Hi Jeff
I doubt that the Cobalt drill will touch it either, for the jig try a piece
of flat steel stock with a hole the right size drilled in it, try the back
door of a local machine shop with enough Dollars for a drink! They will
probably have some scrap around big enough for your needs (1"x1"x6" should
do) cramp this to the floor and drill down the hole. Alternatively I think
these cars use a nut welded to the floor from underneath why not just remove
it and weld a new one in place.
Graham.
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff McNeal <jmcneal@ohms.com>
To: Spitfire List <spitfires@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 4:50 AM
Subject: screwed...
>
> Pardon the abrasive header of this message, but it seems like the most
> concise way to describe my situation. When replacing my seat rails
> yesterday, I noticed that the PO had drilled an alternate hole in the seat
> track because he busted one of the 1/4" mounting bolts in the original
hole.
> Up for the challenge, I sawed off the nub sticking up so I would have a
> nice, flat surface to drill through, which I did with a 7/32" bit,
drilling
> through the old bolt. So far, so good.
>
> Next, I borrowed a buddies tap and die set and proceeded to tap a new 1/4"
x
> 28 thread. Then, SNAP! The tap busted off inside the hole, with no way
to
> get it out. I killed two perfectly good drill bits trying. Someone
> suggested a cobalt drill bit to slice through the hardened steel of the
tap.
> Now, the thing is a real mess and I'm trying to figure out the best way to
> drill back through and retry with a new tap.
>
> I wish there were some kind of jig I could create that gave me the
stability
> and precision of a drill press. Right now, there's no way I can get the
bit
> started straight on because of the way the tap broke off. My plan at the
> moment is to attack the problem from the bottom side this time, using a
die
> grinder to flatten off the bottom, before drilling up and through. Before
I
> attempt this, is the broken tap going to be too much for my grinding
wheel?
> IS there a simple, clever way to rig up a portable drill press so I can
> drill straight down without worring about drilling crooked? Or should I
> just say "screw it" and use the alternate hole that the PO drilled, even
> though it interferes with the travel of the sliders?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jeff in San Diego
> 67 RHD Spitfire Mk3 aka Mrs. Jones
> www.ohms.com/spitfire/spitfire.shtml
>
>
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