MOTM

The MOTM panels have a pretty regular spacing grid which you can discover by
throwing a ruler on one of your modules.

Printing something out and taping the paper to the panel is a good way to
go. Then I recommend punching the holes before drilling. You can use a
hammer and nail, or for a few bucks you can get a nice spring-loaded punch
at Sears Hardware that makes a neat indentation in the aluminum that grabs
the drill bit at the critical moment when it first contacts the stock.

Drilling by hand is difficult, but you can do it. Always put a block of wood
or a piece of scrap metal under the panel so the bit doesn't exit the other
side into air (or heaven forefend, your thigh) and grab the edge of the
stock and start spinning it around.

You can also get a drill-press-like stand that holds a hand drill which is
much better than holding a drill by hand for detailed work like this. Best
of course is a real drill press (you can get a tabletop model with 8"
adjustable, tilt-able table for under $100 these days). Drill presses tend
to come with nice guides that you can bolt to the table. Since the MOTM
jacks and pots are in neat rows, you can adjust the depth of the guide to
the distance from that row of holes to the panel edge and get really nice
results that way.

When drilling into metal, it's always a good idea to put a drop of oil at
the drill point. This keeps the bit from overheating and also minimizes
little bits of metal flying around (they tend to get suspended in the goopy
oil). Always wear safety glasses.

Once drilled, you may need to file the flash away from the hole with a
rat-tail file. The washers and knobs will hide any paint that gets lifted
away at the hole's edge.



 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Charles Stella [mailto:cstella@...] 
Sent:	Thursday, 06 April, 2000 10:27 AM
To:	MOTM listserv
Subject:	[motm] Patch Panel 

Hello all. I just recently received a blank 2U panel from paul that I
wish to turn into a mutiple patch panel. Similar to the 940 but with all
1/4" jacks. I was wondering if anyone had done this and if there were a
drilling guide available. Also how are people drilling the holes in the
right places. I was thinking of printing the drilling pattern on a piece
of paper and then taping it to the panel, then drilling the holes. This
makes sense to me but does someone perhaps have a better way? Any help
would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance, Charles.