Repair 7

How to Drill Through Carpeting to Install Seat Belts

The flutes that run up a drill bit direct metal shavings from a drilled hole. At the tip of each flute, sits a sharp point that can cause severe damage to automotive carpeting when drilling holes for seat belt mounting brackets. When the flutes grab the carpet, long threads of material will unravel and ruin the carpet. Another method of puncturing a hole through carpet causes no damage to the surrounding area, saving you the chore of replacing the carpet.

Instructions

1

Place the seat belt bracket in the location you need the hole.

2

Push the tip of a paint marker into the mounting hole located in the center of the bracket. Continue pushing the marker against the carpet until the hole is solidly marked. Remove the bracket.

3

Set a 5/16-inch leather punch on the carpet with the paint mark hole centered in the cutting head of the punch. Hit the shaft of the punch sharply four to five times until you hear the ping of the metal punch head contacting the floorboards of the vehicle. Remove the punch from the surface of the carpet.

4

Pull the hole cut from the surface of the carpet.