Being new to building pc’s I’ve got lots of questions but not a lot in the way of answers to balance things out. On another thread I told someone how not to cut a hole for a fan, not that helpful. I've cut a lot of holes in a lot of different things, so I thought I’d do a step by step..... much more helpful.
This method has a few stages but each stage is easy and makes the next one easier and results in a smooth round hole
You could use a jigsaw rather than a Dremel but they are always a bit of a pain on thin sheet metal and you’ll have to finish the hole by hand anyway if you want it halfway decent. Also I needed to cut through some cooling slots, the jigsaw would have made a mess of these.
It took me a couple of hours for two holes.
What you’ll need:
A Dremel and some metal cutting discs
Electric drill and a 1mm or 2mm drill bit
Half round hand file
Set square, ruler and pencil
Compass and divider
Masking tape
Eye and ear protection
Health & Safety
If you’ve not done anything like this before it’s worth mentioning that when you cut metal it gets hot and is rather sharp. A hot sharp thing in your eye will hurt and usually results in spending a few hours in casualty.... wear some eye protection ( no, squinting or looking at what you are doing sideways doesn’t count as eye protection ) .
Cutting metal is also noisy ...... ear plugs
This method has a few stages but each stage is easy and makes the next one easier and results in a smooth round hole
You could use a jigsaw rather than a Dremel but they are always a bit of a pain on thin sheet metal and you’ll have to finish the hole by hand anyway if you want it halfway decent. Also I needed to cut through some cooling slots, the jigsaw would have made a mess of these.
It took me a couple of hours for two holes.
What you’ll need:
A Dremel and some metal cutting discs
Electric drill and a 1mm or 2mm drill bit
Half round hand file
Set square, ruler and pencil
Compass and divider
Masking tape
Eye and ear protection
Health & Safety
If you’ve not done anything like this before it’s worth mentioning that when you cut metal it gets hot and is rather sharp. A hot sharp thing in your eye will hurt and usually results in spending a few hours in casualty.... wear some eye protection ( no, squinting or looking at what you are doing sideways doesn’t count as eye protection ) .
Cutting metal is also noisy ...... ear plugs
