Drilling Emblem mounting holes, how to start the drill in the exact spot?
- Thread starter jtfx6552
- Start date
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Masking tape over the area. Mark exact location with a pen or pencil.
Use a sharp center punch and a firm tap with a hammer should give you what you need. Start with a small drill bit to give your larger one a path to follow.
Use a sharp center punch and a firm tap with a hammer should give you what you need. Start with a small drill bit to give your larger one a path to follow.
I tape off a wider and longer area with 2" masking tape where the emblem will go. I use a 3/4" piece of wood and get my through emblem holes in that first. Then I use a couple of short pieces of double sided on the bottom of the block of wood to stick it to the panel with the emblem in it how it need to look. Once I am happy with the look and final placement, I make a pencil outline of the block on the tape and match mark that placement with a "V" mark with the pencil to the tape and the block. Then I can re-register it. I remove the wood block and the short pieces of tape and use a full piece of it on the bottom of the wood block. The stuck back block with the holes in the block are then my drill bit guide holes.
MJM
Promoted Users
D.A.T. has a good method for marking the location and holes. Many emblem have studs which are offset from one another so it makes marking the holes for drilling difficult. Using D.A.T.'s method would eliminate several possible mistakes.
The link I provided the OP has a center punch that is made with a high and low tension adjustment. This is very useful especially when center punching a panel on a vehicle. To much tension could cause panel damage ( dent ) that spreads past the emblem drilled hole ( holes ).
To help eliminate possible damage to the panel center punching, I would support the panel from behind to minimize panel movement. If the panel can't be accessed from the rear, I would use a magnet with a heavy pull, or a glass suction cup on the front to the panel so I could ( pull / hold ) the panel from movement during center punching. I would start off using the low tension adjustment on the center punch. I would also center punch "thru" a piece of masking tape. It will help reduce spider cracks in the paint when center punching.
Once the metal has an acceptable divot from the center punch he can move on to drilling the hole. As already stated, it would be best to use a small bit first and work your way up to the hole size desired. Remember to hold the panel firmly either from the back side or the front when drilling. There is the possibility of damaging the panel if it's not supported when drilling. It would be best to use brand new drill bits. New bits will require less force when drilling.
Laying out, marking, drilling and mounting an emblem is relatively easy if a few precautions are observed. For future reference, it's always best to pre-drill any holes before paint. Paint fractures are a real thing when having to drill thru a painted surface.
The link I provided the OP has a center punch that is made with a high and low tension adjustment. This is very useful especially when center punching a panel on a vehicle. To much tension could cause panel damage ( dent ) that spreads past the emblem drilled hole ( holes ).
To help eliminate possible damage to the panel center punching, I would support the panel from behind to minimize panel movement. If the panel can't be accessed from the rear, I would use a magnet with a heavy pull, or a glass suction cup on the front to the panel so I could ( pull / hold ) the panel from movement during center punching. I would start off using the low tension adjustment on the center punch. I would also center punch "thru" a piece of masking tape. It will help reduce spider cracks in the paint when center punching.
Once the metal has an acceptable divot from the center punch he can move on to drilling the hole. As already stated, it would be best to use a small bit first and work your way up to the hole size desired. Remember to hold the panel firmly either from the back side or the front when drilling. There is the possibility of damaging the panel if it's not supported when drilling. It would be best to use brand new drill bits. New bits will require less force when drilling.
Laying out, marking, drilling and mounting an emblem is relatively easy if a few precautions are observed. For future reference, it's always best to pre-drill any holes before paint. Paint fractures are a real thing when having to drill thru a painted surface.
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MJM
Promoted Users
Something else just popped into my head. I would not center punch or drill a hole thru a painted panel that is cold. I would pre-heat manually or place the panel in the sun. A cold panel means hard paint, a heated panel means soft flexible paint.
Soft flexible paint won't spider crack as bad as cold paint will.
Just food for thought......
Soft flexible paint won't spider crack as bad as cold paint will.
Just food for thought......
I sometimes use a piece of 1/8” lexan and drill the emblem holes in that. Mark where you want it on the panel, then use double sticky tape and stick the lexan on and use as a drill guide. Similar to what D.A.T. does. Other times, like how ‘68 does it, mark, center punch and drill away.