Greenlee Punch

[RVRC]

Does anyone have a Greenlee punch they will loan or rent to punch the 2" hole in the firewall for the heater valve? I am in South Carolina and willing to pay shipping and rental fee.

Thanks

 

[bkc3921]

Personally, I did not have much luck with the punches in the firewall...The stainless deformed somewhat around the edges..seemed like the composition and thickness of the firewall was not the best match for that device. Not sure if anyone else had the same results as I did.....that thickness of stainless is a bear to cut any way you do it...I will, however, say the Greenlee punch was perfect for making lightning holes in the firewall mounted Odyssey battery case..which also was almost impossible to do with a fly cutter.....YMMV..Good luck..

 

[chaskuss]

Buy a used one

Does anyone have a Greenlee punch they will loan or rent to punch the 2" hole in the firewall for the heater valve? I am in South Carolina and willing to pay shipping and rental fee.

Thanks

Robert,
For the money you will spend renting and shipping one, just look for a used one to buy on EBay. For punching holes in SS, you will need to place an aluminum or mild steel plate between one side of the punch and the SS. Stainless does not cut easily. It's rather soft and tends to tear.
I won't loan mine out for use on SS. They always come back dulled or damaged.
Charlie Kuss

 

[N282S]

holes

Hi Robert,
I went through this also. Ended up buying a set on ebay and then, when done, sold them on ebay. My experience with the Greenlee and the ss firewall was that the punch tended to pinch the steel sheet inside the punch rather than cut it. It was as if the stainless steel was just to thin for the punch to "sheer" the hole. I ended using the step drill and then further opening the holes with a dremel and carbide bit. Actually, it went pretty fast this way. Just wear gloves. That's my 2 cents. Your's may vary.

 

[RVRC]

Thanks guys

Brian, Charlie and Steve, thanks for the input. I will seek other methods to cut these holes. Brian, did you notice the similar last names? I have a son named Brian spelled the same way.

Thanks,

 

[pczar3]

An alternative

Hi Robert,
I used a good hole saw from Home Depot. It did a good job and a little finish smoothing and it was perfect. I cut a number of holes in the firewall that way and they all looked very good. The hole diameter comes out perfect as well.

Paul

 

[bkc3921]

Name

That means "Brian" is spelled correctly!....Not like those bizarre "Bryan" people!! lol

 

[Rob Erdos]

So, I tried it...

Hi Robert,
I used a good hole saw from Home Depot. It did a good job and a little finish smoothing and it was perfect. I cut a number of holes in the firewall that way and they all looked very good. The hole diameter comes out perfect as well.

Paul

I'm just cutting the 2" hole through the firewall for the heat tube. I was wondering how to cut the stainless, since even wee drill holes are a huge pain. A hole saw? Why not? Well, I turned the drill slowly and used a lubricant, as per Sage Wisdom. After about 15 minutes of whirling I managed to "cut" a groove about 1/32 deep. It mainly served to polish the stainless.

I think I'll try a punch, or failing that, dynamite.

FYI,

Rob

 

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

The Greenlee punch will cut the firewall just fine. It helps if you begin to punch it, back off, turn the punch about 15 degrees, retighten. Repeat that about three times then go for broke.

I have several punches; not sure I have a 2" punch (I do have the the instrument hold two-size punch; that much I know), but I'll check today if you're still interested.

 

[RVRC]

Thanks Bob.

I still haven't cut the hole and haven't decided what to do it with. Another builder one hangar row over just bought a hole saw, but hasn't cut her's yet. I may wait to see how that comes out. May I reserve the right to get back to you on that? gotta do some thing soon. Engine was ordered yesterday!

 

[David-aviator]

Hi Robert,
I used a good hole saw from Home Depot. It did a good job and a little finish smoothing and it was perfect. I cut a number of holes in the firewall that way and they all looked very good. The hole diameter comes out perfect as well.

Paul

Same here, it worked reasonably well.

 

[rocketbob]

A greenlee punch will work great on stainless if you use an air impact driver with it. Takes about two seconds to do.