First Cut (& drilling through the trailer)

I took advantage of the great weather today to fire up my skill saw and make the first cut of many for my mobile cabin.  It's about time!  And it felt gooood to slice and place lumber neatly in the slots I had carefully measured.

I also learned about drilling through the thick metal of my trailer frame to accommodate the all-important bolts that will anchor my pressure treated foundation.  I used more "that-should-do" reasoning to select 3/8" bolts and space them out along the boards.  There are truly thousands of decisions to make along the way and I cannot check all of them with a knowledgeable third party.  Hopefully I'm erring on the side of over-engineering.  I'm also making an attempt to build in a way that I can disassemble things if need be to make modifications at a later date.

I used an eight dollar, 3/8" Irwin cobalt bit to drill the bolt holes through the trailer.  Fortunately I ran into an ex-machinist at the hardware store that explained the importance of keeping the bit cool while drilling to maintain its cutting surfaces.  When the bit gets hot, it gets soft, which causes it to dull.  To keep it cool he recommended dribbling water from a hose over the hole while drilling.  I also reasoned that I should use the slower speed of my cordless drill to prevent overheating of the bit.  It turned out that was a painfully slow and laborious process.  Using the faster speed made the task much more manageable.  I did not start the hole with a smaller bit.  Instead I hammered a punch to create a small divot in which the large bit would catch without walking.