Sheet metal knockout punches

[pimpom]

I'm having a hard time finding knockout punches for making 1/2 -
1" (say ~12 to 25mm) holes in sheet metal . The smallest size by
Greenlee is for 1/2-inch conduits with an actual hole diameter of
22.4 mm, and all other sizes are much too big.

I'm in India where importing anything involves too much hassle,
especially from a remote part of the country. I have a friend in
the US who's coming for a visit in a few weeks and I want to ask
him to bring the punches for me.

Someone in another newsgroup pointed out Q.Max punches and they
have the size range I need, but they seem to be sold only in the
UK. I have not been able to find out the identity of the
manufacturers. So, could you please answer these questions -

1. Who makes Q.Max punches?
2. What kind of hassle and customs duty are involved in ordering
such items from the UK to the US?
3. Are there any sources in the US for the sizes I need? They
don't even have to be quite up to Greenlee standard as the
material I work with is mostly 1-2 mm aluminium, with an
occasional 1mm mild steel.
4. Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[Martin Riddle]

Klein Tools also makes knockout punches.
MSC is another supplier that caries the Greenlee line.

Cheers

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

I'm having a hard time finding knockout punches for making 1/2 -
1" (say ~12 to 25mm) holes in sheet metal . The smallest size by
Greenlee is for 1/2-inch conduits with an actual hole diameter of
22.4 mm, and all other sizes are much too big.

Wrong! The Greenlee 1/2" hole punch PUNCHES 1/2" HOLES!

The 1/2" conduit is what is at 22.4mm. D'OH!

I know this for a fact as I use this exact punch to punch holes in a 4"
wide heavy braid ground strap tab from a 1/4" hole to 1/2" to accommodate
a 1/2" stud on the back of one of our vendors' racks. That 1/2" stud IS
1/2" so I KNOW the Greenlee punch is exactly what they declare it is.

Buy with confidence if 1/2" is what you need.

They also sell D-SUB connector punches, Indexed hole punches, and many
other electronics industry punches, not just electrical wiring industry
stuff. Also, IIRC, they will make a custom punch as well.

They then, of course, make it part of their non-standard line of offered
products.

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

I'm having a hard time finding knockout punches for making 1/2 -
1" (say ~12 to 25mm) holes in sheet metal . The smallest size by
Greenlee is for 1/2-inch conduits with an actual hole diameter of
22.4 mm, and all other sizes are much too big.

You did not look well enough then. Their electrical lines match those
figures, but they do sell other lines...

Look in the catalog for:

Slug-Buster® Knockout Punches 0.492" to 2.520"

It is page 46 of the 31MB pdf catalog.

 

[pimpom]

I'm having a hard time finding knockout punches for making
1/2 -
1" (say ~12 to 25mm) holes in sheet metal . The smallest size
by
Greenlee is for 1/2-inch conduits with an actual hole diameter
of
22.4 mm, and all other sizes are much too big.

I'm in India where importing anything involves too much hassle,
especially from a remote part of the country. I have a friend
in
the US who's coming for a visit in a few weeks and I want to
ask
him to bring the punches for me.

Someone in another newsgroup pointed out Q.Max punches and they
have the size range I need, but they seem to be sold only in
the
UK. I have not been able to find out the identity of the
manufacturers. So, could you please answer these questions -

1. Who makes Q.Max punches?
2. What kind of hassle and customs duty are involved in
ordering
such items from the UK to the US?
3. Are there any sources in the US for the sizes I need? They
don't even have to be quite up to Greenlee standard as the
material I work with is mostly 1-2 mm aluminium, with an
occasional 1mm mild steel.
4. Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I hope you don't mind if I
reply in one post.

I'd already downloaded the pdf catalog suggested by John before I
posted my request, but I was influenced by my failure to find
what I wanted while browsing online (plus a comment by someone in
another newsgroup) and I missed seeing the exact-size punches.
Thanks for pointing it out.

I looked at the step drill bits before but didn't give them much
thought. Now that John and Michael have suggested it, it's
starting to look like a good, relatively inexpensive option.

eBay item 120484675057 suggested by Dave M is exactly what I
want. Let's see if I manage to win it, though it will mean
staying up to 4:00 AM over here. And my ISP has a nasty habit of
going down at any time for indefinite periods on weekends.

@Archimedes' Lever: please see my explanation in the second para
above.

I'm still considering the Q-Max punches. Could anyone please
answer the question in my initial post about having them sent to
the US?

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

I'm still considering the Q-Max punches. Could anyone please
answer the question in my initial post about having them sent to
the US?

Nearly every mid sized and major city has a "Graingers" supply house.
Most have several. They either already have it, or can get it fairly
quickly, so your friend can drive to one, and either grab it or order it
to show up within a week.

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

Farnell are in the us, so you should be able to buy from them online.

http://www.farnell.com

tools and productions supplies -> hand and woodworking -> punches -> Q-Max

Still pretty low cost as well, surprisingly...

Regards,

Chris

Good job of NOT answering his question.

He already said that shipping it to him is the hassle.

He is looking to get it into the hands of the buddy that is coming to
see him.

You should actually READ threads at some point to make your
participation a bit more valid.

Yes, Farnell is good, as is Grainger, and basically ANY local electrical
supply outlet. Neary all carry about the same price schedules for these
types of products.

A simple check on ebay will yield expected retail price, if you add
about 10% to 15%.

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=Sl...d=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=Greenlee+Q&_osacat=0

 

[Martin Riddle]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I hope you don't mind if I reply
in one post.

I'd already downloaded the pdf catalog suggested by John before I
posted my request, but I was influenced by my failure to find what I
wanted while browsing online (plus a comment by someone in another
newsgroup) and I missed seeing the exact-size punches. Thanks for
pointing it out.

I looked at the step drill bits before but didn't give them much
thought. Now that John and Michael have suggested it, it's starting to
look like a good, relatively inexpensive option.

eBay item 120484675057 suggested by Dave M is exactly what I want.
Let's see if I manage to win it, though it will mean staying up to
4:00 AM over here. And my ISP has a nasty habit of going down at any
time for indefinite periods on weekends.

@Archimedes' Lever: please see my explanation in the second para
above.

I'm still considering the Q-Max punches. Could anyone please answer
the question in my initial post about having them sent to the US?

Q-max seems to be a UK item.
<http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...soft:en-us&q=q-max+hole+punches&aq=f&oq=&aqi=>

I would go with the step drill $35 or order a greenlee from MSC. (your
buddys in the US)
<http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVSM?PACACHE=000000114429845>

MSC delivers in a day or two, As well as Grainger and Mcmaster.

Cheers

 

[pimpom]

Farnell are in the us, so you should be able to buy from them
online.

http://www.farnell.com

tools and productions supplies -> hand and woodworking ->
punches ->
Q-Max
Still pretty low cost as well, surprisingly...

Thanks again for the reply. I've often heard about Farnell, but
when they started selling in India a few years ago and I browsed
their prices for electronic components, I couldn't believe it.
Common general-purpose components were listed at 10-50 times
their average street prices in Indian cities!! I stopped
considering them as a source after that.

Now that you've brought up their name, I looked at their prices
for Q-Max punches and they are much more reasonable. Roughly 50%
more than in the UK, but I guess that's to be expected. I may not
have to impose on my friend in the US after all.

(Strange though that even when I selected the US, prices are
still given in UKP. Prices for India are given in Indian rupee).

 

[Martin Riddle]

"Slug-Splitter", eh? That sure would have been nice in my days of
punching holes for toob sockets ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Their also almost twice the price of a standard knockout.

Cheers

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

Errm, Farnell *is* the us and the question was:


Seems pretty relevant to me. Perhaps you should read the posts before
firing off ?...

Regards,

Chris

YOUR wording appeared as if you were intending to ship to HIM.

HE is NOT in the US.

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

Would be worth it. I take it you've never punched out 10 or so toob
sockets holes in one chassis ?

...Jim Thompson

You are probably so stupid that you were using 1/8" steel for a
"chassis".

Anyone having issues with thin chassis type sheet metal or even Aluminum
has "other" issues.

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

For heavens sake, stop digging and lighten up a bit ...

Regards,

Chris

It was simply me stating that my mistake was an easy one to make.

God damn... **** off already.

 

[Martin Riddle]

Would be worth it. I take it you've never punched out 10 or so toob
sockets holes in one chassis ?

...Jim Thompson

I've used the standard Greenlee's for 090 alum. The donuts arent that
hard to popout.
I can see their use on a steel box tho.

Cheers

 

[krw]

Naaah! They really were _breadboards_ ;-)

Come on, that was before bread had been invented.

 

[krw]

Come on now! Check out the lava-preserved fossils they've dug up at
Pompeii...

Exactly! Dirt was new when you started out. ;-)

isn't that where you're buried ?

Buried? I'm not even buried at work.

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

Exactly! Dirt was new when you started out. ;-)


Buried? I'm not even buried at work.

That is easy when you have been working above your competency level for
decades.

 

[Archimedes' Lever]

Go look at Green Lee online.

Of course, you could always use a uni-bit, tile cutter or hole saw! )))

Dopes like you that do NOT read the whole fucking thread are always a
good laugh.

He already stated that he HAS their pdf catalog, you retarded putz!

 

[Jamie]

I'm having a hard time finding knockout punches for making 1/2 -
1" (say ~12 to 25mm) holes in sheet metal . The smallest size by
Greenlee is for 1/2-inch conduits with an actual hole diameter of
22.4 mm, and all other sizes are much too big.

I'm in India where importing anything involves too much hassle,
especially from a remote part of the country. I have a friend in
the US who's coming for a visit in a few weeks and I want to ask
him to bring the punches for me.

Someone in another newsgroup pointed out Q.Max punches and they
have the size range I need, but they seem to be sold only in the
UK. I have not been able to find out the identity of the
manufacturers. So, could you please answer these questions -

1. Who makes Q.Max punches?
2. What kind of hassle and customs duty are involved in ordering
such items from the UK to the US?
3. Are there any sources in the US for the sizes I need? They
don't even have to be quite up to Greenlee standard as the
material I work with is mostly 1-2 mm aluminium, with an
occasional 1mm mild steel.
4. Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

I don't know why you're having difficulty getting the size you
need from GreenLee. Maybe your supplier don't want to deal with it?

I have knock outs made by Green Lee that does nifty little things
like taking out toggle switch holes and leaves behind the little tab
notch for the key way in the switch all the way up to multi pin device
knock outs in special shapes and sizes.

Maybe you are dealing with only an electrical supplier and not going
to the horses mouth?

Go look at Green Lee online.

Of course, you could always use a uni-bit, tile cutter or hole saw! )))

 

[krw]

That is easy when you have been working above your competency level for
decades.

One must keep challenged. You with your mop, me (lately) with FPGAs.
Microprocessor development was too boring.

You're *so* easy, AlwaysWrong!