: Malcolm Hi,

: Thank you very much for your explanations and pictures. I have two
: questions for you, if I may:
: 1. You wrote that you drilled with forstner bits, and I guess you
: cannot use hand tools for this. so, is drilling with
: hand-drilling machine, using wood spade bits would do? or will
: it cause much damage to epoxied cloth? what is the easy option
: for me?
: 2. The black dye you used in order to match the black fitting -
: which type of dye is it? I don't have a clue what to ask for....

Black dye is pretty easy. If you have easy access to West Marine, or a marine store like it, they sell for a reasonable price, West epoxy brand (not West Marine brand) graphite powder, works great to dye the epoxy black. Or you can use the toner from an old lazer printer cartridge, or copier cartridge for that matter. Both of these products are messy and float in the epoxy so takes a bit of time to mix.

Btw, although I've not tried it, a forstner bit should work with a hand brace, they like to be turned fairly slow so it should work fine. (Harbor Freight has them cheap btw)

Bill H.