Submitted by Don Jessup.
Don’t delay—make yourself a metal template to drill all the holes you will make for nutplates. About 1″ x 2″ seems to be a good size. Clamp a nutplate to the scrap and mark all three holes. Center punch and drill the holes. After you have drilled the preliminary holes in your part, clamp your template on by locating the center hole with a bolt of the correct size. Clamp it in place, I use a cleco clamp, and drill the two holes for the rivets. No more slips or drilled fingers!
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Editor’s note: These nutplate templates can be bought also, they are usually made of very hard tool steel so they wont wear out. Check your favorite aviation tool company.
