Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've seen deli containers with extremely clean round 1.5 to 3 inch holes punched. This would help me create egg laying containers as well as moist hides and hatchling water cups. How is this done? I'm guessing with some sort of punch--I've tried utility knives and soldering guns (usable but not too pretty). Please help. Thanks! Adam

Have you tried a drafting compass? The ones with two sharp points. Maybe you could cut a circle with it or at least scribe it and finish it off with a Xacto knife. You could also use a template. Xacto has a circle cutter that makes 3in circles and up. I've also seen at model hobby shops a drafting compass-like tool that cuts circles with a small knife that swivels.

I just thought about this one. How about heating the sharpen end of a round cookie cutter.. but, this could get messy. Or, you could tap a circle with it. The cutter might need some sharpening to make a clean cut. Hope it works.

thanks

I use a soldering iron. If you really want it to be pretty you could make a metal template with a section of pipe or something to trace.

don't tell anyone! This is how I do it.
I use aluminum flashing (2" stright length about 2" tall too.) then I drill a hole in both ends, make sure they match up. I put a bolt and a nut throught the hole - a cookie cutter is born! I use a dremmel with a sharpening stone and LIGHTLY run it around the circle on the inside, you arn't trying to make a katana out of this, just making the area that gets heated thinner.
Then I build a rageing bon-fire.. just kidding...
I heat the cutter up on a small hot-plate used for keeping coffe cups warm. I put the lid on my work bench, set the hole cutter on it for a few min, pick the cutter up WITH PLIERS!! (figured that one out all by myself, don't drink and herp kids!) and set the cutter on the lid. In a few seconds and a puff of plastic smelling smoke you have a perfect circle in a lid. Then repeat - although the time after the initial heating is shorter, 30 seconds or so for the next lid.
Hope this helps - next, how I built my own chain-saw!!
-Blue

I actually have a hole saw. It cuts nice holes but I need to sand afterwards. For that I use my oscillating spindle sander, does pretty quick work of it but is still two steps.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

n/p