Best Way To Drill for a Fillport?

[PCSarge]

as the title says, i need to know the best possible way, i'm doing a full loop disassembly and block cleaning tommorow evening, i have a fillport and holesaws here with a drill.

 

the thing i need to know is the best way to mark where the reservoir port is on the panel, and if it will really be worth it to drill out the rivets and diassemble my NZXT H210i to drill it from the underside of the panel?

 

Things i have to do the job:

 

1. Bi-metal holesaw kit ranging from 1 inch (most likely size) to 2 inch.
2. A Drill, Obviously.
3. Painters tape so i dont scratch the white paint off the panel when drilling.
4. the physical white bitspower fillport itself.

 

Things i may need to purchase that i can think of :

 

1.  Hand rivet gun and rivets.
2.  A set of small metal files.

 

Things i dont know about this case :

 

1. Rivet size for replacement rivets.

 

Any help from anyone in the community who is farmiliar with this task would be appreciated, this is my first time doing this in all the years ive watercooled. Normally, my filling proceedure Consists of Removing a plug and shoving a tube with a fitting on the end on and filling with a funnel, but i dont have enough clearance for that, and my current solution backflows if i dont plug it quickly enough.

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by PCSarge

[Bastiaan_NL]

You could give this a try:

1. Drill a hole in a piece of wood the exact size you need for the fill port as a guide for the holesaw. (Use at least 1" thick wood and make sure the hole is straight)
2. Use the masking tape you mentioned to protect both sides of the panel.
3. Get a second piece of wood that fits on the other side of the panel you want to drill. (This will also catch metal filings)
4. Use screw clamps to secure the pieces of wood on each side of the panel. 

I wouldn't be afraid to drill the hole without removing the panel. You could always use a newspaper and some masking tape to cover most of the insides.

Those holesaws tend to move a lot, without a guide the hole might end up bigger than you want it to be. 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Bastiaan_NL

[Avacado]

4 hours ago, PCSarge said:

as the title says, i need to know the best possible way, i'm doing a full loop disassembly and block cleaning tommorow evening, i have a fillport and holesaws here with a drill.

 

the thing i need to know is the best way to mark where the reservoir port is on the panel, and if it will really be worth it to drill out the rivets and diassemble my NZXT H210i to drill it from the underside of the panel?

 

Things i have to do the job:

 

1. Bi-metal holesaw kit ranging from 1 inch (most likely size) to 2 inch.
2. A Drill, Obviously.
3. Painters tape so i dont scratch the white paint off the panel when drilling.
4. the physical white bitspower fillport itself.

 

Things i may need to purchase that i can think of :

 

1.  Hand rivet gun and rivets.
2.  A set of small metal files.

 

Things i dont know about this case :

 

1. Rivet size for replacement rivets.

 

Any help from anyone in the community who is farmiliar with this task would be appreciated, this is my first time doing this in all the years ive watercooled. Normally, my filling proceedure Consists of Removing a plug and shoving a tube with a fitting on the end on and filling with a funnel, but i dont have enough clearance for that, and my current solution backflows if i dont plug it quickly enough.

 

I don't know a thing about hole saws, but I did recently drill out all of the rivets on my Meshify C. In order to drill out rivets you will need the next largest drill bit size, so be prepared to have slightly larger holes than original. More than likely the rivet will be M2-M4. I personally do not think it would be worth the time to modify your case just for a fill port. I do not use fill ports, I tend to place pressure release valves where people would place a fill port. I have always just used soft tubing with a g1/4 threaded fitting an a funnel. 

 

To tack on to what Bastiaan said, you could possibly use a metal/metal protractor to score the metal with a perfect circle to give the teeth on the hole saw a guide.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0746GRPCV?pd_rd_i=B0746GRPCV&pd_rd_w=kdbTg&pf_rd_p=2e62cf0a-1323-46ac-bbb9-19dc851997c6&pd_rd_wg=vD2Fb&pf_rd_r=NHHAD8CFAEDNZTP5QSRJ&pd_rd_r=c46eb554-99d2-442a-bafa-be2d3cd66490

Edited March 28, 2021 by Avacado

[Zonalo]

Drilling rivets is super easy. use a LARGE drill bit and just cut the head off and punch the rivet through the hole. DO NOT drill into the panel just to remove a rivet.

 

As far as marking the hole, use a center punch then the hole saw guide bit will make the pilot hole right on the center mark.

 

Not all hole saws are created equal. Figure out what size you need and go buy one especially for sheetmetal. They will generally be be very different than your average generic hole saw set and cost about $20. This will save a lot of headache and worrying about messing up the finish.

 

Not all rivets are created equal. Make sure to get aluminum "blind rivets". Anything else probably wouldn't even be able to be set with a cheap rivet gun anyway. Also, buy for diameter and well as compressed length. Rivets that are too long after they are compressed are very difficult to drill out.

 

As for files, just a quality (german, swiss or american made) chainsaw file will be good for de burring holes, but the hole saw I use made such clean cuts that it wasn't necessary 

 

My opinion is that if you you have clear, perpendicular access to the panel you are drilling then there is no need to remove it, but know that the drill bit and hole saw will come out the other side pretty far and with some amount of force when it cuts through so make sure you have plenty of clearance that way also

 

I attached a pic of the hole saw I use (with a small impact driver instead of a drill) and a pic of the results. I did no further doctoring to the holes in the pic after drilling and did not use any tape or anything. Just center punch and let it rip with a quality saw

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Zonalo
added some pics

[Soulpatch]

I know it's an old post...but for future reference. 

I'd stay away from a hole saw.  They aren't "true" centered and will create an elliptical hole.  Best option is to step drill with a unibit if possible.  You'll get a much cleaner/round hole (it also deburrs), but also depends on what the opening will be used for. 

A deburring tool wouldn't hurt either for cleaning up the edges.  Much better than a file.  When it comes to rivets, just measure whats already in it with a pair of calipers.  Cut that in half due to expansion and you'll have the rivet size.  But a unibit will always cut a smoother/cleaner whole when it comes to sheet metal or plastics and come in a varied assortment of sizes.  I've seen all the way up to 3" before.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Soulpatch
add images