On Sun, 19 Jun 2016 19:35:41 -0700, you wrote:
>So I've etched my boards for my TV Typewriter reproduction. I'm quite happy
>with the result, however now comes the hard part - drilling and cutting.
>
>
>
>For drilling, I have a dremel press with 1/32 and up bits. I did some
>experimental drilling with it and managed to drill fairly accurately where I
>can see the holes. However, some of the holes were obliterated during my
>efforts to enhance the PCB artwork, and especially for ICs I'm finding it
>hard to keep them aligned. I know I have a tiny bit of flexibility there,
>but I'd like to keep em straight. I find it very hard to gauge where the
>bit is. I was tempted to get a full drill press for this but reasoned the
>sight laser probably was going to be too big anyway. Anyway, advice?
You may not be happy with this idea, but I have an upside down drill
press. You might be able to reconfigure the Dremel into this
configuration, but it's a bit of work. If you could put the drill
press up on blocks, put a 45 degree mirror on the bottom so you could
look at the bottom (and then drill upside down), all you'd need would
be a way of figuring out where the drill would hit. If you had a
little TV camera with a pair of crosshairs pasted on the TV screen,
that would work.
Your other problem might be that the bearings in a dremel are pretty
wobbly, but you can do a decent job if you're careful.
>
>
>
>The next thing is cutting - I found a fiberglass jigsaw blade and man, it
>cuts like butter. But keeping it straight is another matter.. wondering if
>there's a better avenue?
>
A shear can work well, but you can also use (from what I've heard) a
tile cutting saw with a diamond blade.
Harvey
>
>
>