roger wiegand
08-19-2017, 3:51 PM
I'm reinforcing a beam/post connection in my barn with some quarter inch thick T-shaped steel plates on each side. I've tacked them in position and have been doing my best to drill squared up holes from each side. The beams (6-1/2" thick) aren't perfect and I'm working up on a ladder, so not quite ideal conditions. The end result is that my holes aren't quite square (perpendicular to the steel) and when I try to put a bolt through it doesn't quite come out the other side through the hole in the steel, though I can see all the way through. I'm close, within an eighth or sixteenth of an inch, and by pushing the drill one way and the other I can whittle away the sides of the hole to finally get the bolts through. With several hours of sweating and swearing I've got three of the 24 I need to do in place.
I'm sure there must be a better way, but I haven't been able to think of it. I could make holes larger than the bolts, say 3/8 or 7/16 for the 5/16 bolts if I can mark them well enough then get the steel out of the way to drill with a bigger drill, but that seems sloppy and I'm trying to prevent additional movement in these joints. Any tricks of the trade for doing this?
I'm sure there must be a better way, but I haven't been able to think of it. I could make holes larger than the bolts, say 3/8 or 7/16 for the 5/16 bolts if I can mark them well enough then get the steel out of the way to drill with a bigger drill, but that seems sloppy and I'm trying to prevent additional movement in these joints. Any tricks of the trade for doing this?