How to drill holes in an already assembled chassis?

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john12ax7

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Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Messages
2,475
Location
California, US
I have an old guitar amp head I built into an aluminum chassis. The problem is I want to put it in a cabinet but there are no mounting holes. Any tips on drilling holes without getting metal bits all over the internal circuitry?
 
Usually...you might get a couple strays, those you can just blow out with some air in a can, or compressed air, if you've got it.
 
You can place some sticky tape on the far side of the panel to catch most or all of what falls that way. Just tent it a little.  Other things, like Silly Putty, or modeling clay can work as well.

If you use a sharp bit, with lube, the cut will be clean and the shavings will tend to cling to the lube.  Use good technique, modulate the pressure so that short spirals are formed and break off (on the outside!).

Strategic placement of cardboard or paper over circuitry to redirect shavings can give you added confidence.  Tape in place if required

When you finish, compressed air, a shop vac, and a paint brush can all help to make sure nothing remains.
 
I've had to do this numerous times and never had any major problems.  I generally just let the bits fly as they may and then turn the chassis over to one side and shake the bits into the corner and either brush them out or wipe them out with a damp cloth.  Vacuums are handy also.  I've tried overlaying cloth and tape but it was too difficult to catch all of the bits and I wound up still having to shake and brush.

One other technique is to put a light coating of 3 in 1 or sewing machine oil on the bit.  This will leave a sludge that contains most of the bits but as with other protective methods there's still a few that get away and sometimes the sludge makes more of a mess to deal with.  Sometimes I do like the oil when using a fine grade file to prevent super fine dust from getting everywhere.
 
Honestly I got metal dust all over my 1176 and once I blew it all off (just with my rad lead singer lungs) it was fine... A shop vac is handy for keeping the mess off the floor and your clothes...
 
where your're drilling, put the vacuum nozzle just under the designated hole on the back side.

picks up everything as you go. might need a helping hand though... or tape the vacuum nozzle into place?
 
Thinking Laterally ;)

Just use wooden runners to rest the amp on and a wooden back panel to screw over it.

None of my amps are screwed to the cabinet, they are just held in place.

DaveP
 

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