anyone ever drilled a hole for a thermowell into a stopper?

[General_Jah]

Hey guys I am considering just drilling a hole into one of my stoppers to add a thermowell that is .375" OD.

Anyone ever done this? See any problems with doing it?

Sure it won't be as clean as factory but Im struggling to see any downside.

Appreciate any input!

 

[hafmpty]

It’s pretty easy. When I did it I just put it in my freezer overnight to get it cold. This hardens it up a bit making it easier to drill. You are right. Not as clean but it’s worked fine for me.

 

[General_Jah]

thanks I'll give it a shot and try your suggestion for freezing it first

 

[bucketnative]

Generally, in the lab, you would use a set of cork borers (or stopper borers). It's a set metal cylinders with a t-handles at the top. The distal end has been sharpened into a blade. Just twist while pressing down and you get a decent hole (like an apple corer). Absent one of those, I think the freezer should help.

 

[SanPancho]

freezer is a great idea, wish i'd thought of that. long story short, the rubber wants to move, so its going to be pretty hard to get an exact diameter. you'd need a larger drill bit than .375 as the rubber will twist with the bit. i'd say try a half inch bit.

but again, i just drilled it out as is. if you do the freezing then that may help. so start with your 3/8 and see what you get. but if the rubber is twisting with the bit, then you'll likely want to upsize a bit on the second go around.

 

[cloudybrewer]

Wish I'd thought of freezing it, too. What I found is, use a bit that's the right size and after getting all the way through, let the bit spin for a couple minutes. It will continue to chew away at the rubber until the hole is almost right

 

[SanPancho]

maybe its the size of the hole or speed of the drill, but i never got them to hollow out like i needed them. thats why i always just ended up going a size or two bigger on the drill bit.

 

[augiedoggy]

I did a bunch, instead of a drill bit I had a hollow piece of stainless tubing left over from making my thermowells. It had a rough edge from being cut on a saw. I put the tubing in the drill bit and cut with it. It worked a lot better than a drill bit for me.