Spot Face cutter

[Paul Alciatore]

Vector makes an expensive tool for cutting these traces. Well, expensive compared to a standard drill bit. I have been using drill bits for this for years. I put a 1/8" bit in my drill press and set the down feed stop for the correct depth to remove the trace. That takes a few trials. From there, I just mark the places to break the traces with a marking pen and drill away. The hole in the board centers the drill bit very well and the 1/8" size bit cuts the trace with a wide enough break so that solder will not bridge it easily but it does not touch the neighboring traces. Works great.