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Old December 22nd 05, 03:06 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Can I safely drill through Chromoplastic?

Yonatan Mazuz wrote:
I got some lovely SKS fenders for my tour/commute rig recently and
discovered a compatibility problem with my frame. Since it's set up for
cantilever brakes, the seatstay bridge is not an actual brake bridge:
its hole, instead of being roughly horizontally oriented, faces the
dropouts and is threaded for a 5mm bolt, to allow fenders to attach
directly to it.

Problem is, the fenders don't have a hole in this region, instead coming
with an angled bracket that's supposed to attach to the brake hole. For
right now, I have this bracket bent around the bridge, but since the
bracket's not very long, it sometimes pops off, giving the fender room
to wiggle and occasionally lean on the tire.

Hence, the question in the subject line. I believe the "Chromoplastic is
simply metal with a plastic laminate on each side. So is the laminate
prone to some sort of horrible cracking/shattering requiring some
ultra-specific drilling technique, or can I just have a go at it?


As someone else noted, just be careful. If you start with a big drill
bit at low speeds, the bit can dig in deep very quickly and rip rather
than cut - or tear the piece out of your hands, or cause other problems
- the result can be a nasty crack. Keep the drill RPMs high and use low
pressure and all will be well.

BTW, I've drilled many a chromoplast fender, to install mud flaps. I
think I only had a problem once when I foolishly rushed things.

Mark

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