Need Vent Holes In Your Tubs? DIY

For anyone who needs to put vent holes in their tubs but doesn't like the idea of burning them open with a soldering iron, I have a simple solution.

About a million years ago, I used to build and race R/C cars. RC cars have plastic bodies, and must be mounted on the chassis with mounting posts. The holes have to be reamed in each different plastic body. Years ago, I bought a tool designed for reaming perfectly uniform holes in plastic. I've used it on all my tubs, and it works like a charm.

Here's the tool:

http://www.hobbyetc.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?part_id=44141

These reamers are made by several different companies, and you should be able to find one at any hobby store that specializes in R/C cars and trucks.

Great idea. I won`t use a soldering iron either (they are not designed to burn plastic - that and I hate the smell) so I use a drill and it is a major pain.

:gj:

Bruce

I also use a drill (or dremel) to make holes, but it always creates a lot of plastic "dust" that's annoying to clean. Thanks for the tip I will look out for it. Would they have something similar at Home Depot or do you have to go to an auto specialty store?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruce Whitehead

I use a drill and it is a major pain.

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Bruce, as you well know by now, a drill is very messy, and the holes can be ragged if you aren't careful. This tool is designed for making clean holes in plastic, and because it's a hand tool, you control all the action. As a bonus, the size of the holes can be controlled by the how deep you insert the reamer, since it uses a stepped design. Also, the holes come out clean as a whistle, and don't have any plastic snags in them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by icygirl

Would they have something similar at Home Depot or do you have to go to an auto specialty store?

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Sorry, it's a pretty specialized tool aimed at a small market. Your best bet to find one locally will be a Hobby Town USA or something similar. You might be able to find one at a place that specializes in toy trains.

Not to mention if the pressure is off and the tub is CHEAP (my favorites) then they crack as well.

B

Very cool DIY, I might have to hunt one of those down and get it myself, I hate the smell of burning plastic (which I did to all my tubs) and like Bruce said sometimes when you drills the holes the plastic will split, making for an ugly site. Again, Thanks for the info!

kewl.. thanx for the tip and link for this tool. something else to add to my arsenal of supplies. I used a bead reamer (hand held) to puncture the holes into the tubs I have and then used a large diameter philips head screwdriver to expand the width of each vent hole. It was a long labor intensive process, but I didn't crack my tubs like I would have had I used a drill.

thats not for making holes thats for enlarging holes in lexan/polycarbonate.
what they do is drill a hole a size smaller than what you need and then use this tool to enlarge the hole and keep it round in doing so. drill bits dont put round holes in plastics and thend to bind which is why this product was copied from a tool used in metallic reloading equiptment. point in case those hss bits are just general purpose bits. they they do actually have a special bit for plastic.

plastic drill bit: http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Plastic_Drill_Bits

So far, I haven't cracked a tub yet. The IRIS tubs for my rack system are fairly pliable, and cut easily.

It also works on Rubbermade tubs. I have some 12qt Rubbermades that I put snakes in for weighing and when I'm cleaning.