drilling a hole in sheet metal
drilling a hole in sheet metal
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AW10

Original Poster:

4,559 posts

267 months

Friday 21st March 2014
quotequote all
I need to drill a 40mm hole in the sheet metal of my car behind the bumper to install the towbar wiring. Can I use a hole saw like http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-bi-metal-holesaw... on body sheet metal?

Getragdogleg

9,584 posts

201 months

Friday 21st March 2014
quotequote all
Yes, slowly with lube.

I had to do a 70mm hole in the back of a truck (to mount a reversing camera) and I used one of these even though the girder was 10mm thick. it took ages but worked fine.

harrisp

200 posts

165 months

Friday 21st March 2014
quotequote all
Holesaw will do the trick easily (i do similar daily) id pilot drill for the centre drill first.

AW10

Original Poster:

4,559 posts

267 months

Friday 21st March 2014
quotequote all
Thanks chaps- was going to pour a bit of oil into an old can and dip the hole saw into it every 15 seconds or so to act as a lubricant and to cool the saw. It has an arbor which will ensure that the hole is drilled in the right place and that the hole saw doesn't wander.

phillpot

17,396 posts

201 months

Saturday 22nd March 2014
quotequote all


Drill the pilot hole without the hole saw on the mandrel, that way if it breaks through unexpectedly the hole saw won't "snatch" and make a mess.

bimsb6

8,462 posts

239 months

Saturday 22nd March 2014
quotequote all
Cone drill will do nicer job !

AW10

Original Poster:

4,559 posts

267 months

Saturday 22nd March 2014
quotequote all
No worries - hole saw worked v well and a bit of work with a file to clean off the burrs and job done. Thanks for the tips.