Well I couldn't hold out any longer than 24 hours to try out my new cutter, so after dinner this evening I decided to venture out the back. Firstly I had to find and assemble my brothers drill press, now let me tell you these things look mighty impressive once setup. But setting one of these bastards up requires a bit co-ordination and strength(both of which most people will say i'm lacking ;P).
Once the drill was setup I so found I had a few problems, like a missing chuck key to tighten the drill head. Hmmm well a screwdriver and some brute strength took care of that snag. Next I needed some way of elevating the case to be cutup from the drilling platform, a nearby piece of wood proved to be just the ticket. So i'm all setup, I check the gearing of the drill press and decide it looks good to me ;)
Because the circular cutter has a protective cowl over it there is no need for protective glasses, but let me tell you, you'll be glad the cutter has the cowl. Sparks were flying left right and center. The first bit of cutting went without a hitch but it soon became clear that the shape of the cutter head wasn't going to allow the cutter to go all the way through the metal of the AT case. In the end I resorted to turn the case through 180 degrees and attacking it from the otherside.
Overall the hole I managed to produce is round like I aimed for, but from the state of the edge of the hole and the state of the cutting blade I don't think this would qualify as a resounding success. Oh well its not a complete disaster, and i'm praising myself for trying this on a test case first rather than trashing my beloved new pristine case.
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| The drill press all setup and ready to go. |
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| A little friend makes an entrance. |
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| My evil companion watches over me as I work. |
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| The results of my work, pretty circular but not a very clean cut. |
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| You can see the cut hasn't gone straight through, rather it has made an angled edge. |
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| Just another picture of my new really round hole. |
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| A closeup of the edge after cutting, rather disapointing. |
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| A nice collection of metal shavings. |
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| A closeup of the edge of the blade after cutting, rather mangled. |
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| My new metal coaster to add to my collection. |