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Where will the hole come out?

Mastiff

Mastiff

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Strange question, but here's the setup. Need to drill a hole through my frame for my shock mounts. On the passenger side there are brake and fuel lines on the back side. The hole can only be drilled from the outside due to access. What's a good way to know for sure where the hole will come out on the back if I pick a spot on the front, or vice-versa? I tried using my vice-grip welding clamp, but it's too imprecise (doesn't meet up very accurately). A pair of old-school calipers would work, but I guess they are just antiques at this point.

220px-OutsideCalipers.jpg


Any ideas?
 
I've cheated and slid a hunk of sheet metal behind the metal lines,so when the drill or hole saw breaks thru,its chances of damaging them are at least reduced...

I wasted a brand new metal brake line on one of my trucks when I drilled a hole for the plow push frame in the frame rail...thing wasn't on there a month!..:doah:..thats when I decided it needed a "shield",kind of like those things you'd put on a wall stud to prevent a nail from poking your electrical wiring..
 
Protecting the line is one thing, but I'd like the washer/nut to be located where I won't have to reroute the line to make room later anyway. There's plenty of room back there if I can go through in the right spot.
 
Can you get a right angle drill and a small drill bit from the inside instead? Harbor freight has pretty cheap air drill that works ok for small stuff. That way you know for sure where the hole will be.
 
bp71k5 said:
Can you get a right angle drill and a small drill bit from the inside instead? Harbor freight has pretty cheap air drill that works ok for small stuff. That way you know for sure where the hole will be.
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Good idea. I thought about a right angle drill for getting a hole on top of the frame too. I'm amazed how hard the frame metal is though. Takes a lot more work than mild steel to drill through, so having no leverage would be a pain. In this case, a small pilot hole is all I need though.
 
Mastiff said:
Takes a lot more work than mild steel to drill through, so having no leverage would be a pain. In this case, a small pilot hole is all I need though.
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that's all frames are is mild steel.... right angle drills are invaluable in my profession.. I own about a 1/2 dozen various ones..
 
I'm guilty in my early days of working on trucks not to do a better job of either just unbolting and moving them or protecting them. I've drilled one once and was super pissed at myself for doing so. So yes protect or move them. As far as picking up the exact point, it is difficult somewhat, but yes the old school curved caliper would work IF it's big enough to cleap the "C", but I highly doubt it will. You could make a hack one good enough with some all thread or round rod and a few other items.
 
ryoken said:
that's all frames are is mild steel.... right angle drills are invaluable in my profession.. I own about a 1/2 dozen various ones..
Click to expand...

Must be an illusion then. I can go through 1/4" of mild steel with a 1/2" bit in 10 seconds, but I was leaning on the frame with my drill for a few minutes to get through. I'd guess the frame is 3/16" or less.
 
obviously different positions, bits, etc make things different.. and all mild steel aren't exactly the same too... bit of wiggle room there...

when having a tool to do something the way you'd like comes up, I'll borrow it once if I can.. better yet, purchase it if I see that I'm gonna make use of it....

by the time you get done jerking around coming up with some alternative, you could work the couple hr's to buy the tool often... :haha:
 
Alot of times, with a right angle drill, or that crazy interesting thing fordum linked, you can figure out a way to generate some pressure on the drill.

That is the major difference in why it seems harder to drill a frame.

Somtimes you have to use your body in odd ways to create leverage.
 
Yes,and drilling holes seems to induce more muscle aches and pain than any other tool related activity,at least to me anyway...
I've had to resort to using a pry bar to bear down on the drill to get enough pressure for the drill to keep cutting ,and not just spin and whistle when drilling a frame..worst job is lying on your back,drilling straight up,doing a trailer hitch install--nice red hot shavings falling on your face and arms,shirt,etc...hoping none get in your eyes..(I had one hot chip melt into safety goggles doing that--imagine if I was not wearing them! :eek1:).

I was thinking maybe a pair of those C clamp vise grips for welding with the "tongs" would work as a "locator" tool for the purpose the OP wanted ?..or use an old fashioned pair of ice tongs as a mega caliper !.
 
Yeah, drilling is a pain. I got a bloody lip yesterday when I was leaning in and the bit caught and spun the drill body around into my face... :doah:

I did end up using a new pair of those c-clamp vice-grip brand vice-grips as a locator. I was wanting something better than my harbor freight ones anyway. The small ends did the job pretty well, though they barely reached.
 
I always try to do the tape and paper template off of existing holes or frame points. Takes like 5 minutes to make a template and flip it over to the other side of the frame.
 
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