Cutting a hole for a 120mm fan

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bluehorizon

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
100
From a post below, I gathered that I would need a hole saw with a diameter of 4.5 inches to cut a hole the right size for a 120mm fan; is this correct?

I looked on ebay; nothing I saw was 4.5". Aside from Home Depot or Lowes (which would be uber expensive I'm guessing), is there any place I can pick up one of these from?

Thanks!
 
That's about the right size

Just go to HD or Lowe's... $15 isn't really uber expensive
 
$15, that's it? I figured like $60. I assume that's just a stand-alone saw? Could I get one that will attach to a drill?
 
Hole saws do attach to drills, and they arent expensive at all

I used a 4.5" to cut my 120mm
 
um you guys are forgetting about the arbor :rolleyes: wich is another 15 for one that will fit this hole saw. I picked up a 114mm hole saw and a 79mm hole saw from home depot with arbor it came out to alittle over 50 bucks. Make sure you get a bimetal hole saw. There are other ways to cut a blow hole tho, do some research and you will see that people have used all kinds of diffrent tools.

JEEVES
 
bluehorizon said:
From a post below, I gathered that I would need a hole saw with a diameter of 4.5 inches to cut a hole the right size for a 120mm fan; is this correct?

I looked on ebay; nothing I saw was 4.5". Aside from Home Depot or Lowes (which would be uber expensive I'm guessing), is there any place I can pick up one of these from?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Do you plan on keeping and using it ever again? You may want to look into renting a 4.5" knock-out punch, some rentals have them, electricians use them for conduit. You may even be able to find a local electrical contractor that wouldn't mind helping you out for 5 minutes and you could do the cut for free...

Later

MD
 
I've been trying to find ways to make blow holes, and above someone said, research it, but i dont even know what to search for. I searched for tools to find this thread, but it wasnt even in the OP..... idea's?
 
You could use a dremel.. Cover the area in masking tape, outline the area you want to cut and get at it. Use a fiber-reinforced cutting disc to do the initial cut, and go back to it with either a grinding stone or sand barrel to clean it up and even it out..

Then you can use some sandpaper to clean it up and make it pretty.. If you don't have a dremel, go and buy one.. You'll find it'll make your life a hellova lot easier with everyhing.. You'll be using it more than you think.
 
MAXX RS4 said:
You could use a dremel.. Cover the area in masking tape, outline the area you want to cut and get at it. Use a fiber-reinforced cutting disc to do the initial cut, and go back to it with either a grinding stone or sand barrel to clean it up and even it out..

Then you can use some sandpaper to clean it up and make it pretty.. If you don't have a dremel, go and buy one.. You'll find it'll make your life a hellova lot easier with everyhing.. You'll be using it more than you think.
Click to expand...


I have a dremel and was considering doing that for a hole but I am also considering just buying a hole saw since it will cut nicer. Just wondering how much of the cutting wheel did you eat up and if the cut looked pretty clean.
 
I always use a dremel for mine, and it comes out great....I find a holesaw cumbersome, especially if your case is a thinner aluminum, its easy to catch and dent/rip the case.

Dremel


nate3.jpg



I use exactly the method described by MAXX, down to the letter. It works good, the hole is perfectly round and clean with the grill off as well.
 
Wow that looks really good man. I've used hole saws in the past and they can be pretty hard to control if you don't have the right setup. I'd highly recommend putting thick layers of masking tape all around the area just incase you slip. I lost control of the saw on my first casemod and there were nice little knicks and scrapes all over the place.. it looked quite good :p
 
Yes, the more tape the better.

I cut out three 80mm holes and one 120mm hole with only one 1" fiber disc. I lost maybe about 1mm of the diamter of the disc - they last pretty long if you know how to use them and depending one what you're cutting. And remember, the bigger the diamter of the disc, the faster the final speed ratio of the disc is. spinning it as fast as possible doesn't necessarily mean it's going to do the best job though.

A grinding stone will last forever if you're using the right one. A sanding barrel is more for softer stuff and you'd probably go through a few after a few hours of dremeling.

And remember, never use a dremel to cut graphite. Graphite dust is EXPLOSIVE. The sparks from the brushes gliding accross the comm are enough to set it off. Not only did I lose all the hair on my arms and face, but I did some pretty damage to my dremel.. Which reminds me that I have to go and replace these brushes now..
 
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