How do you figure out where the holes go? In this case, Kevin is working with a piece of 1/2″ plate steel that is 13-1/2″ wide by about 36″ long. He wants his holes far enough to the outside edges so everything can be secure.
At the same time, he wants the holes far enough to the inside so he doesn’t have to worry about anything breaking, especially because this sculpture moves a bit. So he doesn’t want it to flex and have a corner break off.
Kevin sets his square at 1-1/2″ and looks at the mark. To get a better idea of how it will look, he draws the perimeter of the hole, which needs to be slightly bigger than 1/2″ to accommodate the 1/2″ Redhead concrete anchors he’ll use to bolt down the sculpture.
The location he’s marked should be far enough in to keep the sculpture and anyone around it safe.
Next Kevin marks all four corners, center punches them, and uses his magnetic drill to make the holes.
He sets up his Evo mag drill, wiggling it into place. Kevin attaches the drill by engaging the electromagnet. Then he drills the first hole, occasionally spraying the cutting area with cutting lube. It takes about 1-1/2 minutes to drill each hole.
In the last step he’ll drill the other three holes through the 1/2″ steel plate, then clean up the cutting oil to make it nice and pretty for delivery.
Kevin says he’s sure there is some rule that tells you exactly where to put your holes based on the height, weight and location of a sculpture or other item you are bolting down, but this is what works for him.
He’s ready to go back to work, so now you can click on the bell so you’re the first to know when Kevin releases a new free how to video. Well, you might want to wait around for a moment with Kevin while he waits for his cue ….