Drill bits?

Guys im getting ready to sand and prime my dash and while im at it I want to go ahead and drill a couple of holes for my oil and volt gauges. What did you use to cut out your holes? I probably need to cut out a 1.5" hole or so to make the gauge fit.

Cheap way is a hole saw. Make sure it's for metal, not wood.
Expensive way is a knockout punch. Makes a nice hole, but if it's one use, it's probably too much money.




You can also try drilling a small hole and using a jigsaw, then fileing the last bit to fit.

thanks for the info. I was thinking a hole saw, but wasnt sure about getting through the metal, its not that thick so I will give it ago. this is all im using if for and the knockout punch is too much $$ for what im doing. I will post up some pics once I get it done.

[i]Harbor freight has a set of nice -very inexpensice hole saws. Comes with a pilot & such i own 3 sets there so cheap to buy-just remember to lightly oil when cutting the metal.

I was thinking of stopping by Harbor Freight or Northern tools to see what they had.

I would go with Northern, a little higher quality

You want to put a hole in a good dash or is already hacked up? Hard to find them not screwed up. How about a underdash mount?

Our vans are all about making them custom to our selves. No two are the same. There has been several threads on here with some amazing custom dashes and that is the route I'm going. Plan on drilling 2 holes, removing the ash tray and replacing with something. Maybe a clock.

a knockout punch makes a much nicer hole than a hole saw, you may want to look on craigslist to see if any electricians are selling theirs. if you know an electrician you may be able to borrow one for a couple of holes.

cl350rr wrote:a knockout punch makes a much nicer hole than a hole saw, you may want to look on craigslist to see if any electricians are selling theirs. if you know an electrician you may be able to borrow one for a couple of holes.

Thanks for the suggestion, I do know a few people in the electrician and plumbing field. May save me a few bucks.

Alot of guages take a 2-1/16" hole, I have yet to find a saw or anything that makes the exact correct size. If there is such an animal Id like to have one?

The cutter rod showed early in the post is called a "Greenley cutter' by same mfg. I believe they are avail in that size?? They are expensive . If I can remember -hahya- ill look as i have some-just been a while since i used those here.

Rayallen wrote:Our vans are all about making them custom to our selves. No two are the same. There has been several threads on here with some amazing custom dashes and that is the route I'm going. Plan on drilling 2 holes, removing the ash tray and replacing with something. Maybe a clock.

RayAllen, check out Dilater's van thread. I believe he has a clock installed on the part that holds the steering column. Don't know if yours has that part or not, but it looks nice.

Lazarusvan wrote:

Rayallen wrote:Our vans are all about making them custom to our selves. No two are the same. There has been several threads on here with some amazing custom dashes and that is the route I'm going. Plan on drilling 2 holes, removing the ash tray and replacing with something. Maybe a clock.

RayAllen, check out Dilater's van thread. I believe he has a clock installed on the part that holds the steering column. Don't know if yours has that part or not, but it looks nice.

Sweet, I'll take a look.

I did find the 2-1/16" holesaws listed singly by a couple manufacturers, I guess you just dont see them in kits very often as thats what I have been looking at mostly since ours took a walk...