K, this update is dedicated to Cattlerustler and his greenie poo build. His use of a jig to keep holes he was drilling uniform got me thinking, and MAN did it pay off. I owe you one Cattle.
I made this out of a piece of scrap from another project:
It has the holes for my HD caddy remount on one end, and two holes for the assembly of my rad frame on the other. I actually used a "hard" template for my rad cut outs as well.
Here's a shot of both:
The rad template is a definite keeper. It has the correct 15mm fan hole spacing, and center holes for a 4.5 inch holesaw, and I can tell already its going to get a lot of mileage.
Anyways, the lip on the jig keeps my distance from the edge consistent, and the holes keep the spacing correct. I measure and mark where the tabs are, and then clamp it down and drill it like so with a 3/16 inch bit:
In those shots, I had both pieces taped together and drilled both simultaneously. In theory, this isn't necessary; using the jig, both should be able to drilled out separately.
After I finished the pilots, I took the pieces that had tabs, and enlarged the holes to 1/4 inch with a step bit to accept the M4 clinch nuts (that's tapping fluid in the shot, lubricant is a
must for drilling and cutting metal):
The step bit works perfectly for this, as its design is self centering. Fluted bits can still bite and wander a bit. So far, the step bit has remained true for me.
To attach the clinch nuts, I don't have a press, so I needed to improvise. I used a steel M4 hex nut, a small fender washer, and a 7mm socket to do this:
All you do is finger tighten the assembly to make sure the clinch nut is properly aligned with the hole, and then cinch it down flush with the ratchet. It really works a treat.
A word of caution here: don't use aluminum nuts, and don't use socket cap allen heads. The allen sockets tend to strip when a lot of torque is applied, and aluminum threaded units will snap on you. A great many lian li thumbscrews and a couple of stand offs gave their lives to this project before I sorted that out and went to the hardware store to pick up a couple 50 cent packets of metric bolts.
That's it for now folks. I need to put my separate drilling theories to the test and get the holes drilled into the chassis to mount this thing.
