Well after building the tail section, the wings and much of the fuselage, I finally found an easier way to drill holes for nutplates quickly & simply. And it isn't spending $35 on a nutplate drill jig, either.
What I did before, was to screw the nutplate into position and use it as a drill jig. It worked, but when I had to put nutplates on a U channel, the method became cumbersome because I would have to run the screws in from inside the "U". So if that's what you are doing, try this instead--it took less than a couple minutes to drill holes for 4 nutplates:
First prepare a nutplate by running a screw all the way in from the back side( i.e., the opposite way it normally goes into the nutplate). You'll probably have to tap it to get it to go in easily. Then drill the center hole in your aircraft part with a #21 bit, which is just barely large enough for a #8 screw. Insert the screw in the hole in the part and clamp one ear of the nutplate in position with a small spring clamp and drill the other hole.
I finish up by enlarging the center hole to #19, just because with my workmanship I need to allow for a little slop.
If someone has a better system, I would like to hear about it.
What I did before, was to screw the nutplate into position and use it as a drill jig. It worked, but when I had to put nutplates on a U channel, the method became cumbersome because I would have to run the screws in from inside the "U". So if that's what you are doing, try this instead--it took less than a couple minutes to drill holes for 4 nutplates:
First prepare a nutplate by running a screw all the way in from the back side( i.e., the opposite way it normally goes into the nutplate). You'll probably have to tap it to get it to go in easily. Then drill the center hole in your aircraft part with a #21 bit, which is just barely large enough for a #8 screw. Insert the screw in the hole in the part and clamp one ear of the nutplate in position with a small spring clamp and drill the other hole.
I finish up by enlarging the center hole to #19, just because with my workmanship I need to allow for a little slop.
If someone has a better system, I would like to hear about it.
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