Comments on: Greenlee’s Slug-Buster Knockout Punch

By: Nate Bezanson

Nate Bezanson — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:28:01 +0000

I ran across a fairly affordable set the other day: http://www.oselectronics.com/ose_p64.htm

Being made by Philmore and stocked by an electronics supplier, I assume it’s designed for mounting vacuum tube sockets in aluminum radio chassis. Maybe it’ll work on steel electrical boxes, too?

By: Stuart Deutsch

Stuart Deutsch — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 11:44:00 +0000

MT,

This is intended for large diameter holes, especially in environments where a drillpress cannot be used. When dealing with metal, your only powertool options are to use a holesaw, jigsaw, Dremel, or similar cutout tool. Using a holesaw with a cordless drill is somewhat inaccurate, requires some finishing work, and is incredibly frustrating at times.

For a 1/2″ hole, it might be a better idea to use a holesaw instead of a Slug-Buster. But when you need a larger hole, say 1″ or greater, a knockout punch is going to be much easier and quicker to use. Don’t forget that a large holesaw cut requires the use of cutting fluid and careful cleanup of metal dust and fragments.

By: MT

MT — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:48:39 +0000

Is the idea that this is more accurate than a center punch, drill, & block of scrap wood? Or for pre-installed pieces?

By: Fred

Fred — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:37:03 +0000

While they do require a pilot hole to be drilled, they produce the exact sized hole for conduit/emt.

By: john

john — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:39:37 +0000

My dad worked at Kodak for years fabricating electric and pneumatic panels… After he retired I “inherited” a complete set of these. They are the best tools for making perfectly round holes… and don’t distort the surrounding material. The one drawback it that they are not cable of making blind holes as you need to be able to get to the backside to put the cutting edge on. All in all, a great tool that beats a hole saw in many aspects.

By: Nick Carter

Nick Carter — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:13:16 +0000

They also make shapes for various electronic components, squares (Ebay is your friend), etc. Very handy tools for many purposes.

I lucked into buying the hydraulic puller tool (like a tiny portapower) they sell for these ($7.50! They had no idea what it was at the garage sale) and it speeds up the process of pulling the halves together, consider getting one if you do constant work with them, much easier than cranking a wrench around.