Craig:
I would totally disagree that the cutters are worthless.
I've used both drills and cutters on an MGA, TD, Maxima,
240Z, and Model A pickup, and found that both have their
places. The cutters do take some care and time to use.
They aren't as fast as a drill but they don't wreck the
panel being left in.
1) Cutter type. These work best in areas where you don't
want any hole in a panel which you aren't going to replace.
This is especially true if you can't get at the backside of
the panel when it comes to welding in the new piece. After
cutting there is a small spot that must be ground off. The
one I used, I purchased at a locally owned auto parts house,
not one
of those chain store discounts with the some of those cheap
import tools. It uses a reversable cutter, so when one
sid becomes dull, or loses teeth, you can reverse the
cutter.
This one has a hardened steel spring loaded locating pin.
Its adjustable to provide a cutting depth. This pin does
lose the sharpness of the point and carefull R&R and
grinding of the
point will help keep it from skidding away. I have also
centered punched the welds or partially drilled with a small
dril before using the cutter. I use it on an old slow
running
3/8 drill or rechargable drill. Fast running drills do make
their use difficult. It causes the cutter to catch, break
and skip alot more. I've used it more than a straight
drill. This is not a ZIP - ZIP - ZIP tool.
2) I've also used the panel drills which first drill a
small pilot hole before drilling the full size. These are
nice as they don't slide around much. However, I use the
"plug cutter" most as it seems that when it would come time
to put in the new pannel, I wouldn't be able to weld using
the old drilled out hole. I use a MIG welder to plug weld
the panels while holding everything together with
sheet metal screws.
Blake
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