[attnet]

is this safe? does it make nice holes? thanks

 

[Hajime]

I recommend using a nail. You could ruin your iron by trying to melt plastic with it.

 

[beamrider]

A drill usually works well.........

 

[kevin gilmore]

The plastic film on the tip carbonizes and makes it
very hard to get solder to stick to the tip again.

 

[Squalish]

That, and it doesn't make very nice holes compared to a correct-sized drill bit.

 

[aeberbach]

And it's probably not very healthy to breathe the fumes of burning/melting plastic either.

 

[jefemeister]

It's probably not the best idea and I would never do it with my Pace workstation, but if you kept the temp as low as possible, had a wet sponge handy for right afterwards you might be OK. Especially if you can tin your tip afterwards. But only if no other method (like a drill) is feasible. Are you trying to hit a weird angle or something?

 

[jefemeister]

Quote:

And it's probably not very healthy to breathe the fumes of burning/melting plastic either

Yeah, solder fumes suck too. When soldering you should get one of those filtering fan dealies to suck all that crap away from you. Especially if you have a tendency to hold a string of solder in your mouth while you melt it like I sometimes find myself doing. Ah, to have three hands. . .

 

[aeberbach]

Are you sure you should be holding something that has a fair proprtion of lead in your mouth? I've read that it's not as terrible for adults as it is for kids but why take chances?

 

[attnet]

Wow, thanks for all the quick replies! Quite different from all the other forum communities I've gotten used to lately.

I in fact do have a drill, but I find that the holes it makes are not very clean at all...any ideas of how to remedy that?

 

[JMT]

Start with a small bit and work your way up. A bit time consuming but well worth the effort.

 

[Dreamslacker]

Quote:

Originally posted by attnet Wow, thanks for all the quick replies! Quite different from all the other forum communities I've gotten used to lately. I in fact do have a drill, but I find that the holes it makes are not very clean at all...any ideas of how to remedy that?

If you find your holes get quite rectangular, it means:
Swap out your HSS bits for wood/ plastic bits.

 

[attnet]

Thanks for the tip JMT. Is there any sort of special surface/preparation I need to do to achieve optimal results?

 

[Tenesu]

For hard plastic like lucite I wouldn't predrill any holes. When you do that the larger bit tends to snag the plastic and chip it away. When I drill in 1/4 inch lucite I start with a small high speed steel bit and put a very shallow hole (like a dimple) just to make sure the larger bit stays in the center of my mark. Then I use the large, sharp (do not use a dull bit, if you're unsure if it's sharp go buy a new one, it's worth it) HSS bit and run the drill very slowly (the softer the plastic the slower I go, variable speed drill is a must) taking off little slivers at a time using only a minimum of downward force. It's best to clamp down the plastic as the torque of the drill tends to want to whip the plastic around near the other side. Thats also a good reason to go slow. Spinning a chunk of plastic at several hundred rpm's tends to hurt if you get wacked with it. This method works for me however I'd recomend trying it out on some scrap before you try it. Plastic characteristics vary quite a bit and you may need to find a different way to put holes in it. If you're drilling something with a protective coating (plastic or paper) leave the coating on until you're ready to assemble otherwise no prep is required.

 

[aeberbach]

Quote:

Spinning a chunk of plastic at several hundred rpm's tends to hurt

Tore open my palm once, trying to drill through a smallish sheet of aluminium using a drill press and no pilot hole.