Metalwork question

I was wondering what precautions people are taking when having to do small amounts of metalwork to finished projects or completed piece. Like say today I'm trying to install a new meter of the same model in my DAOC to replace a bung meter. For some reason the hole in the frontpanel is a bit too small. Nothing can be easy, can it? So before I reached for the file, I thought about the bits of metal that would be flying about ready to ruin my working project and subjecting it to another 3 months of workbench time.
I've drilled holes and such before and just used a vacuum and a lot of shaking but was wondering what other people were doing or advising?
I haven't had any accidents of this type before but figured I don't want to take any chances on this one.
What about drilling or filing near pots..... not such a good idea?

I tape up everything I can.  Build little containment areas to capture debris; sometimes out of double sided tape so it grabs any loose bits.  Vacuum the crap out of debris before and after filing/drilling.  Use gravity to benefit.  Get creative. Usual disclaimers. 

I always try and make it so I can remove the front pannel completely... It doesn't always happen....

Setup the shopvac so that it's nozzle is right up against where the shavings are coming from.  That way the shavings get sucked up before they have a chance to go anywhere!