Creating a button hole through acrylic and metal

[Drel]

Hello,

I've had a Neo Geo cab for a few years that I've used primarily as a MAME cab.  The control panel is made out of metal, and has a sheet of acrylic on the face.

I'd like to mount a Turbo Twist 2 spinner from Groovy Game Gear, to get my Tempest and Arkanoid game on.  This will involve creating a hole, identical in dimension to the existing button holes, in both the acrylic and the metal control panel.

My current plan is to use a 1 1/8" bi-metal hole saw with a hand held drill (I sadly don't have access to a drill press) to cut through the acrylic and then through the metal, in one go.  I think that this has the advantage of supporting the acrylic while cutting, and allows the holes to be perfectly lined up.  It also means I won't have to remove all the buttons and deal with the &*#! e-clips on the joysticks, to separate the acrylic from the metal control panel.

That said, I've never cut holes in acrylic before.  I'm worried that the acrylic might crack.  From the reading I've done online, using a hole saw on acrylic should be OK as long as I go very slowly to avoid the acrylic from heating up too much, and avoid heavy pressure.  I'm also concerned that, once through the acrylic, the hole saw will become extremely hot from cutting through the metal control panel, and melt the surrounding acrylic.  I might be able to avoid problems by going very slowly and taking very frequent breaks to allow the metal and acrylic to cool.

I'd love tips or suggestions from anyone that has experience in this department!

[apfelanni]

i recommend using a drill press , drilling a pilot hole , separate the plexi from the metal and work in 2 passes . freehand working often turns out to be pain in da ass. its a good chance to crack ur acryl. i only use a hole saw hand held for woodcuts if its 2 big 2 be done on a drill press. cutting acryl with a hole saw is working ok , but not 100 % clean as with a router . if u dont work 90 degree angled or get stuck in the metal u may ruin it .  

another option for getting bigger holes in a metal plate is using a step driller , dunno if its the correct name  . i try 2 avoid freehand metal drilling.

[Drel]

Thank you for the tips!  I guess I'll check to see if anyone I know has a drill press, and try to cajole them into letting me use it.  The last thing I want to do is to completely mess up the control panel!

[Malenko]

take the plexi off and use a punch then just run a dremel through the plexi