Finished drilling the Clonedel parts. Updated drill document to come.

I "finished" drilling my Clonedel parts today.  I put finished in quotes because all the holes that need to be drilled have not yet been.  However, I couldn't go any further with the process tonight.  I don't have a 5mm drill bit for the pulley shaft.  Also, the "x-end motor" assembly has marks for a motor, but mine won't fit any of them.  I need to review this.

I learned a lot about the process and have pictures to help clarify much of this.  I don't have time to update the doc tonight. So, here are some notes.  These are the things that I am going to add to the How-To.

Drilling these parts is not a race.  You will need to slow down and be really careful on some of them, as there is a likelihood that they will snap unless supported.

Dust management is ESSENTIAL!  Since I was using the drill press vice to support all of the pieces, I was able to hold my shop vacuum nozzle close to the workpiece and kept the drill bit clean.  If you don't keep your drill bit clean, you are more likely to experience binding of the piece, and binding can lead to breakage.

The bar clamps are very fragile.  The original drilling guide recommended using an extra piece of rod to support the "loop end." Trying this technique, I broke one of my bar clamps.  (nothing a little super glue couldn't fix) I found that it is more important to support the ends that you are drilling.  I put a thick piece of corrugated cardboard between them.  I matched the thickness to match the opening.  So, I now have a sandwich of cardboard between the two pieces of plastic that need to be drilled.  I locked the bottom piece in my drill press vice and that left the cardboard sitting directly on the vice face and the other piece resting securely above.   I then drilled very slowly to avoid letting that top piece bind.  Once I got through the top piece the rest was simple.  The bottom piece could support a lot more speed.

If your pieces are cast in a clear(ish) resin, it is sometimes to see the smaller drill locator markers.  If you lightly sand the piece, these markers will become more visable.

In the clonedels, the x-end-idler and the x-end-motor are two pieces each.  There are V-channels running the length of each of them.  These are instead of having to drill VERY long 5/16 holes for the rod.

Since the Z-motor mounts are not flat, I flipped the second one and clamped them face to face.  This helped assure the the holes would be parallel to the "back."

Remember, Drilly Pete says to be careful and protect the parts you don't want to lose.