Drill Through Metal Templates?

[big_teee]

I Suck at drilling holes where I want them In Pickup Covers, and Pickup Templates.
Tell me an easy accurate way to make metal drill throught Templates?
Discuss Away!
Thanks,
Terry

[Rodent]

CAD drawing or CAD model sent to a machine shop to have them cut to tolerance

not too expensive upfront, and repeatably accurate parts for years to come

[big_teee]

CAD drawing or CAD model sent to a machine shop to have them cut to tolerance

not too expensive upfront, and repeatably accurate parts for years to come

Thanks, but that's beyond my pay grade.
I just want to hobby drill them.
I probably should have put it in the B/H section.
T

[copperheadroads]

Lesson #1- Centerpunch to prevent skating .
Lesson #2 Make sure your drill press is drilling at a 90 degree at your table with minimal wobble .

[David King]

Terry, Do you have a decent drill press?
If you sent me one each of the covers you use I can make you precision drilled blocks the go inside the covers and locate each hole on an indexing pin that lines up with the drill chuck. You'd need to install the pin in your drill press table and keep it lined up with the chuck. The nice thing about this system is that there is nothing to wear out, you can drill millions of holes in exactly the same places without dulling the drill or wearing out the jig.

[copperheadroads]

Terry, Do you have a decent drill press?
If you sent me one each of the covers you use I can make you precision drilled blocks the go inside the covers and locate each hole on an indexing pin that lines up with the drill chuck. You'd need to install the pin in your drill press table and keep it lined up with the chuck. The nice thing about this system is that there is nothing to wear out, you can drill millions of holes in exactly the same places without dulling the drill or wearing out the jig.

Now that sounds like what I need .

[copperheadroads]

Terry, Do you have a decent drill press?
If you sent me one each of the covers you use I can make you precision drilled blocks the go inside the covers and locate each hole on an indexing pin that lines up with the drill chuck. You'd need to install the pin in your drill press table and keep it lined up with the chuck. The nice thing about this system is that there is nothing to wear out, you can drill millions of holes in exactly the same places without dulling the drill or wearing out the jig.

Got any info to pass on about this ? I assuming the pin fits the hole in the jig instead of drilling in the hole .

[big_teee]

Thanks David, That is too much to ask.
I did finally get my template made this evening.
I'm not near as precise as you guys.
Good Enough.
T

[J M Fahey]

Quote Originally Posted by Rodent View Post
CAD drawing or CAD model sent to a machine shop to have them cut to tolerance

not too expensive upfront, and repeatably accurate parts for years to come

Thanks, but that's beyond my pay grade.
I just want to hobby drill them.
I probably should have put it in the B/H section.
T

Not at all, they are no big deal for a machine shop and quite affordable.
Unless you expect to get them for burger money.

In your size, it amounts to a pickup sized piece of very cheap and common steel, with 4 drill guide holes , maybe a couple extra nail sized ones if you want 2 guide pins centering it in the pickup.

In fact you could make them yourself in a rainy afternoon .

The OEM ones will be case hardened, cemented or nitrurized (free translating Spanish terms) so surface is so hard that drills slip on it without biting or wear, so they keep accurate dimensions for a long time ... but that's not big deal either.

[Mick Bailey]

Here's how I make my templates;

1. Get the finished siize of the template correct and square. Identify a datum side and edge to measure from.
2. Clean the face and cover it with marking blue. If you don't have any, black it up with a Sharpie in the area you want to drill.
3. Accurately mark out the holes with a sharp scriber - don't press too hard. You should end up with a nice, crisp line. For holes that need to be evenly spaced, use engineer's dividers.
4. Grind a centre-punch a little sharper than usual and make sure it has a proper point (not elliptical).
5. Where your marking lines intersect, very lightly punch and inspect under magnification. If the punch mark is off, it can be 'drawn' by slightly angling the punch. It needs to be as good as you can get it. Deepen the punch marks when you're happy with the alignment.
6. Drill out the holes starting with a small drill - I use 1/8" or so. Inspect again to ensure the hole hasn't drifted. High speed, a new drill-bit and a squirt of cutting lubricant ensures a good alignment. If you need to go larger, go up in small increments.

I make my templates just to drill the pilot holes, then remove the template and finish off the work using the appropriate drill size.

Don't make your template too thick otherwise you increase the chance of the drill wandering through the thickness of the metal.

For permanent templates I use 1/8" Gauge-plate and oil harden, or case-harden mild steel using 'Kasenit'. Another trick is to use Silver Steel (drill rod) to make relpaceable buttons. Harden these right out and press them into oversize template holes.

A mild-steel template will last an awful long time, though.

[big_teee]

Thanks Mick,
That's what I had in mind.
That is about what I did yesterday.
It's a bass Humbucker, so it has 8 holes.
The biggest problem is accurately marking the pilot hole in the middle of a 3/8" hole.
I was having problems with the center punch, so I chucked it in a drill and ground it sharper.
That really helped.
Thanks,
T

[copperheadroads]

Thanks Mick,
That's what I had in mind.
That is about what I did yesterday.
It's a bass Humbucker, so it has 8 holes.
The biggest problem is accurately marking the pilot hole in the middle of a 3/8" hole.
I was having problems with the center punch, so I chucked it in a drill and ground it sharper.
That really helped.
Thanks,
T

if your drilling a plated metal cover ,I've found that sometimes at the edge of hole the plating chips off (probably due to the long cuttings spinning with the bit) I use scotch tape on the top of the cover to prevent this along with scratches & dings ...I works really well .

[überfuzz]

I think it's very dependent on what kind of metal I'm drilling in. Whenever I come across a noname amp with a steel chassis I get a bit nervous. However, no matter what I always pre-drill then use a unibit in a standing drill press and work my way up to the diameter I'm aiming for.

[David King]

Here are the P and J cover drilling templates I use. They are incredibly simple and easy to make and as accurate as they need to be. I use the same principle for drilling flatwork, pickup rings and dozens of other parts I make. No need for hardened steel.
There is a 1/8" retractible carbide pin in a wooden insert that jams into the drill press table center hole. You push the pin flush with the table surface when you don't need it. You push it up from below when you do need it. The birch plywood templates fit precisely into the plastic covers and they have carefully spaced 1/8" holes in the bottom that plug onto the index pin for each hole. There is nothing between the plastic or nickel silver cover and the drill so you can see what you are doing. You set the drill depth to just penetrate the cover and not drill into the plywood template plug.

I hope with a couple of readings and some staring at the photos you'll be able to make out how this works. If it's still not making any sense I'll be happy to try to explain it again.

[big_teee]

I'm going to try combining Mick's metal marking with Ubers Step bit drilling, and see what I get.
Don't think I would ever get Davids Templates built straight.
I'm actually using my metal template to drill matching holes in a flatwork baseplate, with 8- 3/8" holes in it.
On to my next problem routing pickup holes in a new bass body?
T