San Diego Machine Shop Recommendation?

[gnd2]

I have a toyo lens board (aluminum) that needs a larger hole. I've seen it recommended to have a machine shop do it rather than a potentially dangerous DIY hack job, but I'm having trouble finding a suitable shop near by.

Seems like most shops are big industrial shops that want a CNC file. One shop was recommended to me but I haven't been able to get ahold of them. I would think it should only take a couple minutes to stick the board in a machine and turn out the hole.

Anyone know of a place in San Diego they can recommend? Preferably around Miramar or Poway area.


Board currently has a copal #3 hole but needs a betax #5 (about 80mm diameter).

[Tin Can]

That’s a 1 hour job and billed that way

[shadow images]

I would think it should only take a couple minutes to stick the board in a machine and turn out the hole.

.

No offense but it will probably cost you less to find the correct size board than it will be to have a shop do that. Most wouldn't do it for less than the minimum $150 shop rate. They are a business not a friend.

[Richard Wasserman]

You might consider buying a 1/2 round file and doing it yourself. Your new hole isn't hugely bigger than the existing one, plus aluminum is soft and easy to work. Draw/scribe a circle of the proper diameter and take your time with the file—the hole doesn't need to be perfectly round, simply close enough to work.

[gnd2]

I wasn't getting my hopes up but figured it was worth a shot. Some older posts seemed to suggest there were shops that would take on a small one-off project for a reasonable price. But I guess that's just not the case any more, at least not in the "big city". Maybe if I was in Podunk USA I could go to Billy Bobs Auto Shop and have him whip it out for a beer....

Finding the "correct" board seemed more unlikely than finding a suitable shop.

Anyway, I just picked up a fly cutter from the local Ace Hardware, that seems to have done the job well enough. The difference was big enough that I didn't want to mess with hogging it out by hand. I've done a smaller hole with a spindle sander, but this was pushing the limit of what I felt comfortable doing that way (removing 8 mm of the perimeter).