Hole punch through brand new CPO ?

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Is that a good idea to install the CPO first and then use the hole punch for the metal CPO ? Using the hole punch for an extra button hole so the edge will be covered by the button...

I never worked with a hole punch before. I have to determine the position of the hole using the CPO.
 
That should work. If the CPO already has a hole cut out, it'll be easy, but the punch shouldn't damage the CPO like a hole saw might if it doesn't.

Why not lay the CPO on the panel (not stuck down), figure out where you want the button, make a small hole in the center of where that button would be, use a marker to poke through that hole to the panel so you know where the button goes, punch out your hole, apply your CPO, then cut out the hole....
 
Excellent idea and I should have thought about that myself.......but it's too late now.


I ruined the CPO :(

The cause was probably that the paint hadn't set enough and also the glue of the vinyl. Thus, when I started pulling in the hole punch, it twisted in the very beginning, tearing the CPO around the projected button hole...

DAMN ! :( I am so angry at myself. A costly lesson learned
 
Excellent idea and I should have thought about that myself.......but it's too late now.


I ruined the CPO :(

The cause was probably that the paint hadn't set enough and also the glue of the vinyl. Thus, when I started pulling in the hole punch, it twisted in the very beginning, tearing the CPO around the projected button hole...

DAMN ! :( I am so angry at myself. A costly lesson learned

How much did it tear? The lip of the button may cover it up...
 
In the billions of controls I've done over the years, I layout where the holes are going to go and use the hole punch first. Then I clean the panel thoroughly so the overlay will stick well. Then I lay down the overlay.
 
Yes. The main fault I made was that I didn't wait for you experienced guys to answer my question. STUPID ME.

Here's what happened:

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Sometimes I wonder if I'm at all fit for this hobby....sigh...
 
I wish I would have seen your post I could have saved you some hassle..

Someone wanted me to add some holes to a forgotten worlds control panel. This panel had its orignal overlay on it. I had just gotten a greenlee puch.

So I did the 1st 3 buttons no problem. On the 4th, the top moved and tore the overlay.

I would think if you put the blade part on the overlay side you should never have a problem. Once the blades star going into the metal, there is no way it will move and tear the overlay. It does make using the punch harder to use, but if your trying to protect the overlay thats the way to do it.
 
Another afterthought assuming you had no other option but to cut the hole after the cpo was applied is to take an exacto knife and cut the hole in the cpo before using the punch. That way the punch should only be touching the part of the cpo that will be removed anyway. Hard to say if it would damage the cpo or not but I've been more happy with using a unibit to put holes in my cp's than a punch. You can buy a unibit in the perfect button hole size. They are expensive though.
 
Another afterthought assuming you had no other option but to cut the hole after the cpo was applied is to take an exacto knife and cut the hole in the cpo before using the punch. That way the punch should only be touching the part of the cpo that will be removed anyway. Hard to say if it would damage the cpo or not but I've been more happy with using a unibit to put holes in my cp's than a punch. You can buy a unibit in the perfect button hole size. They are expensive though.

The only Unibit I ever found had a huge ass chuck on it.
 
Another afterthought assuming you had no other option but to cut the hole after the cpo was applied is to take an exacto knife and cut the hole in the cpo before using the punch. That way the punch should only be touching the part of the cpo that will be removed anyway. Hard to say if it would damage the cpo or not but I've been more happy with using a unibit to put holes in my cp's than a punch. You can buy a unibit in the perfect button hole size. They are expensive though.


The problem is that the top half turns when you you tighten the bolt. the top half is much too large to cut the overlay away (the blade part gets pulled into the top half so its much larger than the button hole).
 
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