What size of Greenlee punch should I use for octal sockets?

[gearhead]

I got some Greenlee Step Bits (their Unibit equivalent) - double fluted and will do a 1 1/8 hole without a pilot hole. Goes thru .08 aluminum like butter. Clean, clean holes.

I was so unhappy with all my 1/8 drill bits (tried 3 types), ended up getting a Unibit that starts at 1/8 - fantastic!

[muchxs]

There are top mount and bottom mount sockets which may require a different socket hole. What type of socket are you using?

The 1"octal sockets come in both top and bottom mount packages. Top mounts are semi-rare in my experience. Come to think of it I can grab 1 1/8" NOS octals off my bench in both top and bottom mount styles but again, the top mounts are semi-rare. For some real fun let's get into ring mount octals...

[LeftyStrat]

&uot

The 1"octal sockets come in both top and bottom mount packages. Top mounts are semi-rare in my experience. Come to think of it I can grab 1 1/8; NOS octals off my bench in both top and bottom mount styles but again, the top mounts are semi-rare. For some real fun let's get into ring mount octals...

I have some ring mounts that can be mounted top or bottom. I bought them off eBay from a UK seller, but they were shipped from the Ukraine. They are really nice except for the fact the diameter is 29 mm.

A 1 1/8 inch punch is 28.575 mm, 1 3/16 inch is 30.1625, so I end up having to top mount them even though they would look better bottom mounted, assuming of course, you have the correct sized hole

[kec]

The unibit is good for the home DIYer however it leaves a fine metal curls attached to the other side that must be filed (alot more work.)

Not if you turn the piece over and hit the next size bigger (slightly) - unless you're at the last step. It will give you a nice clean chamfer.

[WholeToneMusic]

That does work fine unless the space is too tight to get the length of the drill into.

[kec]

That does work fine unless the space is too tight to get the length of the drill into.

True.

[dehughes]

Nice. Thanks. I'm not sure exactly what socket I'll be using, but I'll find some that will fit in a 1 1/8" hole. Probably something from Mojotone... I'll look into a Unibit/stepbit as well.

[gearhead]

The unibit is good for the home DIYer however it leaves a fine metal curls attached to the other side that must be filed (alot more work.)

Try the Greenlee Bits. It must be the double fluting (Irwin's are single), because all my holes have no metal curls, fragments, etc. Clean as a whistle.

Look for Greenlee 36414; that's the 1 1/8 size.

[krash]

I have an Irwin unibit as well (single flute) and it makes perfect clean holes.

Of course I haven't tried it in steel, just alu.

Regular spiral bits leave a lip every time. Forstner bits can leave a lip if you don't put something hard under it as sacrificial material to drill into like a piece of hardwood.

[dehughes]

Okay. Cool. I've been looking into Greenlee Unibits on Ebay and think I might go that route should I not find a punch at a good price. Would something like this be a good Unibit choice for making Octal and 9-pin holes?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=001

Or, maybe this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... PIC&ih=015

Lemme know, as I'm kinda clueless about the differences.

Thanks guys!

[sad mafioso]

Mouser sells a 30mm punch that fits Belton octal sockets perfectly, part number 380-0300. Mine has worked great, but I've only used it on aluminum. I can't say if it's as nice as a Greenlee (never used one) but at about half the price it seemed like a good deal to me. Oh, and it's about a thousand times better than the ones from Harbor Freight.

[Allynmey]

Use the 1-1/8" punch you can remove as much as you want with a deburring tool. That's what I do. I have a dozen or so Greenlees and still use a deburring tool to size up!

[dehughes]

SO, today I found at Home Depot a Greenlee 3/4" CONDUIT punch for $39.99. This makes a 1.12" (28mm) hole. Being as 1 1/8" is 1.125" (or 28.575 mm), would you think that this punch would be sufficient for a 1 1/8" octal socket? Maybe requiring some filing? A 1 1/8" Greenlee CHASSIS punch costs about $59.99 from most places, so I'm wondering if I could save about $20 and just pick up the conduit punch and be done with it. Most Greenlee step bits cost close to $40 anyway, so I'm inclined to just go for this conduit punch.

What do you think? Would that conduit punch be close enough, or are the 1 1/8" octal sockets really strict about the hole size?

[krash]

that .05" is a hair bigger than the thickness of a sheet of paper.

I am pretty sure the sockets will fit.

[pila]

Today I picked up two of the Unibit types from Harbor Freight. The bigger of the two goes to 1 1/4" diameter holes, and works very good for the 1 1/8 holes I used it for. I already had the smaller ones and use them all the time. I wouldn't recommend using the big one with a hand drill, it's safer when used with a drill press. The set was $19.95, but was on sale a week or so ago for $14.99.

PILA