Transition panels and racking

On 9/28/06, Chuck Guzis <cclistsydex.com> wrote:
> Cheap manual nibblers (about $10) work, but are a
little hard on the hand
> after awhile, particularly if you've got heavy gauge
sheet metal.

And I've broken cheap RS nibblers on thick aluminum... they
are OK for
plastic and really thin sheet.

> If you've got a compressed air supply, you can pick up
a pneumatic nibbler
> for about $30 from your local cheap Chinese tool store
(e.g. Harbor
> Freight).  These can make just about any shape hole in
sheet metal up to 14
> gauge very quickly and easily.

Ooh... I gots to get me one of those...

-ethan

On Wednesday 27 September 2006 11:19 pm, Ethan Dicks wrote:
> On 9/28/06, Chuck Guzis <cclistsydex.com> wrote:
> > Cheap manual nibblers (about $10) work, but are a
little hard on the hand
> > after awhile, particularly if you've got heavy
gauge sheet metal.
>
> And I've broken cheap RS nibblers on thick aluminum...
they are OK for
> plastic and really thin sheet.

There was just a flurry of activity about those with a
fellow in Austria 
wanting to get his hands on some of them,  and that
eventually being worked 
out.

I'm not remembering why they broke,  but I know I broke
several of those when 
I first got one -- the spec in the catalog at that time said
they were good 
on up to 16 ga. steel,  and the box I was trying to nibble
(also from RS  
said it was 16 ga. steel,  which I was happy to point out to
them.  The one I 
ended up with since was able to cut out the rectangular hole
I wanted and has 
since done nicely with aluminum miniboxes and such,  though
I haven't 
stressed it much since that original stress test.

> > If you've got a compressed air supply, you can
pick up a pneumatic
> > nibbler for about $30 from your local cheap
Chinese tool store (e.g.
> > Harbor Freight).  These can make just about any
shape hole in sheet metal
> > up to 14 gauge very quickly and easily.
>
> Ooh... I gots to get me one of those...

A compressed air supply?  Sounds good to me,  though I
haven't figured out yet 
where I'm gonna put one in this second floor apartment. 


-- 
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting
-- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter
that can
be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein,
"The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled
by lies. --James 
M Dakin

On 9/28/2006 at 1:55 AM Roy J. Tellason wrote:

>I'm not remembering why they broke,  but I know I broke
several of those
>when I first got one -- the spec in the catalog at that
time said they
were
>good on up to 16 ga. steel,  and the box I was trying to
nibble (also from
RS
>said it was 16 ga. steel,  which I was happy to point
out to them.  The
>one I ended up with since was able to cut out the
rectangular hole I
wanted and
>has since done nicely with aluminum miniboxes and such, 
though I haven't 
>stressed it much since that original stress test.

Well, there are tools from RS and then there are good tools.
 A Klein
76011B nibbler still costs less than $20 and is a *much*
better tool for
the money.  

Cheers,
Chuck

On 9/28/06, Roy J. Tellason <rtellasonverizon.net> wrote:
> On Wednesday 27 September 2006 11:19 pm, Ethan Dicks
wrote:
> > And I've broken cheap RS nibblers on thick
aluminum... they are OK for
> > plastic and really thin sheet.
>
> I'm not remembering why they broke,  but I know I broke
several of those when
> I first got one -- the spec in the catalog at that time
said they were good
> on up to 16 ga. steel,  and the box I was trying to
nibble (also from RS 
> said it was 16 ga. steel,  which I was happy to point
out to them.

Yeah... I don't remember that I was doing anything that was
off the spec, but
when the tool broke, I can't say I was surprised.

> > > If you've got a compressed air supply, you
can pick up a pneumatic
> > > nibbler for about $30 from your local cheap
Chinese tool store (e.g.
> > > Harbor Freight).  These can make just about
any shape hole in sheet metal
> > > up to 14 gauge very quickly and easily.
> >
> > Ooh... I gots to get me one of those...
>
> A compressed air supply?  Sounds good to me,  though I
haven't figured out yet
> where I'm gonna put one in this second floor apartment.
 

I already have the compressed air (I got it to fill tractor
tires,
drive a pneumatic
nail gun, etc.).  I just need to go out and get the
pneumatic nibbler
tool itself.
I've seen pneumatic shears, etc., but don't do enough work
with sheet metal to
justify that - I didn't consider that a nibbler is an
obvious tool to
drive with air.

-ethan

> 
> On 9/28/06, Chuck Guzis <cclistsydex.com> wrote:
> > Cheap manual nibblers (about $10) work, but are a
little hard on the hand
> > after awhile, particularly if you've got heavy
gauge sheet metal.
> 
> And I've broken cheap RS nibblers on thick aluminum...
they are OK for
> plastic and really thin sheet.

A word of explanation (I hope). To you, 'RS' means 'Radio
Shack', right? 
And they sell mostly to hobbyists. In the UK, 'RS' is 'RS
Components' [1], 
who used to be known as 'Radiospares'. Although they dropped
that name 
about 35 years ago, most older engineers and scientists will
still use 
it. Now RS components sell mostly to trade/industrial
customers (they 
will now supply anyone, though), and their stuff _tends_ to
be high 
quality (and is often known name-brands).

The DB sized punch I bought came from RS components, not
Radio Shack!.

[1] Try http://www.rswww.com/

On 9/29/06, Tony Duell <ardp850ug1.demon.co.uk>
wrote:
> I wrote:
> > And I've broken cheap RS nibblers on thick
aluminum... they are OK for
> > plastic and really thin sheet.
>
> A word of explanation (I hope). To you, 'RS' means
'Radio Shack', right?
> And they sell mostly to hobbyists.

Yes, exactly so... sorry for the cross-cultural ambiguity.

-ethan

Thanks guys, I think I'd rather pay the money to
frontpanelexpress and not
worry about screwing it up. 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cctalk-bouncesclassiccmp.org 
> [mailto:cctalk-bouncesclassiccmp.org] On Behalf
Of Ethan Dicks
> Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 2:50 PM
> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
> Subject: Re: Transition panels and racking
> 
> On 9/28/06, Roy J. Tellason <rtellasonverizon.net> wrote:
> > On Wednesday 27 September 2006 11:19 pm, Ethan
Dicks wrote:
> > > And I've broken cheap RS nibblers on thick
aluminum... 
> they are OK 
> > > for plastic and really thin sheet.
> >
> > I'm not remembering why they broke,  but I know I
broke several of 
> > those when I first got one -- the spec in the
catalog at that time 
> > said they were good on up to 16 ga. steel,  and
the box I 
> was trying 
> > to nibble (also from RS  said it
was 16 ga. steel,  
> which I was happy to point out to them.
> 
> Yeah... I don't remember that I was doing anything that
was 
> off the spec, but when the tool broke, I can't say I
was surprised.
> 
> > > > If you've got a compressed air supply,
you can pick up 
> a pneumatic 
> > > > nibbler for about $30 from your local
cheap Chinese 
> tool store (e.g.
> > > > Harbor Freight).  These can make just
about any shape hole in 
> > > > sheet metal up to 14 gauge very quickly
and easily.
> > >
> > > Ooh... I gots to get me one of those...
> >
> > A compressed air supply?  Sounds good to me, 
though I 
> haven't figured 
> > out yet where I'm gonna put one in this second
floor apartment.  
> 
> I already have the compressed air (I got it to fill
tractor 
> tires, drive a pneumatic nail gun, etc.).  I just need
to go 
> out and get the pneumatic nibbler tool itself.
> I've seen pneumatic shears, etc., but don't do enough
work 
> with sheet metal to justify that - I didn't consider
that a 
> nibbler is an obvious tool to drive with air.
> 
> -ethan
>