Easy way to make a Hole Bigger

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Crusty Chief

Crusty Chief

Guru
Joined
Jul 25, 2014
Messages
1,967
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Pairadice
Vessel Make
Sold Selene 47
Recently we had a failure of the Shore water regulator. Of course the regulator that I replaced 2 years ago is no longer made. And the replacement, requires a larger opening in order to fit. Seems the manufacturers decided the “new and improved” requires a 3 1/2 “ opening. Wouldn’t ya know it, the old regulator fits in a 3” opening.
So how do you easily increase the opening?
Guess I could have used a big burr in the drill and ground away at the existing opening to make it fit. But I really wanted a clean opening, and I’m pretty sure the big burr would most likely get away from me and cause more damage then I wanted.
Called my “go to Guy”, Jim Palmer, who runs Palmer Marine and he sent his son out to get the hole enlarged for me. After watching how he enlarged the hole for me, I thought I would share this neat trick with you all.
In the picture below you’ll see that he installed both the 3” and the 3 1/2” bits in the hole saw tool. By using the 3” bit as a guide, he was able to make a very clean new hole.
As an extra hint, when starting the cut, make sure you you run the drill in reverse to get thru the gel coat, or first layer. Once that is done you can use the drill in normal mode or stay in reverse. In reverse, it takes a bit longer, but easier to control.
After drilling, we cleaned up the hole a bit, mixed up some 2 part West systems epoxy and coated the raw surface to seal up. Installing the new regulator went pretty simply, used some Sikaflex as a sealant and done!
As a bonus, the new regulator has a pressure reduction to 65 PSI versus the original only had 45. Admiral loves the new pressure, and after checking to make sure we hade no problems with leaks, another job is ticked off the list.
 

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That is never an easy thing to do. I've cut plugs the size of the smaller hole to use as a center guide,but this is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
 
Yeah, thanks for sharing. There is nothing like the knowledge that folks in the trades gain through experience. I’m always kicking myself “why didn’t I think of that?”
 
yup
I have done that on a steel clad a couple of months ago worked but it was a bitch getting them apart later
 
Nice tip!
I faced the exact same thing as you last spring and instead of enlarging the hole I built a spacer/support with mahogany that comes between the regulator and the hull, just thick enough that the back of the regulator fit in the existing hole (back of regulator is conical)

L
 
door
 
Great tip...
Thanks
 
Lou_tribal said:
Nice tip!
I faced the exact same thing as you last spring and instead of enlarging the hole I built a spacer/support with mahogany that comes between the regulator and the hull, just thick enough that the back of the regulator fit in the existing hole (back of regulator is conical)

L
Click to expand...

? LOL, what I didn’t admit to was I spent 4 hours making a “Starboard” spacer to do the exact thing you described. Boy did I feel stupid when I realized I couldn’t securely attach the regulator to the supply hose.

So Thanks Lou!
 
Yet another one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments:banghead:
 
Been there and have done exactly what you did to enlarge a hole.
 
Such a simple solution can’t believe I never saw/heard it before.
 
The new fitting needed 1/4" all round which could also be achieved with a half round rasp hand tool. Not as techy,not as precise, but doable.
 
Yes, making the hole larger is easy. Making it smaller is the hard part...
 
I learn something new every day.
John
 
thanks so much.
I've used the bug burr method to predicable results in the past.

A great idea.
 
Excellent tip. I’m putting that on my “How to” list. Thanks for thinking that we may not think of that!
 
Crusty Chief said:
In the picture below you’ll see that he installed both the 3” and the 3 1/2” bits in the hole saw tool. By using the 3” bit as a guide, he was able to make a very clean new hole.

As a bonus, the new regulator has a pressure reduction to 65 PSI versus the original only had 45. Admiral loves the new pressure, and after checking to make sure we hade no problems with leaks, another job is ticked off the list.
Click to expand...


Nice hint, thanks for posting. I had to go the spacer route when I replaced our original 35-psi pressure regulator with the newer 45-psi model, but that was mostly about needing additional clearance behind the bulkhead for the new tailpiece.

More importantly, can you post a link and/or model number for the 65-psi regulator? Looks like it could be an easy drop-in replacement for us now, so I might want one!!! :)

-Chris
 
Like many I have done the same job in various ways but never seen this. I love it. Thanks for sharing.
 
John, I was taught that trick many many years ago to make repairs on the old A-6's.
 
That's a great idea. Here is another way I have enlarged holes. Take a piece of material such as 3/4" plywood and drill a hole in it the size you need. Apply some double sided tape (carpet tape works well) to the plywood and secure it over the hole you need to enlarge. Now you have a guide for the larger hole saw to run in. Pull off the guide when finished.
 
John, as I recall from 2017, you and Tom from ASD were in Ketchikan grappling with a hole needed for a new windlass.....Tom's boat. Would this trick have worked for him? Thanks for a very good idea that I'll use in the future. Are you going to Mexico in 2019?
______________
Ken Hatt Trick
 
Russell Clifton said:
That's a great idea. Here is another way I have enlarged holes. Take a piece of material such as 3/4" plywood and drill a hole in it the size you need. Apply some double sided tape (carpet tape works well) to the plywood and secure it over the hole you need to enlarge. Now you have a guide for the larger hole saw to run in. Pull off the guide when finished.
Click to expand...

That’s the way we enlarged a whole for a new windless on ASD last year up In Ketchikan. Mainly because hole saws were hard to find in the right size. We still needed to rasp the hole because we couldn’t get a blade large enough. But we did have a good buddy by the name of Ketchikan Al who helped out a ton with tools and moral support.
 
Ken E. said:
John, as I recall from 2017, you and Tom from ASD were in Ketchikan grappling with a hole needed for a new windlass.....Tom's boat. Would this trick have worked for him? Thanks for a very good idea that I'll use in the future. Are you going to Mexico in 2019?
______________
Ken Hatt Trick
Click to expand...

Ken,
See above regarding the “Ketchikan Job” and the plan is to depart Portland in June or July, slow boat down the coast and play tourists while waiting until October to enter Mexico. Hurricane season should be almost over by then.
Right now we are getting Pairadice repaired/upgraded for that trip as it will probably be almost a year long cruise.
Have an AA for me will ya, and hope next years cruise up North is as good as this year for you and the Admiral.

Cheers Buddy
 
Forehead slapper!

Crusty Chief said:
Recently we had a failure of the Shore water regulator. Of course the regulator that I replaced 2 years ago is no longer made. And the replacement, requires a larger opening in order to fit. Seems the manufacturers decided the “new and improved” requires a 3 1/2 “ opening. Wouldn’t ya know it, the old regulator fits in a 3” opening.
So how do you easily increase the opening?
Guess I could have used a big burr in the drill and ground away at the existing opening to make it fit. But I really wanted a clean opening, and I’m pretty sure the big burr would most likely get away from me and cause more damage then I wanted.
Called my “go to Guy”, Jim Palmer, who runs Palmer Marine and he sent his son out to get the hole enlarged for me. After watching how he enlarged the hole for me, I thought I would share this neat trick with you all.
In the picture below you’ll see that he installed both the 3” and the 3 1/2” bits in the hole saw tool. By using the 3” bit as a guide, he was able to make a very clean new hole.
As an extra hint, when starting the cut, make sure you you run the drill in reverse to get thru the gel coat, or first layer. Once that is done you can use the drill in normal mode or stay in reverse. In reverse, it takes a bit longer, but easier to control.
After drilling, we cleaned up the hole a bit, mixed up some 2 part West systems epoxy and coated the raw surface to seal up. Installing the new regulator went pretty simply, used some Sikaflex as a sealant and done!
As a bonus, the new regulator has a pressure reduction to 65 PSI versus the original only had 45. Admiral loves the new pressure, and after checking to make sure we hade no problems with leaks, another job is ticked off the list.
Click to expand...


Great solution.... this is what you call a forehead slapper....why didnt I think of that!
 
Fresh water bulkhead connector/regulator replacement

Crusty Chief said:
Recently we had a failure of the Shore water regulator. Of course the regulator that I replaced 2 years ago is no longer made. And the replacement, requires a larger opening in order to fit. Seems the manufacturers decided the “new and improved” requires a 3 1/2 “ opening. Wouldn’t ya know it, the old regulator fits in a 3” opening.
So how do you easily increase the opening?
Guess I could have used a big burr in the drill and ground away at the existing opening to make it fit. But I really wanted a clean opening, and I’m pretty sure the big burr would most likely get away from me and cause more damage then I wanted.
Called my “go to Guy”, Jim Palmer, who runs Palmer Marine and he sent his son out to get the hole enlarged for me. After watching how he enlarged the hole for me, I thought I would share this neat trick with you all.
In the picture below you’ll see that he installed both the 3” and the 3 1/2” bits in the hole saw tool. By using the 3” bit as a guide, he was able to make a very clean new hole.
As an extra hint, when starting the cut, make sure you you run the drill in reverse to get thru the gel coat, or first layer. Once that is done you can use the drill in normal mode or stay in reverse. In reverse, it takes a bit longer, but easier to control.
After drilling, we cleaned up the hole a bit, mixed up some 2 part West systems epoxy and coated the raw surface to seal up. Installing the new regulator went pretty simply, used some Sikaflex as a sealant and done!
As a bonus, the new regulator has a pressure reduction to 65 PSI versus the original only had 45. Admiral loves the new pressure, and after checking to make sure we hade no problems with leaks, another job is ticked off the list.
Click to expand...

I went thru multiple units over the years and after realizing that while the female hose connector is metal, the stub on the backside of this connector was just ‘potted’ into plastic in front of the regulator portion of the assembly. A definite weak point as just a bit of torque on the hose after it is connected to the unit will pull the female connector out of the plastic.
I called the mfg and they told me that while they were aware of the failure mechanism, they had no plans to change their design.
I got tired of replacing them and went with another vendor, who’s unit is all metal. The downside with the unit is that it does not have an integral regulator, so I have installed one just inboard, screwing it into the back of the unit.
Of course the new unit requires a smaller hole in the bulkhead, so I fabricated and installed a plate out of starboard and mounted the unit to it.
 
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