Drilling toggle mounting hole without lifting finish

[fdesalvo]

The thought is troubleing me; the 3 way toggle switch isn't that much larger than the hold I need to drill for it and I'm wondering if any of you has a good method of drilling without flaking the clear.  There is a small chip concealed beneath the washer of my volume pot and I won't have this luxury with the toggle!

Thanks,

~F

 

[mayfly]

I'd either use a step-drill, or a round file.

do not use a twist drill here.

 

[fdesalvo]

Thanks, man.  Do you mean a stepper bit?

 

[mayfly]

Yep.

 

[-CB-]

Forstener bit...  cuts clean edges.

 

[Cagey]

Brad point bit

or a Forstner bit.

Also, cover the face with something sturdy to drill through, like a piece of shim or other thin wood stock. Bare minimum, tape it.

 

[fdesalvo]

I still don't like this, but it's gotta get done.  Thanks, guys.

 

[Unwound G]

Choose the drill bits recommended.  Always cover the area to be drilled with masking tape so the edges may not flake that easily since they are being held down.  With the masking tape still on, brush over a thin layer of superglue around the edges.  Wait till completely dry before tearing off the tape.

 

[-CB-]

Also, if it does flake... its repairable... dont sweat it "that" much

 

[fdesalvo]

It appears that with these bits, you just drill the damn thing without working your way up through increasing diameters.  Is this true?

Brad point bit

or a Forstner bit.

Also, cover the face with something sturdy to drill through, like a piece of shim or other thin wood stock. Bare minimum, tape it.

 

[-CB-]

yes, Sir

 

[fdesalvo]

You speedy sonova..looks like I'm off to the Jose depot tomorrow. Thanks, CB.

 

[-CB-]

Ask for Babs!

 

[BigBeard]

The thought is troubleing me; the 3 way toggle switch isn't that much larger than the hold I need to drill for it and I'm wondering if any of you has a good method of drilling without flaking the clear.  There is a small chip concealed beneath the washer of my volume pot and I won't have this luxury with the toggle!

Thanks,

~F

3 way like les paul 3 way or are you talking about a mini switch?  I personally don't like using a step drill for precision work, but that's me and forsner bits are spendy.  I paid like $40 for a single forsner bit last year!!

couple of tips: 

1) decide where the hole goes.  tape down the fastener that goes on top and very carefully with a fine point razor knife trace the inside of the fastener into the clear coat, actually scoring it. That should prevent any chips.  I've done that with painted cabinets before to install flush hinges, and the paint didn't chip.

2) drill an 1/8" or 3/16" pilot hole and use a dremel with an 1/8" straight router bit.  You are going to want to trace the hole again like I mentioned above or onto tape and just take your time and move the tool counter-clockwise (opposite to the way the bit spins) very slowly and you can hog out the material in a very controlled fashion.


3) I never tried this, and I'm not sure if it even works, I read somewhere that some finishes can be softened slightly with some sort of chemical?  I don't know, maybe thinner or turpentine or something along those lines.  But it said to Q-tip the area to be drilled slightly with said chemical and drill while the finish is softened up.  Like I said, I don't know if this works or not, or if it will work for your type of finish, maybe someone can shed a little light on this?  I'm gonna look to see if I can find the magazine I read that in, if I do, I'll edit this with better details.  Until then, anybody ever tried this or know if it works?  I would imagine it would if you did it right.  I don't know enough about the chemical makeup of finishes to really go any further without re-reading the article......

Hope you get your hole drilled ok!!