RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

I am waiting on the metal hatches from artistic hobbies ($10). In the meantime I'd like to remove just the drivers hatch. In order to mount the on off switch to the hull under the hole.

Also if the hatch removal goes well I was considering connecting a battery charger plug inside the other hatch. I have hooked up a six pole double throw switch for the battery power because that was the only kind i could find at a electronics store while i wait for a heng long switch...and right now the 2 remaining poles have nothing on them. (The switch is of a type that has no real "off" position the only way its off is if you have nothing at all wired to 2 of the poles at one end or the other) I have read posts of people that have done exactly that.

Anyway I have a Dremel tool but not much confidence I can cut off the hatch without mangling the hatch and the hole. .Why do I care about saving the hatch when metal hatches are on the way, reason is I want to use the hatch as a temporary, press fit cover for the switch hole....also, suppose the new hatches arrive and they are the wrong fit, and i I have to order a different type and wait some more.... I'd like to make a nice neat smooth round hole for the new hatches, and not botch things into some ugly hack job that can't be undone.

I was thinking it might be possible to simply score the hatch/hole seam over and over with the x-acto-but the plastic seems awfully thick for something like that. Because I've never done this kind of irreversible deliberate mangling to the expensive hull, it's plain enough to see I get one chance at this only.

The old hatch once cut off is not going to be hinged, will press fit as simply as possible, to function as just a cover for the switch It's getting a bit tedious lifting the hull every time to turn the tank on... can any of the experten assist with a way to do this correctly and neatly? if it's even possible?

The tools I have to use, the dremel, a drill, X acto knife set...any tips aprreciated.

i have used cotton thread in the past to cut out small pieces like hatches.
Drill a small hole and pass the thread through.
Hold the thread at both ends and uses a sawing action.
Change to a new section of thread when it becomes clogged.

Very effective but it did hurt my fingers after a while.
Not too bad if only a small bit.

I found some more detailed 'how to' on one of the tank forms - cant remember where tho.

Cheers

Tim

Hey Mark... I could explain... but this is better... this is how Herman Bix did it on his white tiger

http://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/v ... 5&start=40
it's the best and fastest way to remove a hatch...chasing the edge with a chisel exacto blade helps too

Good Luck

ALPHA

hi marc, how about using a universal hole cutter for an electric drill, the one that you get in most diy shops for hole cutting. they are like solid, cone shaped and stepped, starting off at a point and expanding as you go for a bigger hole. good as long as you center up properly at the start of your cut/hatch. start from the underside of the deck, good luck

Recently I have ordered and received a replacement upper hull, this time I removed the hatches very carefully using the dremel from the under side, in the past I have used sting. The difference is the remainder on the upper hull I used the disc wheel on my dremel and just slowly sanded it until the old hatch material left a slight edge or seat for the new hatches. This hinged hatches are weak,the hinge tends to break,by leaving a slight edge I created a seat which after painting will proved a secure edge for the hatch to rest on. Hopefully preventing the side to side motion I think has been fracturing the hinge clevis? Not sure but in 4 years the same Tiger has killed several hatches,Or maybe its the rough driving?

I will try to post a pic by tomorrow,my camera currently in use by my daughter. There are several post detailing this process of cutting away the old hatches, when the new ones arrive do inspect the hinges and notice the small standoffs and two raised guides under the hull for the hinge placement,be sure to not mix left and right. And consider a small amount of sealer to the hinge pins for added strength. You will notice there pretty fragile parts. The link has a few good pictures of the hatches installed,and the mounting tabs.
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=9089&p=101419&hilit=HATCH#p101419
Saxondog

Thank you Gentlemen for the amazing replies. I never would have thought to use cotton string! But when you think of it it HAS to work if you're persistent enough...one thing i just thought of is, not being sure of the size of the hatches to come-might be better to make them too small...its 5 am here and the project will have to wait til work day is up, hopefully i'll come home to find the hatches in the mail -and i'll be re-reading this post again all over.
If i have the hatches in hand might just go for broke with the drill...since they're fragile (never thought about that but no doubt, they are) i guess i should have bought TWO pair! Now i need to do my king tiger next, yikes...

Hey Mark... Here's Deitrich's thread on how to use cotton thread

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=3601&p=36716&hilit=COTTON#p36716

Read it carefully... there are pros and cons to the method

Good luck

ALPHA

Buy a hobby type wood burning iron that comes with a bunch of different shaped screw in tips. Use the smallest tip and when hot cut out the hatch indentation from inside the upper hull. You will end up with ( if you worked carefully ) with nicely round holes from which any plastic will be removed when you sand off the remaining molded in hatch edge from the outside when you get the metal hatches do any final sanding to get the exact size . My HL actually had tabs in the inside molded in the hull where the metal hatch would be mounted as If HL had originally intended to have opening hatches, but the plastic where the hinge swings is a little too thick and needed to be thinned a bit. The hinge arm can be strengthened by super glueing a strip of steel cut from a thin metal can to the hinge arm . This can also be used to repair a broken hinge arm.