun 26^th, 2012, 10:55pm If you're making little plates to be attached to cloth, you can stack the plates and drill several at once if suitably clamped.
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jlasud

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Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal
Reply #12 - Jun 27^th, 2012, 2:18am

Quote from xxkid123 on Jun 26^th, 2012, 3:05pm:

Thatnks for the replies. Neatness is not an issue, so I'll give the hammer and nail method a try. If that doesn't work I'll use the drill and clamp the pieces together. I don't have many tools so I'm pretty limited in what I'll do.

As for cutting out the plates, I'll be using a hacksaw and file. Certainly not as fast as things go... But I prefer doing the work myself then giving it to a shop to do. Most of my plates will be strips anyways, and home depot/lowes sells aluminum straps that are the right width. I'd just need to cut the strips to the right lengths and file the edges.

You could cut them real quick with a steel sheet cutter,simple,cheap tool,like a scissors for metal,cuts ALU like paper.You might use it for other occasions and is the simplest tool i would start this job with.Much faster than a hacksaw and file.

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Mauro Fiorentini Slinging.org Moderator Forge your future with the hammer of your mind! Posts: 3072 Gender:	Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal Reply #13 - Jun 27^th, 2012, 4:35am Get a pair of metal scissors!! Greetings, Mauro.
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perpetualstudent

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Re: How to quickly make small holes in sheet metal
Reply #14 - Jun 27^th, 2012, 7:52am

I think you can get a metal hole punch that works with a hammer. I seem to recall running across such a thing the last time I was researching lamallar. But the idea is that it would actually remove the metal center unlike a nail. You might want to look for that, I'm in a hurry right now and my 30 second google search didn't turn anything up. Might be worth looking into.

But I think using a drill press (or just a drill) as the others have said along with stacked and clamped plates would be your best bet for getting nice clean holes which will be important for lacing the plates together.

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