Ricksrv4

Ricksrv4

Member
This is my first time posting on this site, so here goes. What is the best/easiest/cheapest way to make the 2 1/4 inch round instrument holes in my RV4 panel? I plan to use Vans engine instruments. Thanks.

Thanks for the ideas for the panel. I did use the fly cutter for all the rest of the lightening holes throughout the project with no issues. How about the firewall stainless for the 2 inch hole for heat. This appears to be a challenge doing with some kind of hand held tool.
 
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I know all the horror stories about them but I have alwas uses a flycutter in a drill press and have never had a problem. Just clamp well. use plenty of lube, and go slow.

Test on some scrap to get it set just right in size before cutting the real panel.

I have a set of vans engine gauges that I just pulled out of my RV-4 that I would love to sell by the way.

bob burns
RV-4 N82RB
 
Cheapest? Find someone in your local area with an instrument hole punch - bet they'll let you borrow it. They spend 99.9999% of their lives sitting in a drawer. Very nice to use!
 
If you are doing a couple of holes then it's manageable with the fly cutter. But, if you're doing a traditional analog panel, borrow or rent a hole punch.
 
I do not like a fly cutter. If everything does not go perfect you can make a mess or get hurt. My panel has several 2 1/4 as well as some other sizes. What worked best for me was to buy a instrument hole punch that would do both sizes. I drilled the holes for to bolt that goes through the punch, then put the punch together as if I was going to tighten the bolt and cut the hole but because I have a .090 thick panel I could not turn the bolt good enough to cut the hole. I found I could put it in my hydrolic press and push it through with ease.
 
Hole punch!

Hi,

Its doable with a fly cutter but as the anti fly cutter people have said easier to make a mess and hurt yourself. For most of my panels I have used a hole punch. The one for my RV9 though I think was lazer cut. A friend with a machine shop did that for me because he owed me a favour.

If you have not bought instruments yet can I suggest you consider either minimising what you have in there or go glass to save weight. I have the extended panel in my 4 which is packed, if I were to do it again I would go glass to save weight.

Every since I have started flying my 4 I have been more focussed on weight reduction to make an excellent aeroplane even better!!:eek:
 
Ironflight said:
Cheapest? Find someone in your local area with an instrument hole punch - bet they'll let you borrow it. They spend 99.9999% of their lives sitting in a drawer. Very nice to use!
Click to expand...

I second Paul's comments! This is how I punched the holes in my first panel. When I installed the SkyView I elected to leave all the steam gauges behind and haven't regretted that move. For a backup, I have a Dynon D1 Pocket Panel.
 
exactly...

Ironflight said:
Cheapest? Find someone in your local area with an instrument hole punch - bet they'll let you borrow it. They spend 99.9999% of their lives sitting in a drawer. Very nice to use!
Click to expand...

IMO, by far the easiest, fastest, and best way to get perfect round holes in the panel blank. I used a borrowed panel punch for both diameter holes in my panel.
 
I used the stock panel as a prototype and just hand cut the holes with a jig saw - not pretty! Once I knew I had everything in the right place, I downloaded the dwg from the VANS website, added all the holes and got a local engineering company to water-jet cut a new piece for me.

They did it as a "fill in" job for cash and the whole thing cost about $100. Not the cheapest, but the results were stunningly good.
 
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