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Canopy hole enlarging

mhflyit

Active Member
Vans calls out a #27 drill size to enlarge the canopy holes after they have been initially drilled along with the frame to a size 40. My problem is that I can't find anywhere online that sells a #27 plexiglass drill bit, the smallest being a 5/32. At this time of day the only people still working are those on the west coast..Spruce and Speciality and they only go down to a 5/32.

Could anyone shed light on where #27 plexiglass drill bits can be found or have people used the 5/32?

Many Thanks
 
Your local home improvement store will likely carry a variety of Unibits or equivalent. All you need to do is pick the right size. Unibits are plexi safe and will not draw themselves into the work, which is what can cause cracks when using conventional bits.
 
mhflyit said:
Vans calls out a #27 drill size to enlarge the canopy holes after they have been initially drilled along with the frame to a size 40. My problem is that I can't find anywhere online that sells a #27 plexiglass drill bit, the smallest being a 5/32. At this time of day the only people still working are those on the west coast..Spruce and Speciality and they only go down to a 5/32.

Could anyone shed light on where #27 plexiglass drill bits can be found or have people used the 5/32?

Many Thanks

As a fallback you can take any drillbit and run it into concrete. And you now have a nice dull bit that is safe for plexi. DOnt forget to mark it!
Best
 
Kahuna said:
As a fallback you can take any drillbit and run it into concrete. And you now have a nice dull bit that is safe for plexi. DOnt forget to mark it!
Best


Kahuna - I learn more good real-world stuff from your posts (seriously!)

You have got to be an engineer trained by a grandfather who was a mechanic...the best of both worlds - you know the theory, as well as how it is really done!

Paul
 
Clearance holes

Gents,

If the holes drilled in the canopy are for flat head screws then the holes in the canopy are for clearance only. When the screws are thightened down the conical taper on the screw engages the conical shape of the countersunk hole. The interface will center the screw in the hole. Therefore the hole through the canopy plexi is purely for clearance. A number 27 drill is 0.144" diameter, a #6 screw is .138" diameter. That is only .006" clearance. Not very much if you ask me. There is nothing wrong with using a #21 (.159" 5/32" diameter) drill for the clearance holes in the canopy plexiglas.
Food For Thought-

Paul (RV-7)
 
Be careful

I have just received a set of plexiglass drill bits from (Wicks). DO NOT USE THEIRS. Even though they are plexiglass bits, they are guaranteed to break your plexiglass. At least they cracked or shattered every piece of test stock I've tried them on. I am using a small unibit. So far, so good.
 
Thanks Gents for the input. I'll either blunt the end of a regular #27 or run the bit backwards at high speed which was another suggestion.
 
That post about the wick's plexi drill bits breaking has me worried. I bought Avery's. Anybody have any feedback on them. They certainly don't appear to be dull.
 
I used the Avery set Bob, and had no problem. I practiced on scrap first, of course, just to build confidence.

Paul
 
I'll end up not using plexiglass drill bits. Per the instructions I used a regular #40 drill bit for the holes through the plexiglass and canopy frame...low pressure and high speed through the plexiglass and i'll be using a "blunt" non plexi drill bit #27 to enlarge the holes by "melting" the plastic away.

I'm not going to mention the "c" word but stage one, plexi and frame drilling, went well.
 
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