There are many ways to cut out an instrument panel. You can use fly cutters, air nibblers, hole saws, jig saws, die grinders, angle grinders, files, plasma cutters, water jets, laser cutters and even milling machines. I’ve used many of those techniques myself over the years. Lots of people let their pocket-book do the work, and hire it out to someone with one of the fancy computer-controlled cutting machines. But nothing, to my mind, matches the beauty, quiet, and precision of a good old fashioned Greenlee hole punch. No frenetic moving parts, no flying chips or dust. No worries about things going too fast, or getting out of alignment. No risk of injury or death. Just the silent spinning of the wrench and two nice “snaps” as the hole is punched – first one side, then the other.
After building a number of panels over the years, always using what I had on hand, I finally sprung the few hundred bucks it takes to buy the combo punch (two hole sizes, 2 ¼” and 3 1/8”) you see in the aviation tool catalogs. All it does is punch instrument panel holes. Seems sort of pricy, huh? Well….if you pay to have someone cut your panel, it’ll cost as much – and if you are a multiple offender, you’ll save the money on the second go-around. If you use the fly cutter, your emergency room fees for bandages ALONE will be double that! Besides, it’s nice to have a tool no one else in the neighborhood has – your contribution to the ”loaner pool” so to speak.
I know it is almost old-fashioned to build your own panel these days, but if you do, think about borrowing one of these little wonders. Mine sits in the dark drawer most of the time and is happy to go visit local builder’s shops. There is nothing new about them – they’ve been around forever. But they are completely goof proof, so long as you drill the center hole in the right place. Spot it with a #40, enlarge to 5/8” with a step drill, then slowly turn the screw with a nice long breaker bar until you hear the “snap” - Your hole is ready! A rare moment of shop silence these days is worth the price, believe me….
Paul
After building a number of panels over the years, always using what I had on hand, I finally sprung the few hundred bucks it takes to buy the combo punch (two hole sizes, 2 ¼” and 3 1/8”) you see in the aviation tool catalogs. All it does is punch instrument panel holes. Seems sort of pricy, huh? Well….if you pay to have someone cut your panel, it’ll cost as much – and if you are a multiple offender, you’ll save the money on the second go-around. If you use the fly cutter, your emergency room fees for bandages ALONE will be double that! Besides, it’s nice to have a tool no one else in the neighborhood has – your contribution to the ”loaner pool” so to speak.
I know it is almost old-fashioned to build your own panel these days, but if you do, think about borrowing one of these little wonders. Mine sits in the dark drawer most of the time and is happy to go visit local builder’s shops. There is nothing new about them – they’ve been around forever. But they are completely goof proof, so long as you drill the center hole in the right place. Spot it with a #40, enlarge to 5/8” with a step drill, then slowly turn the screw with a nice long breaker bar until you hear the “snap” - Your hole is ready! A rare moment of shop silence these days is worth the price, believe me….
Paul
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