Putting a hole in the fender

[RichNJKubota]

This is car related.
I need to put a 22mm hole in my right front fender for a side marker lite. The left side already has the lite. Someone replaced the fender with one that has no hole for the lite.
The only way I can think to do it would be to drill a bunch of small holes on the inside of the circle to make a rough hole and then file the hole smooth with a round file or a high speed hand held grinder.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Junkman]

if you can get to the backside of it, you can use a chassis punch. Probably can borrow one from a body shop or use a hole saw. Check with the dealership body shop if they have one. Your method is very time consuming and difficult to get a clean hole... Check to see if the wire and lamp socket are still there. If you can't find one, send me a private message and I will check to see how close that my punches are to 22 mm. Mine are in fractional inches. I could mail it to you and then you WILL mail it back !!..... I am very protective of my dogs and my tools.........LOL....

 

[SimS]

Junkman;

A 7/8" punch should be pretty close, right?

Sim

 

[cisco]

I punched a hole in my tractor's metal fender recently, somewhat smaller than your requirments, and a Unibit worked fine (and most Unibit sets will reach the 7/8 inch size).

 

[Inspector507]

22mm should be REAL close to a 7/8" punch. I have several and could send you one to use if you want, but I need it back /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Drill a 3/8" hole in the center, slide the bolt through the die and fender, then screw on the cutter. A few twists of a Crescent wrench and you have a hole /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Oh yeah..... I have a unibit that goes up 7/8" also. They can be purchased at most home centers and hardware stores.

 

[RichNJKubota]

Junkman,

I re-measured the hole and yes it is 22mm and 7/8" seems to be close enough for this.
Will a punch make a clean hole without de-forming the surrounding area?
Where can I buy a punch? I have a set of smaller diameter punches from many years ago and have used them alot.
I do appreciate the offer and will take you up on it if needed. But first I'll ask around here. There's a couple of neighbors with a good selection of tools.
Also, did not know there were hole saws for metal. Or do you mean those ones in home depot that use a common arbor with different size saws that screw onto the arbor? The teeth on those saws seem way to course for use on metal.
Rich

 

[Inspector507]

A hole saw may make a sloppy hole.
The KO punch or Unibit should not deform the fender at all.

 

[Junkman]

I agree that the hole saw is a bit crude for a fender, but that is what we used for putting antenna's in back in the 1960's. I don't know what the punch will cost, but I know that they are not cheap. It will make a clean hole and not distort the surrounding metal. A Unibit will also make a nice clean hole. No matter what you use, you must put some form of paint on the bare metal on all 3 sides so moisture will not start to cause paint pealing and rust. I will check my selection for a 7/8" punch and let you know. I don't have a full set, but have a bunch of different sizes... CT to NJ will be only a couple of days by Parcel Post...

 

[chim]

If you go with a KO punch, I'd use it with the cutter part on the painted side (bolt head inside) to limit damage to the paint. A Unibit would probably be the ticket. With the Unibit, go slowly in case it decides to catch a piece of scrap and scratch rings around the hole. Maybe a piece of masking tape would be cheap insurance too...............chim

 

[BobReeves]

I would go with the unibit, you can get them at HD or Lowes. A little expensive for a drill bit but they work well in sheet metal and cut a clean hole. You will find all kinds of use for it in the future.

The Greenlee hole punches are great but they are really expensive and the unibit will be more versital for future projects.