I've been researching dimple dies, and came up with my own variation.
Instead of making them on even sizes like the commercially available ones, I made my large one for a 2.4" hole. Why you may ask? Well a 2.4" hole is what 2" conduit uses, so hole saws, and more importantly knock outs. It is so much faster drilling a pilot hole and using a knock out to make the hole than using a hole saw. Knock outs are availble for even sizes as well, but I'm a cheap a$$, and the conduit size ones are much more plentiful. I found a Greenlee Hydraulic knock out kit on E-bay for 100.00. The best part is the larger (More expensive) sized knock outs are never used as much as the 1/2" and 3/4" conduit sizes, so they have less wear. As to how thick of a matwerial you can use them on, I have succesfully punched the 2.4" hole in 10 Ga 304 SS with nothin more than a BIG bang when it punches through. Enough BS, here are the pics:
I made the male die 2 pieces because I was only able to find 1" thick cut offs of the 5" bar stock I needed for the die, and I was not about to go buy something
Test hole in some 14 Ga sheet metal:
Water bottle for size reference:
Skid plate for my bumper project (10 Ga 304 SS):
I have also made one for a 3/4" conduit KO. Future plans include 1/2", 1", and 1 1/2" conduit sizes.
Instead of making them on even sizes like the commercially available ones, I made my large one for a 2.4" hole. Why you may ask? Well a 2.4" hole is what 2" conduit uses, so hole saws, and more importantly knock outs. It is so much faster drilling a pilot hole and using a knock out to make the hole than using a hole saw. Knock outs are availble for even sizes as well, but I'm a cheap a$$, and the conduit size ones are much more plentiful. I found a Greenlee Hydraulic knock out kit on E-bay for 100.00. The best part is the larger (More expensive) sized knock outs are never used as much as the 1/2" and 3/4" conduit sizes, so they have less wear. As to how thick of a matwerial you can use them on, I have succesfully punched the 2.4" hole in 10 Ga 304 SS with nothin more than a BIG bang when it punches through. Enough BS, here are the pics:
I made the male die 2 pieces because I was only able to find 1" thick cut offs of the 5" bar stock I needed for the die, and I was not about to go buy something
Test hole in some 14 Ga sheet metal:
Water bottle for size reference:
Skid plate for my bumper project (10 Ga 304 SS):
I have also made one for a 3/4" conduit KO. Future plans include 1/2", 1", and 1 1/2" conduit sizes.