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Date:         Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:18:43 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: holes
Comments: To: ed donnen <spliced.surprise@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <CAFwVvJAW4MmyVoDys09Wj3Wi5jL2m8hLVySaFrCji7ZzcZZB_A@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Wow. that's a tough one, when you can't get to the backside and the holes are so small. You may be able to take some stiff fabric (window screen might work) and get a cheap hole punch set (like from harbor freight, they work just fine). Cut out a hole somewhat larger than the quarter inch holes you are trying to fill. It would be best if you had a dremel wire brush that you could push through the hole and scour the backside of the metal, but I am not sure if any of the dimensions would allow it. I am sure you could grind something to put through the hole and scour the surrounding area for a better connection.

Anyway, I would take a needle and thread and put a little stitch into the round stiff fabric pieces so I could hold on to them. Then it would mix up a tiny amount of epoxy and impregnate the fabric or screen with it. Then I would push it down into the small hole with something like a screwdriver and let it expand flat again. I would pull on the attached thread to hold it firmly against the underside of the panel. If I had very many or was in a hurry, I would wrap the thread around a plastic straw or wooden dowel and lay it over a cut-off of pvc pipe large enough to deal with. This way you could set one and go on and do the next, winding the thread until the tension was right on each one.

After the adhesive mixture was cured, I would cut off the thread and fill the hole with whatever you were going to fill it with.

Jim

On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 3:23 PM, ed donnen <spliced.surprise@gmail.com>wrote:

> My DOKA bed has many 1/4" holes from when some Clever Charlie pop riveted > the battens down to the bed. > Now I want to fill the holes and make them flush with the bed before I make > new battens of an original, > and if I may say so, cunning design... So, I don't want to weld- burns > the > paint on the back side I can't reach. > I tried JB Weld, but it is thin and drips through. Remember, I can't > always reach the underside so I can't just > tape below and putty above. I tried JB Weld because I may wish to > drill/thread later on. If I install pop rivets, > and then grind them down, I have holes again. > There must be a simple and elegant way. > ed- holier than thou? >


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