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Drilling through Formica laminate

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Jakedakat:
Great thanks for the tips, gonna give it a try tommorow!

Rob

spriggy:
Also, try putting some decent masking tape over the backside of the area you are going to drill.  Can help stop chipping/splintering the edges of the laminate whilst drilling...that is if that side is laminated!!

Game On!

Mr. Dude:
I would definately sandwich the board with two peices of wood and then drill through.  This will give you nice clean holes without cracking the formica.

Doc-:
I did my original static CP using black formica laminate before I converted it to modular.

I drilled it from the top using a spade bit - it seemed to leave a cleaner hole than the hole saw.  However, it also heated the drill bit a lot and dulled it rather quickly.  The hole saw I had had trouble getting through the laminate layer, so I used the spade for most of the holes.

High speed is a definite plus.  I had access to a drill press that ran about 3600 RPMs and it went through the laminate like a knife through butter (but also REALLY heated the bit).  The handful  I had to drill with a regular drill (around 1200 RPM) seemed to take forever.

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