Drilling Accurate Holes in Thin Sheet Metal With Twist Drills

[jonlegrand1]

Thank you for sharing. This is a good technique if you're in a pinch, however, I would not do this on a regular basis. Using a sheet metal punch is much safer and no risk of a very sharp-edged piece spinning.

I picked up a used Pexto no. 5 punch for $25 (I think) earlier this year. It's from the late 1930s. Still work fantastic. A perfectly punched hole every time in sheet metal. New these punches are $80.

pexto 5 punch for sale | eBay
Pexto 5 Jr Hand Punch only – Batavia Machinery, Inc (machineryone.com)

[WmRMeyers]

Thank you for sharing. This is a good technique if you're in a pinch, however, I would not do this on a regular basis. Using a sheet metal punch is much safer and no risk of a very sharp-edged piece spinning.

I picked up a used Pexto no. 5 punch for $25 (I think) earlier this year. It's from the late 1930s. Still work fantastic. A perfectly punched hole every time in sheet metal. New these punches are $80.

pexto 5 punch for sale | eBay
Pexto 5 Jr Hand Punch only – Batavia Machinery, Inc (machineryone.com)

I've got a couple of those punches, though one of mine is a Whitney-Roper, and the other a cheap copy, and if you only need holes near the edge of your sheet metal, they are very nice. Unfortunately, they're useless more than an inch or so from the edge of the metal. Great tools within their envelope, even the import, but not a replacement for the drill press. I was using them to put rivet holes in bits of metal that were going to be armour for medieval recreationists. Haven't done that in a few decades, but still have them. Also three different sizes of drill press. Hi! My name is Bill, and I'm a toolohaulic!