Can I drill a hole into a rubber stopper?

[atikovi]

The plastic lower steering column shroud is broken where the two mounting bolts attach it to the column, so it's rattling every time I get in and out of the car. I can wedge it tight to the column with two rubber stoppers and longer bolts, but how hard is it to drill a hole in rubber? For an M4 or M5 screw.

 

[MovingAlong]

Stick it in the freezer for a day...

 

[KwikFab]

Effortless.

Just need to ensure it doesn't move as you drill it.

 

[larry_g]

Stoppers are available with holes already in them.

Google Search

And there are tools for the job. You cut the hole, don't drill with a twist drill.

Google Search

 

[mike93lx]

Effortless.

Just need to ensure it doesn't move as you drill it.

Hold on tight!

 

[atikovi]

Stoppers are available with holes already in them.

Google Search

Probably not locally so I would have pay $12 UPS for 50 cents of product.

 

[niget2002]

I've drilled them before. Need some way of clamping it without distorting it or you end up with an oval shaped hole.

 

[Shiftless]

I have not had success trying to drill a hole in a rubber stopper with a regular twist drill. You end up with a distorted hole much smaller than your bit size. If you had a short length of metal tubing with an OD of the hole you want, you could make a custom bit by sharpening one end. That should work.
I’ve never tried it, but a forstner bit might work too.

 

[Mandres]

Stick it in the freezer for a day...

That's an idea. Does this really work? Any negative effects from freezing the rubber?

 

[RoninB4]

-Drilling rubber with a twist drill will NOT produce a clean hole. Even freezing it may not improve things as the friction drilling it may warm the rubber up enough to make the hole ragged. It sure will by the time you get to the second hole and will require freezing again. The only way I've ever produced a clean hole is to drill well undersize and then use a grinder. Grinding can/will produce a cleaner shape than a drill can. The sharpened tube suggested above by @Shiftless may work ok on thinner sections but may not on thicker pieces. Never tried a Forstner bit so can't comment on that.

 

[seber]

Just for clarification, I think Ronin84 is referring to an abrasive burr.

 

[Shiftless]

Holding it in place safely while you drill will be another challenge. If you squeeze it hard in a vise, the rubber will end up to be compressed which will affect the process of drilling a nice hole.

 

[Shiftless]

Just for clarification, I think Ronin84 is referring to an abrasive burr.

That sounds like the right tool to use.
How ‘bout an end mill ? (Might not be long enough)

 

[mike93lx]

A Forster bit would probably work

 

[MovingAlong]

That's an idea. Does this really work? Any negative effects from freezing the rubber?

No negative effects that I'm aware of.. had a pinball machine rebuilt once, lots of rubber parts that needed machined and that's how my guy did it.

YouTube suggests you can make your own hollow core drill bit from a piece of copper tubing as well.

 

[rlitman]

Just for clarification, I think Ronin84 is referring to an abrasive burr.

That's my thought. I've carved rubber stoppers and rubber mini-golf balls using Kutzall wood carving burrs in high speed die grinders. It's messy as hell, and kinda scary though.

A Forster bit would probably work

I don't see a forstner's chisels being anywhere near sharp enough to work.

The best I've got is working at very high turning speeds and low feeds. You can use a twist drill in a drill press at a few thousand RPM (get your drill press up to it's max speed, and forget doing this by hand). Going at slower speeds like you would in wood leads to the rubber reacting to the cut, so you end up with the undersized hole described above. I'm sure freezing would help.

 

[mike93lx]

I don't see a forstner's chisels being anywhere near sharp enough to work

Probably right. That rubber will be quite soft

 

[whateg01]

I would think you'd be better off stuffing some cotton down in the holes and pour in some epoxy, then drill new holes in that.

 

[gahrajmahal]

I have luck using a standard Brad point bit. The sharper / newer the drill bit the better. Also the holding advise is correct. If you are clamping it in a vise type holder your hole will be oval. Thinner pieces are easier than thicker. I never tried freezing the rubber, but that should help it too.

 

[txvwnut]

I've drilled rubber stoppers before and as others have said the hole is less than perfect. If you can fixture it to be drilled in a drill press you'd probably have decent success at keeping the hole perpendicular but it still wouldn't be a perfect hole through the middle, actually more of a mangled slot.

 

[BombShelter]

I feel like there's a much easier solution to this problem but I'd need more info. That looks like a $5 part from ebay, can you just replace the panel?

Otherwise McMaster-Carr has just about everything.
https://www.mcmaster.com/

 

[mrb1]

Often times at my old shop we needed to make holes in rubber flanges/gaskets that were an inch or so thick. Nothing too precise. We would stick a bolt, nail, or screw the appropriate size into an industrial size magnetic induction heater coil til they were red hot. Just pushed right through the rubber like a hot knife .....try not to inhale the smoke

 

[whateg01]

I feel like there's a much easier solution to this problem but I'd need more info. That looks like a $5 part from ebay, can you just replace the panel?

Otherwise McMaster-Carr has just about everything.
https://www.mcmaster.com/

That's why I suggested filling the bottom of the holes with epoxy and some sort of fiber and drill new holes in that. Way easier to deal with than a rubber stopper.

 

[DAWrench]

OP can probably find something in plumbing department at Home Depot that will work. Rubber cone washer or cutting end off of plastic toilet supply line comes to mind

 

[RTM]

The stopper coring tool above is a stupid easy way to do this, few minutes job end to end, round enough hole for glass tubing to go thru without breaking.

Copper tubing idea may work, if you can get a grip on it to twist it. Push the plug out before you do the second.

 

[atikovi]

I feel like there's a much easier solution to this problem but I'd need more info. That looks like a $5 part from ebay, can you just replace the panel?

Otherwise McMaster-Carr has just about everything.
https://www.mcmaster.com/

More like $120.

https://store.mopar.com/oem-parts/mopar-steering-column-shroud-1rz38jw4ab?

 

[atikovi]

Think this might work good. Got two stoppers at Home Depot. Cut 1/3 off and used the big end. Stuffed in the opening and drilled hole with a press with 3 bit sizes. Went through easily. On to the other one.

 

[redwrench60]

I always cut a short piece of tubing (stainless or copper) with the OD of the hole size I need, sharpen it slightly and push it through the stopper in a vise like a controlled hole punch. Works great.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I put the stopper in a hole that is that is the right size (cast fittings work well or drill a wood scrap).

 

[kbeefy]

I've done it with sharpened tubing. On thin pieces you can use it like a punch (think empty shell casings and gasket material), on thicker pieces I chuck it up in a drill and spin it.

 

[RoninB4]

Just for clarification, I think Ronin84 is referring to an abrasive burr.

-Nope, I used a coarse grit grinding wheel. Mostly did this on a surface grinder, it works great. Can also be done with a mounted abrasive wheel in a die grinder if it's a coarse enough grit to not get clogged. The hardness of the rubber (Durometer IIRC) affects what cutting tool to use. Even a sharp end mill will make a ragged hole if the rubber is too soft.

 

[david3921]

I'm guessing that you couldn't use a metal washer as the holes are stripped out. How about a larger rubber washer underneath a metal one?

 

[nadogail]

Liquid Nitrogen will freeze your stopper

 

[Shiftless]

Liquid Nitrogen will freeze your stopper

I don’t know how serious you are about using liquid nitrogen, but just in case somebody decides to freeze rubber using that stuff, realize that the molecular structure changes at such an extremely low temperature ( -321 F.) and the rubber is likely to crack or even shatter.

 

[4xdog]

Don't try to drill a rubber stopper. Use a cork borer set, which is made for exactly this and are used all the time in chemical labs. I use my home set all the time cutting holes in rubber in the shop.

One could probably make one for the specific hole size you need using an appropriate diameter of thin wall tubing.

Cork borer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[nadogail]

I don’t know how serious you are about using liquid nitrogen, but just in case somebody decides to freeze rubber using that stuff, realize that the molecular structure changes at such an extremely low temperature ( -321 F.) and the rubber is likely to crack or even shatter.

When I worked at a rubber products manufacturing plant in the mid 1980's i thought they used liquid nitrogen to freeze molded products while they were being deburred; admittedly that was long enough ago that i may be confused.

 

[yhprum]

They make rubber test tube stoppers with a hole in them already.

Rubber Stopper Fitted with Glass Tube

This product is compatible with our Chemistry Set. The product has a height of 70mm and a diameter of 10mm. The product weight is 3 grams.

www.tinysciencelab.com.au

 

[Shiftless]

When I worked at a rubber products manufacturing plant in the mid 1980's i thought they used liquid nitrogen to freeze molded products while they were being deburred; admittedly that was long enough ago that i may be confused.

I bet you are right.
Deburring where you just remove tiny bits from the edges is different than drilling right through a thick piece of rubber.
The process you described sounds safe to me.

 

[no704]

 

[KnurledNut]

I had to do this same thing recently. I just pushed an awl through to start a hole and then reamed it out with a twist drill.