Headbarcode
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Mike
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
- Threads
- 26
- Messages
- 7,755
- Reaction score
- 18,009
- Location
- LI, New York
- Vehicle(s)
- 2019 JLUR Stingray 2.0 turbo
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
I haven't drilled those additional holes yet. I rarely have a second set of hands during my installs, so once I finangled them into position, I torqued everything down thinking I'd just quickly bang out those holes with an angle drill during my next visit to the shop. Easier installs happen on my driveway at home, and the less straightforward jobs get done on the side of a shop that's 50 miles away. Next time I was there, I found that we don't have small enough angle drills. Not a huge surprise, as it's a truck and heavy equipment repair business, so a lot of the specialty tooling tends to cater to the larger work. I also don't get many free days, so when I do, I typically have a pile of parts to install and those days are usually an average of 20 hours long.Great rock rails. I have the same. Did you end up drilling the optional holes through the frame? I have not but had thought about tackling that in the future. Wondered what your experience if so. (Although tonight I finished doing some “step-up drilling” for the ARS katwalk and just swore I’d never drill into metal again ???)
Another big reason for my going so long without drilling them, is because offroading any motorized vehicle is illegal in New York, besides parking on a beach with 10 mph speed limits. Pathetic, I know. I'll be taking a road trip at the end of summer, so I've been focusing on dialing in what I have vs installing too many new things. Drilling those holes, trimming my rear pinch seams, and a final bumpstop adjustment are all that's left. Without an angle drill, the holes need to be marked and the sliders need to be removed to drill them out.
A couple of tricks to minimizing the hassle of drilling steel with a hand drill, is using a sharp bit, and just enough spindle speed and pressure to create a continuous spiral of material off of the cutting edges. Small chips or slivers is an indication of the bit chattering due to too much spindle speed. That will quickly lead to burnt and dulled cutting edges. I also like using a small bit to created a pilot hole, and then step up in bit size until the final is reached.
Sponsored