Drilling Comet Etched Coach Sides for hinges, door handles and grab handles

[Steve51769]

I’ve just started work on some Comet Mk1 CL coach side overlays. I was expecting them to come pre-drilled ready to fix hinges, door handles and grab handles etc. Sadly the sides are not drilled. I attempted to drill a hole for a T handle and found my drills barely scratched the surface. How do other people go about drilling the sides?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Steve

[Bucoops]

I start with a engraving tool to make a very small dot (much smaller than a centre punch would normally do) then use a good quality 0.4mm drill in a pin vice. Once through them all, I open then up to the correct size and de-burr.

[Tony Cane]

My prefered toll for repetitive drilling of small holes is this.

 

This in a minature rechargeble screw driver with a separately purchased pin chuck. The pin chuck has the round spigot filed to crude hex shape to fit.

I can't find this version on Ebay now but others are avilable for less than £14. drill chucks that will fit with out adaption are available but rather expensive. This saves an awful lot of twiddiling.

 

 

 

 

 

[Wheatley]

The holes should be half etched. If the drill is not going through then it's blunt,  try again with a sharp one. It needs to be a decent quality one or it will go blunt very quickly. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Wheatley

[Steve51769]

21 hours ago, Wheatley said:

The holes should be half etched. If the drill is not going through then it's blunt,  try again with a sharp one. It needs to be a decent quality one or it will go blunt very quickly. 

|Sadly not half etched. My drills are new, but don't appear to be good quality. 

[Mallard60022]

18 minutes ago, Steve51769 said:

|Sadly not half etched. My drills are new, but don't appear to be good quality. 

Buy loads from a good Supplier, not a MR Supplier. You get loads more for the money and the quality is as good. Buy in Tens or more; you will need them. I have forgotten who my last supplier was...sorry.

Then do as BUcoops says. 

Presumably you have a method of marking the correct positions?

P

[31A]

I think I got my last lot of small drill bits from

 

https://www.chronos.ltd.uk/product-category/drillbits-drill-sets-centre-drills/

 

As @Mallard60022 says, cheaper than many "model railway" suppliers.

 

[96701]

On 09/02/2022 at 20:30, 31A said:

I think I got my last lot of small drill bits from

 

https://www.chronos.ltd.uk/product-category/drillbits-drill-sets-centre-drills/

 

As @Mallard60022 says, cheaper than many "model railway" suppliers.

 

You have reminded me that  need to order some more.

[Mallard60022]

On 09/02/2022 at 20:30, 31A said:

I think I got my last lot of small drill bits from

 

https://www.chronos.ltd.uk/product-category/drillbits-drill-sets-centre-drills/

 

As @Mallard60022 says, cheaper than many "model railway" suppliers.

 

I like to support MR suppliers BUT in this case you can get at least twice as many for half the price if you get my drift?

P

 

[96701]

22 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

I like to support MR suppliers BUT in this case you can get at least twice as many for half the price if you get my drift?

P

 

I hope that I don't need a drift for such a small drill bit.