Best way to drill holes in the heatsinks?

[mnkman]

What is the best way to drill small (about the size of a US penny I think) in the heatskinks of the N64? By heatsinks I mean the two large pieces of aluminium one has to remove before getting to see the mainboard.

It's been ages since I last used a drill, let alone made a hole in aluminium. I thought, well, I'd rather go ask the experts first, since I don't have any spare parts lying around

This being very slim aluminium, which drill do you guys think I should use (size, type, etc)? At which speed should I drill? Is there something in particular I should do before and after drilling, because of the material?

Thanks in advance.

[bassmasta]

I would use a drill press if you have access to one. I don't think a dremel/rotary hand tool will cut it, though I could be wrong.

Always wear safety glasses, and don't forget to deburr the metal after, because it will have burrs. A chamfer/deburring tool is useful for this.

You won't be able to make rectangular holes because of the nature of the tools themselves; drills are rotary thus will always produce a circle. It's like trying to fit a circle in a corner. You can make something that looks like a rectangle with a small enough drill bit, but it won't be rectangular.

Hope this helps.