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Button holes on wood

Vame808

E500E Enthusiast
Member
Anyone know a good way to out holes on the burlwood for buttons. I don't want to crack the lacquer.
 
It's REALLY tough to successfully cut holes in the wood without damaging/cracking the surrounding area. Best to try to find a piece that came from the factory that way, even used, and have it refinished. It can be done with care though. Personally, I wold not attempt it though I would send a piece to a wood specialist to cut for me.
 
+1. Don't attempt it unless you're an expert woodworker with access to a router table. I tried this once and ruined the wood piece. If the clearcoat doesn't chip or crack, the wood veneer will, or vice-versa.

I would just buy a new wood piece with the additional holes. They are available from MB for (roughly) $250-$350 each, assuming you are referring to the HVAC wood trim, or the center console wood trim (photo below).

Otherwise, Madera Concepts will refinish your existing wood piece, and also can add holes. The cost is ~$45 for each hole, as there is a lot of set-up time for each hole. For wood pieces which are no longer available, OR if you want to keep your original wood trim so all the grain matches, this would be the preferred option. But you'd have to get all your wood refinished, lol. It's about $260 for the refinishing, plus the cost for extra holes, plus S&H.



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:spend:
 
New ones from from your local MB dealer or parts vendor that can source dealer parts. Which specific wood piece are you looking for?

:5150:
 
Yeah, Adsit is only OK, but for aftermarket parts you can do better at AutohausAZ.com and for factory parts you can do better at parts.com. I've never used them but they've been around for a while. Some people I know have had bad experiences with them.

Another good company that's a better alternative to Adsit is Performance Products. They put out a nice catalog once or twice a year that for an aftermarket vendor is pretty good stuff. I'd steer clear of Adsit because there are better alternatives out there.

For getting your wood drilled (or refinished) expertly, you should go to Madera Concepts in southern California. Great firm, and they do great work.

Cheers,
Gerry
 
You can buy new wood with additional holes for the HVAC and center console. I'm not sure how you would put holes in the ashtray box up front, but there was never anything like this from the factory (front or rear).

I'm not sure what brand of crack Gerry is smoking, but Adsitco is one of the worst vendors you can buy from. Read details in this thread. Make sure you read Adsitco's return policy VERY closely - you pay for THEIR mistakes, no exceptions. Might as well play Russian Roulette with your money. If you find a lower price there, buy from a reputable vendor via their price match policy (like buymbparts.biz). I wouldn't give Adsitco a dime. They offer nothing you can't get elsewhere with far better customer service.

Details on Madera pricing are back up in post #3.

:stickpoke:
 
Dude, I said "I'd steer clear of Adsit" and "some people I know have had bad experiences with them" and then I listed alternative vendors -- that's politically correct speak for a non-recommendation of Adsit in my book.

Unless you read my post 180* opposite of how it was intended.

Then again, it's not crack I've been smoking, it's nitrous oxide from my bottle. Remember.... 0.1 second time increase for each 10* rise in temperature :gor-gor:

Cheers,
Gerry
 
Dude, your potically-correct non-recommendation is like saying Üro parts kinda aren't that great and you might want to avoid buying them. Adsitco is the bottom of the barrel of part vendors, same as Üro hawks parts that are pure garbage. Neither deserve any kind of political correctness, IMO. Just callin' a spad, a spade. For both, Just Don't Do It.

:hornets:
 
The cheapest you're going to get factory wood is with parts.com

Per your original request, I think I'd just send your wood to Madrea Concepts in SoCal and have them do the cutout(s), and refinish the wood at the same time to make it really nice.

Cheers,
Gerry
 
It's been a long time since I last looked at the back of these wood veneer panels, but aren't there some plastic doo-dads on the back side which actually secure the switches and other components onto the panel? If this is the case, I'm wondering when Madera (or someone else) cuts the hole if you end up with no positive way to hold whatever is being placed in that new location???
 
The plastic bits are stapled to the back of the wood, so there is not an issue with removing it (if doing so is required).

Cheers,
Gerry
 
Hey Gerry I just contacted Madera Concepts and they said that they don't ship to Hawaii. Do you have any other recommendations?
 
That's actually sort of shocking !!

Have someone who is local to them there in SoCal pick it up and ship to you. There are quite a few board members who I am sure would help you out who are more or less local to them.
 
For new wood, in the USA, parts.com will have the lowest price as GVZ stated. The "nine-hole" HVAC wood in burled walnut is 124-683-09-08, currently $458 MSRP, and $329 from parts.com. The 'limo' console wood shown in the photo on post #3 may be 'comm blocked' and not orderable in the USA via normal channels, you'd need to try to place the order and see what happens; MSRP $344, or $247 via parts.com. Otherwise you can get this via the MB Classic Center but they may charge MSRP (discount available if you're a current MBCA member).

Choose "Freight-Quote" at checkout for parts.com, and I'd request the items be sent Priority Mail... no idea what it would cost for UPS or FedEx to Hawaii. Probably under $25 for Priority, which is way less than the flat 15% they'll ding you for if you don't choose Freight-Quote at checkout.

Anything related to the ashtray will be custom work from Madera, and also would not have the plastic doohickeys underneath which hold the switches; you'd need to cannibalize those from some other used wood piece. That's Talbir-level custom work, not worth the effort unless you really really need the extra switches (i.e., rear seat heaters, or something like that).


:sawzall:
 

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