Have a neighbor. Has a problem involving a multi-ton sail boat and a half broken trialer. He has a plan (and unlike the Cylon’s, it isnt a good one). I fear disaster or personal injury will result but he ain’t listening.
Anyway, maybe his Plan A just won’t work, but will neither maim him, kill him, or end up with a big ass boat laying on its side in the driveway and or crashing through the neighbors fence to boot.
I have a Plan B that is IMO safer, easier, and if it doesnt work you are no worse off than you started.
Anyhow, my Plan B involves drilling holes through some galvanized metal, the type you find on a heavy duty trailer. How hard is it to drill say a half dozen 3/8 to 1/2 inch holes, assuming we start off with a brand new drill bit and go slow (and maybe use cutting oil)?
It’s essentially the same as drilling normal metal. Just make sure to use the oil, use a good powerful drill, and steady pressure. You don’t want high rpms, but a steady constant speed. If you get ribbons you’re cutting into the metal, if you get powder you’re grinding down the bit. If you have hard bits, like tungsten carbide, it may go a little easier.
The zinc coating is thin and no barrier to a drill - so the basic issue is the hardness of the underlying steel. It will typically not be anything formidable, so the advice given above (pilot hole, moderate speed, steady pressure, oil) will produce a good result.
But bear in mind that holes have the potential to weaken the structure.
If it’s fairly thin, like 1/16" or less, you may want to use a punch instead of a drill.
If it’s 1/8" or thicker, a drill with a good, sharp bit should work fine. Be careful, though. When you’re almost finished drilling the hole, the bit will start grabbing and will quickly pull the drill bit through the hole. So just before the bit goes through the hole, grab onto the drill very tightly and start reducing the “pushing” force you’re exerting on the drill.
If you have compressed air available, an air powered drill motor is much safer than an electric one. The electrics have extremely high stall torque that will really wind you up when the bit grabs.
I realize I’m a bit late, but FWIW, Kevbo is absolutely correct about the “wind you up when the bit grabs” part! :eek:
If you’re using a good 1/2" drill motor, I would recommend using the optional side mounted handle that comes with most (well, some) drills.
Xema’s advice is spot on, especially the part about too many holes can potentially weaken the piece you are drilling into.
Be sure and give us a report on how the repair went.
Should be no problem with drilling holes. But make sure you don’t enhance the plan a teeny bit and decide to do a little welding on the galvanized parts without any protection. Guaranteed to make you awfully sick awfully quickly.
This is not from personal experience, but from the personal experience of a good friend of mine. He said it was awful.
Neighbor went with scary Plan A and amazingly not only did it no go bad (or VERY bad) it actually went without a hitch and was all done in about 3 hours. I did have to “herd” him a bit to at least do Plan A in a less crazy manor.
I gotta run due to a prior engagement but hopefully I’ll get back and tell the story a bit more later on.
