Tool For Stamping Holes in Nickle Covers ?

[Electricdaveyboy]

Hello Folks,
I am thinking about making a tool for stamping holes in those closed humbucker covers.
Did you do that and could you post a pic of that tool ?
tx
David

[Spence]

I always use a sizeable persuader. Works a treat:

http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/80/Pickaxe.jpg

[Electricdaveyboy]

Thanks Spence,
I have one im my garage but I always had been wondering for what I should use it.
Thanks man.You made a deaf man see.
cheers
db

[Yves]

Your question reminded me of some previous thread, here it is, never tried it myself (but on my to do list)
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t19092/

[Sportbernd]

Hallo David,
Es funktioniert mit dem selben Prinzip wie ein Locher. Mit einem guten Locher für z.B. Kataloge kannst du Neusilber absolut präzise lochen. Wenn du dir also ein Schneideisen in geünschter Größe wie bei einem Locher anfertigen läßt und das Gegenstück (Auflage) z.B. geringfügig größer machen läßt (ca.0,2mm) rollt sich die Kante schön nach innen. Alles in eine Kniehebelpresse gepackt funktioniert das absolut perfekt. Und das Cover immer von Außen nach Innen lochen.

Sorry for the German!

[LtKojak]

Sorry for the German!

Yoiu don't need to apologise. Your German was PERFEKT!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist...

[Electricdaveyboy]

Hello Yves, thanks for the link !

.......und Danke Bernd für die Unterweisung.Wird mich sicher weiterbringen.

Gruss
David

[Spence]

Currently myself and Jonson are looking into making our own PAF covers complete with punched holes. I think many of us here are thoroughly tired of substandard and over-priced covers which always seem to be in short supply. Hopefully we will succeed in our usual low-budget, problem-solving endeavour and will be able to share the knowledge. Meanwhile take careful aim with the pickaxe.

[jonson]

I'm well ahead on it Bro, and that smacker of yours can go back in the shed. I found a much faster tool for the job so will be knockin em out soon in droves.

[Spence]

I'm so excited, I woke up with wood Bro!

http://www.grandfather.com/media/GMHGpics/caber3.jpg

[Electricdaveyboy]

Lucky bastard!

[jonson]

I'm so excited, I woke up with wood Bro!

You got upset Bro a while ago cus some geezer called you a miserable tosser. Must have been the miserable bit you objected to.

[Bruce Johnson]

Hello Folks,
I am thinking about making a tool for stamping holes in those closed humbucker covers.
Did you do that and could you post a pic of that tool ?
tx
David

The first question is, do you want to:

A.) Punch round holes one at a time through the cover. You'd lay out the locations of the holes on each cover, and then punch them one at a time. Or:

B.) Punch all six holes at the same time, in a fixed spacing and location, without doing any hand layout.

If you want A, that's relatively easy and cheap. You can buy a hand operated sheet metal punch that will make nice fairly clean round holes. It's operated with a lever, and you can buy punch and die sets for it in lots of standard diameters, or you can easily have a custom set made. I have a Roper Whitney sheet metal punch set that came with a selection of punches and dies and cost about $125 new. You can find used ones on ebay all the time for much less. The one I have might not have quite enough clearance to reach up inside a humbucker cover, but it's close. You'd probably have to go with a little larger model bigger frame. The punches usually have a small point in the center that's used to locate the hole on a centerpunch mark. So, you'd use a ruler or an aluminum template to mark the locations of the holes on the cover, then centerpunch them lightly, then punch the holes one at a time with the sheet metal punch. It would take you maybe a minute per cover. Punching the holes is maybe two seconds each.

If you want B, that's a different game. That would be a custom punch and die set that would be used in a hydraulic press or possibly in a big manual arbor press. That punch and die set would cost you a couple thousand bucks at a tool & die maker. If you are a competent machinist, you could make it yourself. It would require some engineering and close tolerances. With that setup, you could knock out the covers very quickly, but it's a lot more initial investment.

[David King]

I'd be very tempted to drill undersize into a hard block of wood (not Spence's wood, not sure it's quite hard enough...) and then ream to size with a tapered reamer. All the punches I've used in sheet metal have made a mess of things.

[Bruce Johnson]

Here's a quick picture from my files of my small Roper Whitney sheet metal punch, popping 3/16" holes in 0.040" aluminum for some custom mounting brackets. It's not a real clear picture, but the punch is made for handheld use, and I've mounted it vertically to a wooden base. It makes it more comfortable to use it at a bench and easier to see where I'm punching.

As I said above, this punch probably doesn't have enough throat clearance to reach into pickup covers, but they make larger models.

The punch and die set is like a knife blade. When it's sharp and tightly fitted, it'll punch nice clean holes. When it gets dull, the holes get ragged and flared. That's why it's a good idea to buy a major brand punch (the overall tool) like Roper Whitney, so you can easily buy replacement punch/die sets for it later.

I agree with you David, that drilling the holes is a reasonable option too. With the right type of drill bit and a good setup, you can get nice clean holes. It's slower than punching, maybe 5 minutes per cover, but there's very little investment.

It all comes down to how much you want to spend up front, to save time per cover.