Casing a CMoy - paper punch didn't work

[infinitesymphony]

I've been looking forward to casing the three CMoys I'd built using Joshatdot's PCB. I planned on using Altoids (or similar) tins.

Both a regular metal hole punch and a $5 soft-grip hole punch have broken before punching a single hole... Are there any other solutions besides getting either a Unibit and drill, or a drill press?

What about alternatives for casing? Something weaker or easier to work with might be a good idea.

 

[TzeYang]

lol, i've punched plentiful of Jujubes Mint tint cases and i never ran into this kind of problem.

You should get a stronger single hole puncher

 

[infinitesymphony]

Those are the punches I've tried... The first one wouldn't punch through the tin and the second (soft-grip) punch bent so much that the handle was pushed together, and when I tried to pull it apart, the whole thing fell to pieces.

Maybe I'll return it for another and use a little less pressure.

 

[Rocketmech]

I used one of these and it will punch thru heavy guage steel

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[MisterX]

lol, yeah that would definitely work.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Whoa... Thanks for the link, Rocketmech. Looks like a killer punch.

I wonder if there are similar punches at even lower prices... $26 is a little high just for a few CMoys.

 

[Joshatdot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocketmech /img/forum/go_quote.gif I used one of these and it will punch thru heavy guage steel Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Nice! I need to get me one of those!

Hows the amp sounding infinite?

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those are the punches I've tried... The first one wouldn't punch through the tin and the second (soft-grip) punch bent so much that the handle was pushed together, and when I tried to pull it apart, the whole thing fell to pieces. Maybe I'll return it for another and use a little less pressure.

All I've used are the ones on the left and they'll cut through the rolled lip on a Penguins tin. If it wasn't for the limited throat depth, it would work just like a nibbler.

I wonder what kind of mint tin you are using?

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshatdot /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hows the amp sounding infinite?

Very good! Once I had prevented the faster op-amps from oscillating using bypass/decoupling capacitors, I went ahead and built two more amps using the same parts and design.

I demo'd it to a friend yesterday, and it sounded wonderful with his Sennheiser HD595s, straight out of a cheap X-Fi XtremeGamer sound card. After rolling the op-amps a few times, it was down to the LM4562 and OPA2228. For his headphones, the LM4562 was the overall better match.

The OPA2107 and AD823 stood out as sounding completely different from the rest, with the former having a weird separation between bass and treble (almost a "honkiness" in the midrange), and the latter having the airiest treble I've heard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomb /img/forum/go_quote.gif All I've used are the ones on the left and they'll cut through the rolled lip on a Penguins tin. If it wasn't for the limited throat depth, it would work just like a nibbler. I wonder what kind of mint tin you are using?

Just typical Altoids tins. The all-metal punches seem more solid, but I might have picked a brand of punch that wasn't very sharp in the first place.

 

[n00bler]

Would a ginormouse altoids tin be easier to work with?

 

[infinitesymphony]

Hahah, perhaps, but then it's not portable.

I exchanged the $5 punch at Staples and tried again. The second punch worked for about five punches and a few nibbles (to enlarge the holes)--just enough to finish working on a practice tin--and then it stopped punching and broke.

Next step... I've enlisted the help of my father; we're going to try using a center punch and drill. Even with a sharp hole punch, it was difficult to cut out accurately sized and positioned holes for the audio jacks, so perhaps this will be a cleaner solution.