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Old 24th Jan 2018, 5:17 pm   #1
MrBungle
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Default Fixing holes you made too big?

I did a silly thing at the weekend which I've only got around to looking at. I drilled a panel hole for something that was too large. I got my RCA and 3.5mm jacks mixed up and drilled a 7mm hole for a socket which requires a 6mm hole. This now doesn't clamp down properly in the hole and is wobbly. Oops.

Now for lack of a better solution I trawled the RS web site and found some 3.5mm jacks which require a larger mounting hole, therefore sidestepping the issue. This little mistake cost me £3.60 in the end.

But my mind is wondering if there is a better solution to this problem?
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 5:20 pm   #2
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

Don't be to hard on yourself, sidestepping is a word for lateral thinking.
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 5:21 pm   #3
Dave Moll
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

A suitably-sized washer inside and out?
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 5:28 pm   #4
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

Or some Araldite instead of (or as well as) the nut?

Or a correctly-sized hole in another spot on the panel, then re-purpose the other one for something else or fit a blanking panel?
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 7:42 pm   #5
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Arrow Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

If appearance is not particularly relevant, cut out a square of similar metal and appropriate size. Fix it to the original sheet over the unwanted hole using 3 mm. screws and nuts, qty. = 4. Then drill that added piece for the required size hole.

Al.
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 8:45 pm   #6
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

Well in recent weeks you have admitted to;
  • busting every soldering iron you touch
  • rolling expensive torroids down the gaps between the floor boards
  • drilling holes of random sizes.
It does look bad. But let me see if I can comfort you. I was intending to make a cup of tea t'other day, but my mind is so full of Acorn valves and GDO's, that instead of pouring the hot water in to the tea pot, I poured it in to the pile of tea bags in the tea caddy. Rather a lot of genuine "Yorkshire Tea" tea-bags (could it have been anything else?) were "compromised" . Geeze, I sooo hate the month of January; it is good for nothing!

B
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 9:18 pm   #7
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

Quote:
Well in recent weeks you have admitted to;
busting every soldering iron you touch
rolling expensive torroids down the gaps between the floor boards
drilling holes of random sizes.
Well it makes me feel better about my cockups Mr B. Back to an answer, A small "O" ring that squished down has worked for me in the past.
 
Old 24th Jan 2018, 9:40 pm   #8
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

Bungle (verb) - carry out (a task) clumsily or incompetently.

This is no coincidence

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Some good ones there. Stocking an assortment of washers and round things appears to be the best way out of this so far.

Bazz4CQJ: that’s hilarious. I’ve had a few tea related accidents in my time also so I can sympathise with that one. The worst being the bin was full at work so I lobbed the wet tea bag out of the window and straight onto one of my coworkers who was outside having a fag. Fortunately he was a pretty cool guy and thought it was hilarious.
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 11:31 pm   #9
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

A bit fiddly, but what I do when I make holes too big, is to fit a layer or two of heatshrink to the goober that you are mounting, then trimming it down with a razor blade so that you are left with a plastic "washer" that fits the hole, and is only long enough to fit inside the panel thickness.
Does that make sense?

Joe
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 11:42 pm   #10
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBungle View Post
Bungle (verb) - carry out (a task) clumsily or incompetently.

This is no coincidence

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Some good ones there. Stocking an assortment of washers and round things appears to be the best way out of this so far.

Bazz4CQJ: that’s hilarious. I’ve had a few tea related accidents in my time also so I can sympathise with that one. The worst being the bin was full at work so I lobbed the wet tea bag out of the window and straight onto one of my coworkers who was outside having a fag. Fortunately he was a pretty cool guy and thought it was hilarious.
Proof if nothing else that smoking isn't really very good for you!

ok seriously now, if the nut is big enough to cover the oversize hole, and the threaded barrel of the socket is long enough, I'd try a thin metal plate with a 6mm hole drilled in it superglued/araldited to the rear of the panel and then refit the socket thorugh that and nip the nut up, with a thin nice looking washer to give a bit of support and cosmetic appeal. Academic of course as you have neatly solved the problem.

A.
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 4:14 am   #11
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

When I've drilled a hole too big, I usually weld it up, grind it flattish and drill it again, then spend a few weeks trying to restore the finish.....

David
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 10:38 am   #12
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

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Old 25th Jan 2018, 10:47 am   #13
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

In the past when fitting the kind of small 2.5/3.5mm jack sockets that have a tubular knurled 'nut' with 2 screwdriver-slots to oversize holes, I've broached-out the hole so the emtire nut passes throug it, then used a proper hex nut-and-washer on the front, the original nut then just serves to centre the threaded part of the socket in the hole.

[You may need to lap the faces of the original 'nut' down on some wet&dry to make it thinner, so the new washer-and-nut actually grip the panel properly]

My silliest 'bungle' recently: collecting up all the little wire-offcuts solder-balls and bits of insulation off my bench after completing some work, and absent-mindedly putting them in my coffee-mug rather than the old yogurt-pot I keep for the purpose. I only discovered this when I drank the last of the coffee and saw this little pile of red blue black and yellow insulation-offcuts!
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 11:14 am   #14
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

A skilled machinist once said to me that precision engineering was the easiest thing in the world, given that it was a lot quicker and saved on material to get the work the right shape to begin with. Very true, but with deteriorating eyesight it sometimes is down to guesswork as to where the hole should be...
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 11:36 am   #15
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

I think we should all build engineering mock-ups before getting on to the serious business of "cutting metal". Cardboard boxes are excellent providers of materials for mock-ups, and the boxes I find particularly useful are the 10-packs of choc ices and 4-packs of ice cream caramel cornets. I've developed a special "Just in time" delivery system that ensure the packs are always available when needed

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Old 25th Jan 2018, 11:50 am   #16
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

I was taught that a good workman measures twice and cuts once. That's saved me from making a mistake several times.

Another good maxim is that the only way be absolutely sure that two holes will line up is to drill them together.

The bane of my life now is incorrect published drawings.
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 11:56 am   #17
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Station X View Post
Another good maxim is that the only way be absolutely sure that two holes will line up is to drill them together..
That way, you end up with two perfectly-aligned holes.

Which you then find are too big, in the wrong place, or both.

[Murphy, Sod etc have us beat].
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 12:02 pm   #18
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Station X View Post
I was taught that a good workman measures twice and cuts once. That's saved me from making a mistake several times.
I bear that in mind all the time. Unfortunately I measured incorrectly twice and cut once incorrectly
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 1:04 pm   #19
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

I still have a 12V power supply that I made in the 1970's in an old Aluminium box that had a number of 1/2" holes for switches. I filled them with Araldite and they are still sound some 40 years on. I used to put a strip of masking tape over the hole, put the box with the holes uppermost, and fill with Araldite, smoothing off once set.

For mock-ups of small items I use the backing card from A4 pads (we used to use a lot of pads at work). For larger items, corrugated cardboard from boxes that you can pick up in supermarkets. Using traditional Evostik, you can run a bead of glue along the abutting edges, wait until the glue is tacky, and simply join together without needing any tape or reinforcing. It makes for a very quick and sound job that can be handled immediately, yet can usually be pulled apart without significant damage to the cardboard.
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 2:47 pm   #20
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Default Re: Fixing holes you made too big?

I coincidentally had exactly this 6mm vs 7mm hole dilemma recently in a 1.5mm thick aluminium panel. Fortunately in my metal stocks I had some aluminium tube which was 6mm ID. So I simply machined the outer diameter to 7.05 mm and cut a 1.5mm length. Then I pressed this into the panel hole with a small bolt and two washers. I felt equally disappointed with myself that I had drilled the incorrect sized hole, but after I got over feeling like an idiot and did a professional job repairing it, I felt a little better. The hole mounted a potentiometer with a nut and washer, so it is impossible to see that this fine bush is there in the panel.
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