Fixing wonky drill hole?

Man, I did not expect this to get as much attention as it did haha. This has been a very entertaining read with my morning cup of coffee. The enclosure is one of those limited runs from Love My Switches, so I'm determined to make it work. I think the lesson here is that I just need to listen to "Fixing A Hole" whenever I'm drilling to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. And to triple check that my template is on correctly before center punching.

Also, I sat a few knobs on it to see how it looks and it's not quite as bad since they help to offset some of it. I think I'm gonna leave it as is and just have the pedal serve as a daily reminder that nothing is guaranteed, nothing is perfect, and we're all going to die one day.
 

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jwyles90 said:
Man, I did not expect this to get as much attention as it did haha. This has been a very entertaining read with my morning cup of coffee. The enclosure is one of those limited runs from Love My Switches, so I'm determined to make it work. I think the lesson here is that I just need to listen to "Fixing A Hole" whenever I'm drilling to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. And to triple check that my template is on correctly before center punching.

Also, I sat a few knobs on it to see how it looks and it's not quite as bad since they help to offset some of it. I think I'm gonna leave it as is and just have the pedal serve as a daily reminder that nothing is guaranteed, nothing is perfect, and we're all going to die one day.
Click to expand...
It was like waiting for a piece of steel in the Furnace to get Red Hot & be reshaped & you just dunked it in cold water & all the sizzle went with it! :D
Next Pedal!
 
Round files work, but a Dremel type tool, with a fine tapered burr would be my go to on this, given the desire to leave it painted.

But learning to live with inevitable errors is a true life skill. I don’t think I’ve ever made anything perfect; at some point I realized I never would. Luckily, my clients weren’t as fussy.
 
jwyles90 said:
Man, I did not expect this to get as much attention as it did haha. This has been a very entertaining read with my morning cup of coffee. The enclosure is one of those limited runs from Love My Switches, so I'm determined to make it work. I think the lesson here is that I just need to listen to "Fixing A Hole" whenever I'm drilling to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. And to triple check that my template is on correctly before center punching.

Also, I sat a few knobs on it to see how it looks and it's not quite as bad since they help to offset some of it. I think I'm gonna leave it as is and just have the pedal serve as a daily reminder that nothing is guaranteed, nothing is perfect, and we're all going to die one day.
Click to expand...
George’s solo on that song is firmly imprinted on what’s left of my mind. And I am a complete klutz at drilling and measuring …
 
jwyles90 said:
Man, I did not expect this to get as much attention as it did haha. This has been a very entertaining read with my morning cup of coffee. The enclosure is one of those limited runs from Love My Switches, so I'm determined to make it work. I think the lesson here is that I just need to listen to "Fixing A Hole" whenever I'm drilling to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. And to triple check that my template is on correctly before center punching.

Also, I sat a few knobs on it to see how it looks and it's not quite as bad since they help to offset some of it. I think I'm gonna leave it as is and just have the pedal serve as a daily reminder that nothing is guaranteed, nothing is perfect, and we're all going to die one day.
Click to expand...
Looks great!
 
I’ve become quite adept at using painter’s tape, a carpenter’s square, and an automatic center punch. My process is usually something like this:
  • tape, measure, punch
  • drill pilot holes, re-measure, hand drill a bit larger with step bit*
  • re-measure
  • more step bit drilling
  • re-measure

* If a hole is “off” I’ve found that putting pressure on one end of the hole as I drill will move it in that direction as it’s enlarged.

As others have said: Sometimes a slightly too big hole can be hidden by washers!
 
I assumed everyone was punching for hole locations the same way I do, but a couple of you have mentioned measuring, so you’re clearly doing something different. Maybe you’re doing custom stuff?

Just on the off chance anyone out there is not familiar with this method:
AD6791A2-B67C-47E6-B088-4FDE11242717.jpeg
I just cut the drill template out of the build docs, tape it on, and punch right on the dots. Hasn’t let me down yet.

I am fully spoiled and I get to do my drilling on a milling machine. Huge respect to you folks out there getting it done with a hand-drill. I don’t bother with pilot holes, I just carefully line my step bit up over the punch mark (sighting from two directions, wearing an optivisor), and drill away.

I had been doing all my drilling dry, but @temol recommended IPA, so I’ve got some in a ketchup bottle now, and a squirt works great to reduce the aluminum buildup on the drill.

A9E33ACC-FDB0-4AE3-BE47-3662C2FA0205.jpeg
 

Yeah, I looked at that OP-pic and saw the upper Triangulum of pot-holes were shifted left, not just the lower pot-hole.


I'd put tape on the enclosure to protect it, then carefully hand-ream the upper trifecta — little bit at a time, measure/check frequently, bit more, measure & check ('cause I've gone overboard with the hand-reaming) little bit at a time until all three pot-holes are oblong jelly-beanish and the pots themselves can be mounted a mm or so to the right on the face of the pedal.

You can see the jelly-beans in an old post of mine, here.



 
swelchy said:
I throw miss drilled enclosures in a pile for a later project and grab another... eventually I do a build with a faceplate to cover my boo boos
Click to expand...
That’s what I do too. But the bigger the box the bigger (expensive) the face plate.
A new 1590XX or similar might be cheaper than a face plate for it.
 
jwyles90 said:
I think I'm gonna leave it as is and just have the pedal serve as a daily reminder that nothing is guaranteed, nothing is perfect, and we're all going to die one day.
Click to expand...
dark-you-sure-you-are-not-from-dc.gif
 
jwyles90 said:
I think I'm gonna leave it as is and just have the pedal serve as a daily reminder that nothing is guaranteed, nothing is perfect, and we're all going to die one day.
Click to expand...

Wise choice. This is a journey, and your subsequent pedals will keep getting better from the preceding steps.
 
Erik S said:
I assumed everyone was punching for hole locations the same way I do, but a couple of you have mentioned measuring, so you’re clearly doing something different. Maybe you’re doing custom stuff?

Just on the off chance anyone out there is not familiar with this method:
View attachment 47937
I just cut the drill template out of the build docs, tape it on, and punch right on the dots. Hasn’t let me down yet.
Click to expand...
I do it this way as well (although with a hand-held drill instead of a drill press). I need to work out a better system for securing the paper I guess, since every now and then I'll get a misaligned hole. 9 times out of 10 they'll turn out fine though.
 
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