making perferated metal screen

[Awalker]

I have a roper whitney hand puch that is capable of that as well. You might consider buying one on ebay, I have seen used ones go for a reasonable amount. 1/8" hole are not much to drill though, likely take you 20 minutes to drill. Of course it will take you and hour to lay out and center puch though.

[ThomasPowers]

1/8" is WAY heavy compared to the originals, I'd go with a lighter guage and use a whitney punch. The deformation from doing it hot would be a bear to deal with unless you were using it as an ornamental motif.