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04-25-2010, 09:59 AM
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#1
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3 Rivet Member
1977 31' Sovereign
Severna Park
, Maryland
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 103
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Cutting Interior Panels
I'm looking for reccomentdations for cutting aluminum interior wall panels. I am rebuilding my 77' 31 Sovereign. I have several square and round hole I need to cut and would like some advise? Some of the wiring holes I will need are as small as 1" diameter.
I have thought of using a cutting wheel on a dremmel but thus wheels are so thin they usually shatter if you just look at them wrong!
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04-25-2010, 10:23 AM
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#2
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Rivet Master
1965 28' Ambassador
Irving
, Texas
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 604
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MDSilverado
I'm looking for reccomentdations for cutting aluminum interior wall panels. I am rebuilding my 77' 31 Sovereign. I have several square and round hole I need to cut and would like some advise? Some of the wiring holes I will need are as small as 1" diameter.
I have thought of using a cutting wheel on a dremmel but thus wheels are so thin they usually shatter if you just look at them wrong!
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Try a hole saw with a pilot bit.They come in all sizes.For the square, drill the circle then square off the edges with small tin snips or the dremel once the bulk is removed.
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04-25-2010, 10:28 AM
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#3
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4 Rivet Member
1970 27' Overlander
ARLINGTON
, TEXAS
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 335
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Jig Saw with a metal blade?
__________________
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion...
Taylor 1/20/96 - 11/28/08
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04-25-2010, 10:35 AM
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#4
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Rivet Master
1973 27' Overlander
Currently Looking...
Jupiter
, Florida
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,062
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The Dremel rotary blades - look for the fiber reinforced black aluminum oxide discs, they are larger in diameter and 10x the strength of the redish-tan emory style discs...
As a general warning high-speed cut-off wheels are not recommended to be used on aluminum, they are made to burn away iron with the great rooster tail of sparks and aluminum can clump up on the cutting disc and throw it off balance enough to shatter the disc; that being said I'll admit I've merrily ground away at sheet and cast aluminum and not had any problems.
__________________
The days are short and the night is long and the stars go tumbling by.. . ~Airstream~
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04-25-2010, 10:40 AM
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#5
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Rivet Master
1968 24' Tradewind
Oxford,
, Mississippi
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,564
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Go to Avery Tools (Averytools.com), They specialize in tools for aircraft aluminum work. They have anything you will need to do the work the right way.
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04-25-2010, 10:44 AM
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#6
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1 Rivet Member
1976 31' Sovereign
Shelby
, North Carolina
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 17
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Where are you getting your alum. wall panels?
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04-25-2010, 11:59 AM
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#7
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Rivet Master
1973 27' Overlander
Currently Looking...
Jupiter
, Florida
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,062
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My other post I wanted to solve your frustration with the Dremel tool only, so I'm adding an additional solution...
Here is an example of a handy tool - Sheet metal nibbler - that I've used on everything from mixing bowl stainless steel to copper flashing.. Think I found it for $10 on sale...
__________________
The days are short and the night is long and the stars go tumbling by.. . ~Airstream~
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04-25-2010, 01:09 PM
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#8
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3 Rivet Member
1977 31' Sovereign
Severna Park
, Maryland
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 103
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Thanks all...just back from HD I see now that they do make a thicker wheel for the Dremmel for cutting. My Dremmel is rechargable so I may have to upgrade to the 120v model to use those (any excuse to buy another tool). I also purchased an electricians stepped hole bit. It will cut from .25" to 1.125" diameter hole for pulling wires.
Eddie - I'm not installing any new wall panel (yet)...just some minor cutting for rewiring the trailer and putting in new puck lights etc.
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04-25-2010, 03:56 PM
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#9
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Rivet Master
1963 26' Overlander
Austin
, Texas
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,640
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I've use a combination of hole saws, tin snips, dremel cut-off wheels, and for long cuts, the most effective tool is the electric shears:
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
Good luck!
-Marcus
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10-17-2012, 09:09 PM
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#10
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Rivet Master
1978 31' Sovereign
Oakley
, California
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,197
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All the cool stuff from the 70s is gone! They used to make a tool that looked like a jigsaw, but it had two wheels, one rotating and the other fixed...like a canopener...cut circles, arcs, straight in tin and alumibum sheet just like butter!
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10-25-2012, 05:59 AM
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#11
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Rivet Master
1974 31' Excella 500
Charleston
, South Carolina
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,073
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Thanks Wabbit. Just got myself a nibbler from Harbor Freight.
Question about interior panels....
Is aluminum just as ok to use for stove backsplash as stainless steel is?
__________________
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.
- Andrew Carnegie
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