[Shop-talk] Drilling holes in sheet metal

[Chris Kantarjiev]

Nick Brearley wrote:
> njb wrote:
>> Doug Braun wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> What's the best way to drill a nice clean, round 3/4"
>>> hole in 16 gauge (0.060") sheet steel?  This a car
>>> body, so it would be hard to back up the hole with
>>> anything.
>>>   
>> Belated reply to this one. Bought a metric set of these a long time 
>> ago when they were on a clearance offer:
>>
>> http://www.hougen.com/cutters/sheetmetal/Rotacut.html
>>
>> Very happy with the performance. Whether they will ever pay for 
>> themselves is another matter...
>>

I'll second that - I have a set of these (then called Rotabroach, but 
the same item) and they're really great. Not sure they work as well as a 
unibit on some materials - I have both. The unibit gives a wider range 
of sizes, but won't work on thick stuff. The rotacut can wander a bit.