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New semi-custom metal chassis manufacturer

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I looked at the Blair site when you first posted about these, but couldn't swallow the price. I just ordered both sets from Amazon.
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Many of mine do too. I have resorted to the belt sander, the sandblaster, and liberal coats of textured paint to hide my mistakes.

Yeah, I guess they have the 'Retail Price' on their site, but they are not much more then a reasonable hole saw kit.

I have a drill press and have never used it for chassis drilling with the Rotabroach's, I just use a 1/2" 18V Dewalt. The trick is, and I'll say again is to drill a 1/8" pilot hole, if you do the center punch and do a hand drill you will have to do it carefully until it's started.

Oh, and you forgot 'Bondo' in the 'hide the mistake bag of tricks', as the first time I tried the Rotabroach it spun out of control and left some deep marks, nothing bondo and texture paint can't cover ;)

Good times

Sandy
 
Oh, and you forgot 'Bondo' in the 'hide the mistake bag of tricks'

I haven't resorted to Bondo yet, but I might have used some JB Weld to fill a few extra holes and maybe a mistake or two. You put a piece of masking tape over the hole on the top side, fill with JB Weld from the back. Allow two days for it to get real hard. Belt sand the top, then sand blast or Scotch Brite it and paint. "Stonecraft" spray paint from Home Depot gives a textured finish that looks like Granite, and covers up all sorts of ugly.

I have two drill presses, and will practice on scrap metal before attempting to use a new tool on this rather nice looking chassis. Anodizing will NOT cover ugly.
 
Drill bits walking.......

Here are a few of my weapons of choice.....

The three on the bottom left are centering drill bits, they are stiffer than a groom's pr#ck and won't walk. These are a couple of bucks each from McMaster or elsewhere. Double-ended for twice the life. Use these for making your pilot hole; they even provide a countersink for your final bit size to find it's happy place.

The three in the middle are transfer punches, allowing a hole pattern to be accurately transferred from one piece to another with the punch mark in the center of every hole. These come in sets of about 25 pieces and the ones shown are either Harbor Freight or Enco; about $10/set.

And, last but not least, an automatic center punch. I have three of these, two Generals and a Starrett. Generals are available at Home depot for around $15 and the Starrett is at least double that. I have found over the years that the cheaper ones can be a pain when the spring won't fire, that's why I sprung for a Starrett.
 

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So, preferred center punch style: auto or hammer & pin? It could be an unskilled craftsman blaming the tool here but I'm finding that using an auto punch doesn't seem as consistently precise as the hammer & pin method.

I think the last time I used the manual method, I had a rotary phone.......

The general punches I have are two different sizes, with the small one being more accurate. The Starrett is the most accurate IMO. Dialing in the spring force may help with staying on the mark and sizing your divot appropriately.

The tip on my large punch is pretty worked, but makes fine marks in plywood and 2x4's.
 
I think the last time I used the manual method, I had a rotary phone.......

The general punches I have are two different sizes, with the small one being more accurate. The Starrett is the most accurate IMO. Dialing in the spring force may help with staying on the mark and sizing your divot appropriately.

The tip on my large punch is pretty worked, but makes fine marks in plywood and 2x4's.

I just had a look at a Starrett auto punch. This thread is becoming costly to me.
 
Bob,

You won't need it, but we can supply just about anything you want for the top plate. The down side to a thicker plate is that it will stick up above the sides. Though we could probably mill a recess if you MUST have it.

We've updated the picture of the 17 x 12 on our site. It now has Saer standing on it. He's the heavy one at 170 :eek:. We have a 6 x 10 that we call "the brick." We plan to park his truck on it and see what happens. Just haven't got around to that yet.

Glad to see the pieces of your project are coming together.

Dave
 
I cut all these big holes with cheap hole saws on a drill press at low speed with plenty of oil and proper pilot holes.

tubelab-simplese-chassis-parts.jpg


Hole saws with hand drills are a nightmare. I used to do it all the time on steel PC cases to add more case fans. They didn't the job, but they were neither pretty nor fun.

Those Rotabroaches look awesome. I will definitely be looking into those.
 

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