Their must be a simple way

I have been wondering for some time now and I've started looking, but as of yet no luck.

How would I be able to take a nice then sheet of 'metal' and punch out little donuts to make the chrome circle around a gauge, kinda like the photo-etched ones? I've read something about 'punch and die set' whatever that means....dammit Jim I'm a doctor not a machinist!

I don't want to buy PE ones all the time and I don't know of any other way to chrome the trim around a gauge easily. Although I see many of you hear now how to.

Mulsane has a nice example of what I'd like to accomplish.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/618605Innen.jpg
Any info?

try wrapping some thin wire around the appropriate size drill bit. Snip the ends so you only have one loop, then join it with a dab of ca.

You can use a punch and die set just you a small punch first then when you have made the small hole you use the next size punch over the small hole you made before

http://tinypic.com/m23dl

The Red is what you should be left with

try wrapping some thin wire around the appropriate size drill bit. Snip the ends so you only have one loop, then join it with a dab of ca.

That's the method I used for speaker covers on my Viper, came out looking really nice!

A punch and die set would definitely be ideal, the inhibiting factor is the cost of a punch and die set.

I use aluminum tubing. Cut with an xacto razor saw in a mitre box you can make them pretty thin. The boost gauge in the pic is using a longer piece but you get the idea.
http://images7.fotki.com/v126/photos/4/43509/412645/PA240031-vi.jpg

My Road Runner has thin ones surrounding the gauges but I don't have any good pics of it because it has full windows.
http://images5.fotki.com/v57/photos/4/43509/641764/P2010019-vi.jpg

edit - tach, boost gauge, gravy thickness, whatever

Would punching a small hole in an already small disk work? Wouldn't the stress on such small bits of metal cause distortion?

008's aluminum tubing is the best idea in here. The only problem I run into trying to cut such thin slices off the tube is that the aluminum will distort and go out of round. Perhaps consider cutting a longer peice to avoid that. Then drill out the space you are going to put the guage, and slide the length of tube into the hole leaving only as much as you want sticking out. Then, slide a peice of plastic (or metal, whatever) rod into the aluminum tube, paint, and decal. If you want to do it around vents, like in the Ferrari, well, either cut dash carefully or go back to trying to carefully slice the tube real thin.

I think you will struggle to punch out rings of adhesive foil with the punch and die set. They will be extremely fidly and it will be very hard to get a pefect ring. If it were me I would go for 008's approach above. Another take on it would be to drill out the actual gauge on the dash then feed through the Alu tube from behing so it protrudes ever so slightly, then a small disc of plastic in the middle of the tube will provide the face.

Yep guys that's exactly what I did on the RR. I drilled out the holes in the dash to match the tubing and slipped the tubing inside. The gauges were then mounted inside the tubing. I can get pretty thin slices without distorting the tubing though. The trick is a fine blade, a miter box and taking your time. The main problem with the thin pieces is that there is a lot of "flash" to clean up, and cleaning up the flash can sometimes distort the tube.

When cutting the tube, to aviod distorting the diameter, place a sacrificial rod inside to hold the diameter. This will also help with the burr cleanup.