In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Hamish wrote:

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could offer a novice diy'er some advice. My
letterbox was removed when our front door was painted; the bolt
receptor then got threaded while refitting it. The only letterbox I
could buy to replace it has *slightly* different dimensions, i.e.

1) The bolts are further apart.

2) The flap is a little bit too big for the old hole, and the spring
mechanism is larger.

Anyway, I'll need to resize the rectangular hole a few mm all round.
My questions a

1) What is the best way to make this hole a little bigger? Should I
use a chisel or a padsaw (I own neither so will have to buy one)?

2) Should I remove the door from its frame while I work on it? If so,
any tips?

3) If I can't get away with using the same bolt holes, I am planning
to glue some dowel into them, sand them down and then drill new holes
a few mm away. Will I need a particular type of wood glue for this?
Anything else I should bear in mind?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Best regards,

Hamish

Not sure what you mean by "got threaded". I assumed that they needed to be
threaded for the bolts to screw in?!

Assuming that you mean that the threads got damaged, can't you re-tap them
and use larger bolts?

If you really want to make the opening larger, the best way would be with a
router - but you probably don't want to buy one for a one-off job. Another
way is to use a spiral saw - which is like a drill bit with cutting edges
all down its length - which you use in an electric drill. They can be a bit
vicious though, so practise on a scrap bit of wood first.

You can do it easily enough with the door in situ but - if you *do* use a
router it woild be easier to take the door off and lie it down flat.

You don't really need to fill the old bolt holes. The outside will be hidden
by the new letterbox. If the inside shows, bung a bit of pollyfilla in the
holes.

--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.