Drills and hole-saws make cutting round holes easy enough, but what techniques do cockpit builders use for all those square and rectangular holes necessary for push buttons, screens, digital readouts and so on?Lets assume the family CNC milling machine (I wish) has been stolen by aliens to fix their spaceship, so we are talking simple workshop hand or power tools here. --Bryn

For square holes in wood, the technique is to dril a round hole and then square the corners with a chisel. In plastic, drill the round hole, then use a key-hole saw to roughly square the corners, and a file to finish them. In metal, it's usually easiest to drill the hole and then use a file all the way to square them.

Hi,I used to make R/C modelboats and helicopters.If you want to have several of the same size holes you could make a mould out of hard material. So for the mould take a strip of hardned metal and as described by Bryn, drill a hole and use a file to get it exactly as you need it to be. Then drill a hole in the panel where you want the rectangular cutout to be. Next hold the mould onto the material and use a powertool to copy the shape. Lastly use a file to finish the corners.

Hi,Try using ROTOZIP.

rotozip is something like a dremel ?

Hi,Guess you could say its an oversized dremel. It drills holes and then the drill bit/blade can be used like a jigsaw.Its a great tool.Here's the web site: http://www.rotozip.com

Thanks everyone for the replies.The Rotozip looks like an interesting device, but I haven't seen one in the UK.--Bryn

Take a lookhttp://www.schaeffer-ag.deBOB

>Take a look>>http://www.schaeffer-ag.deYep, Schaeffer is amazing if metal panels are OK with you.http://tigert.com/aviation/vatsim/cockpit-...n-closeup2.jpeg//Tuomas

Hi,Another tool that you could use to make square or rectangular holes are punches like described here:Edit: sorry the direct link didn't work. You have to register the site, but look for "punches" on the site to have an idea of the tool. http://www.rs-components.beRegards,Hugo

How to drill! nearly square holes. Look at this:http://whistleralley.com/reuleaux/reuleaux.htmRegards,Hugo