Recut Top Right Door Bracket, Tapped Other Brackets, Widened Door Holes, Countersunk Lower Left Back Door Hole

Back to work on the back door.

I cut a replacement bracket for the one that I snapped the end of my #4-40 tap bit in.



I used the original bracket as a template for the mounting holes used to attach the bracket to the frame. I drilled through the holes and through a 1/2" scrap piece of plywood.



I used the block of wood as a guide for where to drill the replacement bracket.



After drilling the new bracket, I countersunk the holes.



Unfortunately, I was not immediately able to screw the bracket onto the frame. This is the ill-fated bracket that I also snapped off the drill bit on the upper hole the other day. The digging with the pliers to pull the drill bit out left enough slop that I wasn't getting a tight fit when I tried screwing down the replacement bracket.



I decided to use wood glue to glue a toothpick in the hole, and then I covered the mess I made with the needle nose pliers using JB Weld. An hour or two later, I smoothed this over little more, and I will sand it smooth once it's all dry.



In the meantime, I got to work on widening the holes on the door. Previously, I had drilled these holes with a #43 drill bit, so that when the drill bit drilled through the door and the bracket behind it, the hole in the bracket would be the rights size for tapping for a #4-40 screw. I used a 0.116" drill bit to widen the hole to be large enough to allow a #4 screw to pass through.



I also bought a replacement #4-40 tap bit (two of them actually). Rather than attempt to tap the brackets while they were still in the frame, I removed them, put them in a vise, and tapped them there instead. Much better, no broken bits today.



I reinstalled the three brackets, and screwed the door in place. The upper-right bracket isn't installed yet, until the JB Weld and wood glue dry and have been sanded smooth.

I was able to countersink one of the four holes on the door, the lower-left hole. I need at least two diagonally opposing screws to keep the door on, so this was the only hole I was able to countersink tonight.




Hopefully I can install the upper-right bracket tomorrow, drill and tap it, finish the countersinking on the door, and be done with the door installation. Then all that's left is installing the rear power coupler.