Square holes in aluminium...

[maxdd_nj]

If your working with thicker aluminum and can't use a punch. Try drilling as large a round hole in the center of the square/rectangle then square it up using a jigsaw with metal cutting blade. Works everytime.

Max

[Xoc1]

Professionally:-
lasercutting is the way I produce cut out panels.
You can specify any shape you want, get great accuracy and a decent finish.
Only limitation usually is the hole diameter must be bigger than the material thickness.
Challenges with this are setting out a DXF file in CAD, and finding a lasercutter company that wont charge too much for a minimum order.
At home:-
I usually mark out with a soft pencil. Then drill copious holes (Centre punch the hole centres before drilling, so they don,t drift off centre when you drill through.)
Cut out extra material with a hacksaw. I have one where the blade can be set at 90 deg angles. Then its down to filling with a round and flat file set. You need to make sure that the files are sharp, and then removing material is easy.

[aardvarkash10]

Thanks all - lots of great practical (and not so...) ideas. Envious of you who have relatively easy access to Front Panel and the likes. Here we think we are pretty damn lucky just to get a pair of pliers and a 12 inch shifter...

Distortion of the panel is the biggest problem I have, closely associated with my impatience and tight-fisted approach to capital expenditure. Guess the first thing I should buy is a can of Patience and a two-dozen pack of Realism.

[Enzo]

If you are getting bent panels, give them some support. Clamp the panel to a wooden plank. That will support it as you push against it with a drill bit. If you want to use a saw, clamp a wood backing piece right up next to the line you want to cut.

[MikeHunt79]

I use a Fien Multimaster, it's pretty good for doing square holes in Alu.

[dangus]

The key is to invest in good metal files. Rattail, triangle, flat, square in various sizes. If you've only ever used the rusty ones that were rattling around in the bottom of your dad's toolbox since before you were born, new files will be a revelation. Scribe the lines accurately, chew the hole out undersize with Unibit, nibbler, cutoff wheel, or saber saw, and file to fit. File in one direction only (away), holding the file with two hands. For small openings, like D-shaped holes for banana jacks, jeweller's files are helpful.

[mobyd]

Flypress
Once upon a time, every little plumbing shop had one of these, but since they became supermarkets, the old presses got flogged off for scrap. They can still be found if you look hard enough.
Note hastily inserted piece of plywood - don't want the world to see how untidy my workshop is :-).
M

[FAA]

I used my Rotary Tool (Dremel) with Cutting Bit i bought from Ebay..

[aardvarkash10]

Originally Posted by mobyd

Note hastily inserted piece of plywood - don't want the world to see how untidy my workshop is :-).
M

Lol - in MY w/shop, you'd be lucky to FIND the press. And the cat would have been buried under something that fell over too.

[wintermute]

Originally Posted by FAA

I used my Rotary Tool (Dremel) with Cutting Bit i bought from Ebay..

Hmm so did I and the result was terrible I then chain drilled and filed for a much better result... my bit was slightly different though (spiral flutes) so may have been too agressive (and I was probably too impatient). Admittedly I was trying to do it quickly by using a steel template (old pc case) and just run around the existing hole. The bit just tore through the steel resulting in the mess shown

Tony.