Cutting a hole

[youthemandan]

Do they sell hole cutters. I'm installing some case fans and i was wondering if their are hole cutters that come in 80mm sizes? I know there are wood ones but i didn't know if there are metal ones.

[youthemandan]

Where can i get one?? I could go for one of those 92mm hole cutters also!! I know i could find a drill big enough to handle that bit because i just got done building a log cabin and i have a LARGE drill!!!

[SteenkyBastage]

dont forget the joys of 120mm fan with a rheostat on it! (if you can fit it) i bought a couple 117cfm 120mm fans, and slapped a radioshack rheostat on each of them, allowing me to crank em way down and they are SILENT! but yet they still push more air then a pair of 80's.

[dwango]

Originally posted by Would71
I have a hole cutter around here somewhere that's suitable for 80mm holes.. unfortunately it requires a drill that's bigger than the one I have now.. so I have to stick to using my Dremel for hole cutting. Maybe someday I'll snag a bigger drill, and a hole cutter for 92mm holes.. since I'd make those before I'd use the 80mm hole-cutter. (just no 80 that can top my Sanyo Denki 92s on noise vs. performance) :D

How do you make your holes when using the dremel? Do you cut a square with "cut corners"?

...... ____
...o /........\ o
.....|.........|
...o \......../ o

I just cut something like that for and 80mm fan (work with me here...) with the 'o's being screw holes. The 80mm is all that would fit in the given space (between the side of the case and expansion cards)

ugh.. vBulletin gets rid of excess spaces (hence the periods).

[SteenkyBastage]

yeah, just a suggestion...not for everybody. it does cost a bit more to get the 120's plus like 3 bucks for the rheostat. but it's tough to beat the no noise high cfm combo if you can afford it and have room.

[Oni]

Originally posted by Would71
True Value or some other similar hardware store. I think you can poke around on the Net and find a web page for a place like that, and get the part number of what you need before you walk into the store. Just keep in mind that they'll prob. be listed in standard sizes and you may have to do a little metric conversion.

I STRONGLY recommend if you're going to do case cutting, and if you don't have the fans already, use 92s instead of 80s. I can't emphasize that enough. The extra few bucks you spend on the S.D. 92x32s will be worth it.

Note in the pic below that my front and side fans are 92s. (the top is 80, that's all I could really fit in that area, otherwise it would be 92 as well) Each moves 55 CFM of air at 36.5 dB. I don't think you can find an 80 anywhere that matches or beats both stats at the same time. (some MIGHT flow better, but will be louder)

That is SUCH an eleet case!! I LOVE it! :D

[Jig]

You can buy hole cutters for metal. It's a drill attachement/bit. It's got a big circle can looking thing w/ saw teeth around the outside of the can. In the center it's going to have a 1/4" drill bit, attached into the shank w/ a set screw.
Now, drill a pilot hole in the center of the area you want the hole.

Do not then use the hole cutter ! Drill that 1/8 " pilot hole out to 1/4 " . You want that 1/4 inch bit in the center of the hole cutter to be able to freely move down until the blade teeth catch.
If you don't drill that 1/4" hole and try to use it, it has a nasty tendancy to grab once the blade teeth hit and either wrench ur arm, or make a mess of the hole :) After that, just take some sandpaper, and you'll have a nice clean hole.

Larger hardware stores have them, just ask for a steel, hole cutter or hole saw.

[ZX-Tex]

If you have a Sabre saw you can buy metal cutting blades. That is what I used.