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Cutting some holes in the case

756 Views 10 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  TheJack
Hey, I want to know if you can cut metal with a jigsaw, or are they for wood only? I want to cut some holes in my case to put my psu wire through...Thanks.
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welcome to ocn!

Pics or it didn't happen, we are visuaphiles here (Yup that isn't a word).

As for your blade question I will leave that to the experts.
Definitely, just make sure the blades are for metal. I got a cheap $30 case and my brother and I cut the window out to make my HTPC custom for my daughter... came out sick..

Now only if my brother could cut a straight line...

Worked like a charm..make sure you clamp it down and it's loud as hell - and with flying burrs...make sure you have eye protection... you could seriously injure your eyes getting one of those burrs in there
yeah, you can use a jig for that as long you have the right blade, but...
if you're cutting holes for wires its a lot easier and looks a lot better if you use a drill and a 1.5" hole saw. You can get it at any hardware store and dont cost much. Make sure you get something to line it with like c-channel or burs could cut wires.
Hole saws are expensive. But they do make perfect holes.

Anyways: Just use a metal cutting blade and you should be fine.
You can cut holes in metal with a jigsaw, yes. I've done it a few times, just make sure you're using a metal blade! You get blades meant for different things; don't mix them up, disaster can occur. (Well the worst that happens is you ruin a blade).

You will have to make an initial incision with either a drill or a dremel to begin with, then it should be smooth sailing for the jigsaw.

If you're looking to make a fan hole, I really don't recommend using a jigsaw for that; it's going to be all kinds of difficult. You could use either a dremel with a reinforced cutting disk or a hole saw to cut fan holes in your case.

4.5" hole saw is what you need for 120mm fans, and the screw holes to mount the fans should be 4mm/ 0.15".

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You can use wood blades from a jig saw to cut a hole in your case. That's how I cut my window anyways, 'cus the only metal blade he had broke


I would say use a dremel if you're not going to be cutting a circle. But if you're going with a circle, try for a hole saw. If you can't get a hole saw and only a dremel, be sure to hold it at a 45 degree angle so that you can cut smoother and whatnot.
Jigsaw is best for long cuts, dremel is good for starter cuts or for making little holes like for cable management.
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Personally, I would get a hole saw that matches the hole size you want cut. It will take less than 30sec to get a hole done with one.
For cable management holes a hole saw should run you $20bucks.
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well i got a jigsaw but don't know if it has a metal blade on it. I also got some hole saw's, but nothing to attach them with (I got to look for the chuck or whatever.)
There are a few types of hole saws, one with a drill bit attachment in the middle with interchangable saws (which I assume you got) or the single piece ones.

Make sure the ones you got is for metal.

Also if you have some scrap wood laying around, i would suggest clamping that to your case and cutting into the wood. that way you dont get any bending or bend edges and you get a smoother cut. This is not required, and if you have a fast enough saw, you should be fine.
Before you cut anything be sure to tape it with some type of tape ( my personal preference is blue painter's tape). If you use a jigsaw, the best blade to use is an 18 tooth metal blade. A dremel works well and as another member said a 4.5" hole saw is great for doing 120mm fans. Whatever you do, take your time, be methodical and everything will come out fine.
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