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Paul, Love the response, too funny.
As far as burning holes LOL I too have had the "I think the burnt plastic fumes are causing my brain to melt." LOL
I use a screw driver and a propane torch ( it just makes it more fun).
And my kids sit there and look at me Like I am nuts.

I use a screw driver and a propane torch ( it just makes it more fun).

I do something very similar. I use a pair of vice grips to hold a nail punch that I heat with a propane torch. I melt the plastic from inside the tub to produce smooth holes.

I do something very similar. I use a pair of vice grips to hold a nail punch that I heat with a propane torch. I melt the plastic from inside the tub to produce smooth holes.

I did that until I found that wal mart sold soldering irons for 10 bucks. Worth every penny

I did that until I found that wal mart sold soldering irons for 10 bucks. Worth every penny

Yeah, I've got several soldering irons and pencils. I just like all that fire I guess.

I thought about making a jig. Taking a piece of 1/8" steel and drilling the holes in it in the pattern I wanted in the tubs. Then putting an approrpiate sized nail in each hole. Then take another piece of 1/8" steel just large enough to cover the pattern and weld it to the back of the plate over the heads of the nails. Then heating the whole thing up with an acetylene torch and burning all the holes in an end at once.
Would be a cool toy and something to make folks ask questions if nothing else.

I thought about making a jig. Taking a piece of 1/8" steel and drilling the holes in it in the pattern I wanted in the tubs. Then putting an approrpiate sized nail in each hole. Then take another piece of 1/8" steel just large enough to cover the pattern and weld it to the back of the plate over the heads of the nails. Then heating the whole thing up with an acetylene torch and burning all the holes in an end at once.
Would be a cool toy and something to make folks ask questions if nothing else.

Thats right Clay! Unleash the creativity!

I've heard about rigging something up that would burn multiple holes at once, but being as accident prone as I am, it's probably best to stick with just one "hot poker" for the time being. Additionally, I'm pretty picky about having the holes in the "right place" and making them all as identical as possible, and I'm not sure how well that would work with such a rig.

I used to buy $4 soldering irons at Menard's, but those didn't last very long. Then I bought a Weider or Welder brand (can't remember right now) from Home Depot for around $13-14 that apparently reaches a higher temperature because it melts both plastic and solder MUCH faster than the cheap-o's that I used to get at Menard's. Plus, the one from H.D. comes with a few different tips, and I can switch them back and forth when I'm working with either solder or plastic so that I don't get the ugly, dirty marks on the nice clear tubs.

Paul, I didn't think about you having to burn all those holes. I would have lent you my contraption.


It is now mounted in two aluminum brackets. Works well. LOL

Did you get all the holes finished? Are the new racks put together yet? I see a late night in your future. Now get to work.

lol Yeah, I suppose that would have come in handy but in MY basement it would probably have been popping the circuit breaker as well. Although, that should be taken care of pretty soon.

And, um... no. I didn't get quite as much done as I had hoped. I haven't even finished taking all the rack pieces downstairs, which is what I was hoping to get done last night yet. HOWEVER, last night ended up employing a pinata, karaoke machine & birthday cake and it didn't end until after 5am so...

(note to self: when the "birthday boy" is allowed to fill his own pinata and decides it would be funny to hide a two-pound summer sausage inside, STAND BACK when he starts swinging the baseball bat)