Drilling into my pilothouse...

[TheOtherLine]

The best and easiest way to put bolts/screws through carpet and insulation is to "mark" the holes you plan to drill with small nails and then do the following. Take a small piece of steel tubing with a diameter just slightly larger than he bolt/screw you intend to use. (I used an old piece of a golf club shaft). Holding the tube with pliers, use a propane torch to heat the tube. Center the tube over each nail and press through the carpet/insulation until you feel it hit the material you are drilling into (metal, wood, fiberglass). Twist the tube a bit to make sure you have burned/cut completely through. Make sure you always hold the tube perfectly upright. Then lift the tube out and you will have a remarkably clean and perfectly round hole for your bolts/screws. The nail and cut-out carpet/insulation material will come up inside the tube. Drop the tube in cold water, then remove the carpet/insulation material and nail from inside. You have to do this because you will need to reheat the tube for each hole and if you reheat with the material inside, it will catch fire.

I had been reading about how NOT to screw up your carpet when screwing holes through it. I offered the suggestion above.
I just tried the suggestion above. Result attached.

 

[Megabyte]

Looks like it works just fine. 8)

 

[TheOtherLine]

Actually, the more I looked at the picture, the weirder it looked. What you are seeing is carpeting under carpeting. I had ordered some extra carpet for a project and just did the golf shaft thing through a scrap piece.

I didn't bother with the nails idea in the previous post. I just marked it and branded it!

The golf club shaft increases in diameter as you approach the grips so what I did is, starting at the club head, cut off the shaft and every 3rd or 4 th ridge in the shaft, increased the diameter by about 1/16". So now I have a "set" of ..... broken golf shafts.

I've used them several times now. For larger holes, it's just easier to take an exacto razor and cut a "cross" where the bit or hole saw is coming through. Good enough to avoid snagging. Smaller holes, this works great.

 

[MaxOut]

I use a Uni-Bit to drill into fiberglass and the headliner material with no problems at all close to 50 holes in my 2007 pilothouse alone. Cut carpet is less likely to snag on a drill bit and even less likely to snag a Uni-Bit. If you have a loop carpet with a heavy backing that is a different story. If you are drilling into thick glass or cored glass you may need a pilot bit then drill from both sides with the Uni-Bit to desired diameter. Then if needed go through the hole with a standard bit to get the center to the correct diameter. Uni-Bits are good at leaving bur free holes in metal and plastic too.

You know the old saying "once you go Uni-Bit you don't go back" :wink: If you do not own one and you are a do it yourselfer GET ONE. They are expensive but will pay off.

 

[DaleH]

Unibit

cha-ching

 

[MaxOut]

Unibit

cha-ching

Thats Sweeeet! :lol:

I bought the Lenox 3 piece set and have drilled through everything up to 1" holes in 1/8" Stainless Steel! No problem nice and clean holes.