Once you have decided upon the height of your mount and clamped it in place you are now ready to drill the hole for the wires.


I first drill a 1/4" Pilot hole into the pedestal guard to center my hole saw into. For drilling a large enough hole I use Lenox Bi-Metal hole saws. They make easy work of 1" SS.


The hole size in the pedestal leg will depend upon the wires you need to fit down the leg. The smallest hole that will fit the wires is what you want. If in doubt grab some 1" copper pipe and make a test bore to see if your wires fit.


Once the hole is drilled please be sure to do a good job at de-burring this hole. Again, for this, I use a Dremel type tool but a small round file can work too. The important thing is to have a smooth hole that won't destroy the wire when pulling it through the guard..


TIP: For drilling into stainless I use drills made by Viking/Norseman. Viking/Norseman are actually the same company but go to market under two different brands, like Johnson / Evinrude did..


These drills are made here in the USA and are very good quality. One of my favorite drill sets for the boat are the Norseman/Viking 29 piece round drill index sets 1/16" to 1/2" in 1/64th increments.. They are in a round plastic container with screw on lid and an EXCELLENT gasket seal. The set is totally waterproof and stays closed in a tool bag, unlike metal indexes.


I use this set for 85-90% of the drilling jobs I need to do on boats. These drills also eat SS for lunch... Both Norseman and Viking offer the same sets under different part numbers. I think at last count I had three of these drill indexes.


I like them because KL Jack, a local nut & bolt wholesaler, stocks the replacement drills from Norseman/Viking and when I break one I can easily replace it with a matched drill of the same quality. The crap you get at Home Depot, Lowes or other retailers are pure unadulterated JUNK!!!