Type of drill to get?

[nicebutdim]

While I have hole sawed to 110mm its not a great experience and rarely that accurate a hole at the end of the day, a hole punch is far more civilised.

For you or the gears in your drill?

To be fair, few electricians will be using holesaws above 64mm in steel. Larger sizes tend to be used in more forgiving materials and, if cutting a number of large holes (160mm+), I'd switch out the SDS chuck and let a bigger drill handle the strain.

 

[pc1966]

Here is an example of a D style punch:

Single 'D' Punch Unit - The Cable Tooling Company

Get next day delivery when you buy the Single 'D' Punch Unit from The Cable Tooling Company.

www.cabletooling.co.uk

RS and Farnell list far more Greenlee special hole punches, but prices are around double of those folks. Having said that, RS is often ex-stock while they are on demand and can be many weeks. Here is one I got recently, but not at this price:

50124749 | Greenlee Punch and Die Tool, 43.4 x 12.9mm, 25 Way D F, Hydraulic Operation | RS

uk.rs-online.com

They say "hydraulic operation" and you can get, at great expense, a matching hydraulic actuator but by default it has a nut and bearing so can be done using a spanner or socket set.

 

[pc1966]

For you or the gears in your drill?

Both!

Was for some waste pipe as a cunning entry route for cables.

To be fair, few electricians will be using holesaws above 64mm in steel. Larger sizes tend to be used in more forgiving materials and, if cutting a number of large holes (160mm+), I'd switch out the SDS chuck and let a bigger drill handle the strain.

True, it was unusual and as you can see above, not amenable to a hole punch anyway for all sorts of reasons!

 

[MJPD29]

I would recommend Milwaukee. I’ve only had good experiences with their tools and tend not to vary because they are the batteries I have. M12 range and m18 range are both great, m18 being considerably more powerful but larger and heavier.

 

[pirate]

How many holes with a punch?
As @pc1966 said, hundreds if you treat them right!
Never at the bottom of my toolbox, I have them in a dedicated box, ready for use, and look forward to using them!
A very nice young spark came to fit a new DB at the charity place I do work for. I had run all the cables and installed the sockets and lighting etc and he came to put in a new, bigger DB. He couldn't get his drill and hole saw anywhere near so I lent him my 20mm punch and he had never seen one before. Punched 2 holes in DB and 2 more in trunking. He emailed me later that day to say he had ordered 4! I guess it's just horses for courses. We all have our favourites, and maybe it just takes a new approach to find something else?
I just like tools that do the job with less noise and disruption...but I'm old, so sometimes folk look at me and ask why I use such and such a tool. I reply it's because I research, research, research...I have the time, I am retired, I don't need to save 5 minutes per point...but I get the satisfaction of doing each point to the best of my ability. Be open to different ideas, that's all I do.
The satisfaction I got using my impact driver to drive 200mm coachbolts into timber decking posts was immense!

 

[pirate]

As an aside, check out the price for Milwaukee step-drills here:

Step Drill Bits | Drilling | Screwfix

Buy Step Drill Bits at Screwfix.com. Cone-shaped bit allows for the drilling of multiple holes without having to swap bits. Hundreds of stores nationwide.

www.screwfix.com

 

[pirate]

I have the Erbauer ones, and they are fine for light work, but when I bought mine a few years ago they were half the price shown, so prices have sure gone up.

 

[nicebutdim]

As an aside, check out the price for Milwaukee step-drills here:

Step Drill Bits | Drilling | Screwfix

Buy Step Drill Bits at Screwfix.com. Cone-shaped bit allows for the drilling of multiple holes without having to swap bits. Hundreds of stores nationwide.

www.screwfix.com

Seems the forum needs a 'shocked' emoji! I'm guessing they must be very good. While there nothing more useless than a poor quality step drill, £250 is a tad more expensive than one might expect to pay for good quality.

I have a small erbauer step drill. It's not up there with the best of them, but more than respectable for the price paid at the time. Treated with care they'll last quite well and certainly represent good value for money.

I think you've nailed the punch issue with the mention of time. While I like the idea of punches, I need to get stuff done quickly and efficiently and smooth cutting hole saws provide a decent compromise where it comes to making clean cuts quickly. If it came to fitting 50 loop in boxes to trunking, I'd be shown the door before punching a fraction of them.

 

[pirate]

Fair comment, @nicebutdim
Time is something of which I have plenty, but I fully realise that most guys don't have that luxury.
Just been helping a friend install CCTV and alarms and internet extenders...he hates what I do, I love what he does, but both retired so we just play about til we find a way we are both happy with and go for it!
His pet hate is my obsession with preventing premature collapse in the event of fire...but he goes with it, even though I may be slightly obsessive!
He knows his stuff though...I just install the cables!
We agonised for ages over gettin WiFi from the main building to a garage 50 metres away, but he came up with a mast on the main building and a receiver on the garage roof...we tweaked it for hours to get the best signal, then local lads kicked footballs against the garage mast and sent it askew...and it still works fine!
Variety...the spice of life!...and galvy band is your friend!

 

[pc1966]

The time aspect is a factor for many commercial sparks, but of course if you have to work on an existing installation you also have to consider time / risk of masking off stuff and hoovering out swarf afterwards.

@pirate raised an important advantage and that is a hole punch can often be used in areas where you can't get a hole saw + battery drill in to, and I would also add that a hole punch is very useful if you have an existing hole that is too small. Unlike a saw, you can open out a big hole without precise centring, moving it a bit to one side if wanted, etc.

A cone drill is handy as well as it can open out holes, but they remain centred by design, sometimes better/easier, occasionally not best result is you need to clear larger gland nut, etc.

 

[pc1966]

We agonised for ages over getting WiFi from the main building to a garage 50 metres away, but he came up with a mast on the main building and a receiver on the garage roof...we tweaked it for hours to get the best signal, then local lads kicked footballs against the garage mast and sent it askew...and it still works fine!
Variety...the spice of life!...and galvy band is your friend!

Sometimes radio is great, other time not! Running some outdoor CAT-5 cable, or fibre, is going to be faster and more reliable, but not always practical or cost-effective.

 

[nicebutdim]

I get that punches will operate within much tighter confines than a hole saw, but surely a pilot hole still needs to be drilled?

In really tight spots I'll use a less than powerful angle drill.

I'm still tempted to buy a few punches in common sizes...

 

[rewireIT]

He couldn't get his drill and hole saw anywhere near

How exactly do you use them? The only ones i've been able to find on youtube use something that looks like a drill so comparable in size

 

[pc1966]

I get that punches will operate within much tighter confines than a hole saw, but surely a pilot hole still needs to be drilled?

Yes, you need a pilot hole and for smaller sizes that may not be any more of a savings than a small drill & hole saw access. For larger sizes, like 51mm for large bushes, or cable glands, it is a space saving.

Sometimes you have an existing hole or knock-out that is not the wanted size but will do for pilot hole.

 

[pc1966]

How exactly do you use them? The only ones i've been able to find on youtube use something that looks like a drill so comparable in size

The cup part goes on one side of the sheet, the die part other side, and then you tighten the through-bolt until the die is pulled through.

 

[rewireIT]

The cup part goes on one side of the sheet, the die part other side, and then you tighten the through-bolt until the die is pulled through.

Tighten it with what? I need to see one of these in action i can't picture how they're used. I've seen the milwaukee ones that use a gun type thing but not the manual ones

 

[pc1966]

Tighten it with what? I need to see one of these in action i can't picture how they're used. I've seen the milwaukee ones that use a gun type thing but not the manual ones

Are you thinking of a cone/step drill, or a hole punch?

The cone/step drills are used just like a drill but as you push further in it gets larger.

 

[pc1966]

Here is a hole punch in parts, dashed line where the metal sheet would be:

 

[pc1966]

That punch is small, 14.5mm, just one I had laying around my flat.

 

[pirate]

Couldn't use CAT5 or fibre as we had to cross ground not owned by us, otherwise that would have been preferable, @pc1966.
I see your punch has a nice big nut for tightening, which means you can use a ratchet and socket. My old ones were like that but recent ones are tightened by hex-wrench, which is not as good, imho.