I second that. Although it has been years since I have drilled stuff in this manner, unfortunately the technology hasn\u2019t changed for the home user. And drill bits tend to push the material out from the drill resulting in stuff that needs to be filed or sanded. Alternately, you can use a nibbling tool with care. Obviously not something you do to the top of the panel. I plan on doing a panel for a project and would like to find a punch, but they are hard to come by in the ½ inch size, so the former would be my method. I would also practice on scrap for a bit before committing to the real panel. Have fun.
John
From: dotcomformat@yahoogroups.com [mailto:dotcomformat@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mark Rauch
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2007 2:52
PM
To: dotcomformat@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [dotcomformat] Re:
Drilling dotcom panels, front or back?
Howdy,
i'd recomend front to back, making sure you have a REALLY good punch
hole to avoid bit drift. The exit side of the hole always has stuff
left over from the bit clearing the hole. Use a much larger bit and
lightly drill the finished hole to clean up the detritus.
rig
--- In dotcomformat@yahoogroups.com,
"shari_en_jin"
...> wrote:
>
> Technically I don't think it would really matter, but I'd recomend
going from the back with
> a hand drill in case you sneeze or have a tourettes attack so you
won't accidentally scratch
> the front panel. As to the drill press, more important than that
is to have a center punch
> tool and make shure the hole starts out right. Start with a
smaller bit than you need and
> make a pilot hole, then work your way up to the size you need.
Although going from the
> back it might be tricky making sure the center punch is
"exactly"
where you need it...
> Ti_
>
> --- In dotcomformat@yahoogroups.com,
"Andy" >
wrote:
> >
> > Hi fellow dotcommers,
> > I have a list of question about drilling holes in the dotcom
front
> > panels.
> > -Do you generally drill from the front or back or does this not
make
> > any difference?
> >
> > -Do you typically use special drill bits?
> >
> > -Is a drill press absolutely necessary? Will a normal hand drill
work
> > just fine or does it spin too quickly?
> >
> > Thanks for the tips!
> > -Andrew
> >
>