Turtlerock Forum

They are on the bigger side of holes I guess. For a drill bit thats 3/4 of a inch, a hole that will still need some filing, Im looking at $50 PLUS dollars!! Any other suggestions? thanks.

Drill bits that big such as Blue Mole's tend to make a real mess, better to use a hole punch of the type shown in the link below, and make a clean perfect hole. You drill a smaller hole, put the punch through and tighten it with a Spanner until it bites right through. Keith at Hutchings Keyboards got me one a couple of months ago quite cheaply, if you call him he may tell you where he gets them. Don't buy the one below, it's just to show you the type...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hole-punch-for-meta ... dZViewItem

hmmm something to think about, though I need holes of XLR size in 2mm thick aluminium

That punch would have no trouble with aluminium, it punches through steel without any problem, and would make a perfect clean cut. The first SSL clone that I built I used a hole saw in a drill press for the XLR holes, and the second one I built I just drilled 3/8 holes at the centers and then used the punch, and I found it much easier and cleaner and more importantly more accurate because once you put the punch in place you can position it precisely before you start pulling it through.

Also, I have found that the nibbling tool that Jaycar sells does a fantastic job on square cutouts for IEC connectors.

The size of the punch you need is 24mm for 'D series' XLRs.
Not that easy to find, unfortunately.

we got in a new 24mm hole punch last year. It cost around $70 from memory and was a special order from the local tool shop

I use it to punch for thin steel / alum and a step drill for thicker (3mm) or diecast materials

If you have to drill, a step drill is the way to go. Jaycar have one that goes to 20mm so that doesn't quite do a XLR. Bunnings have one that goes to around 30mm and will do it for you. However it is cheap and will be knackered after not too many holes. But if you only have a few to do and don't want to shell out for a good step bit or punch it will do the job

I've learnt ( and continue to re-learn ) that you get what you pay for with tools, but sometimes cheap and nasty is the economical solution.

R

I picked up a pair of step drill bits off eBay from the US about 18 months ago. One went up to 12mm, the other from 13-24mm.

They are reasonable quality - the 12mm bit is just started to show signs of struggling and it has had a fair amount of use. The 24mm only gets used occasionally, for XLR holes, so it's still fine.

IIRC, Irwin makes the best step drill bits (or at least, the best bits that are easy to find). Here's one guy selling them on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Irwin-Step-drill ... dZViewItem

Oh, and I got my drill press from Kmart from $60 - still going fine :) A hell of a lot better than the jigsaw I got for that price at Bunnings!