Hard brass drilling isses

[Brookesy]

Good morning All,
I'm having some issues with the drill bit grabbing in some very hard brass plate I'm working on. The frame I've been making for the steam engine is... a bit stuffed now

 

[WOB]

Check out this video: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAngKHIZgyA[/ame]

WOB

 

[Wizard69]

Clickspring does excellent videos!!

I might add that this technique is also advisable for drilling plastics and other materials prone to the corkscrew effect. If one does a lot of work with these materials a dedicated drill bit set may be worth consideration. If not a set at least set aside the drill bits you do use.

 

[Brookesy]

Thanks mate. I will try this out tonight

 

[XD351]

Another thing that works is one of those stepped drils as they only have one cutting edge they don't grab like a twist drill , ok for up to 5 or 6mm thick and they fly through plastic . Unfortunately you are limited with choice of size - usually 4, 5,6 mm etc and 1/4,3/8, 7/16 inch size etc if you can find one .

 

[Brookesy]

Thanks, I'll try that too

 

[Brookesy]

Success. I followed the instructions in the video and all is well

 

[TonyM]

Its simply putting a negative rake on the cutting edge. It works well for drilling cast iron too
.

 

[wesley]

Great post about drilling brass,its been giving me trouble as well,so will now get another set of drill bits an alter as the video ,and keep them just for brass an copper.

 

[bazmak]

For us oldies with years of experience of drilling etc who have collected
a large box worn/blunt drills all we have to do is save them up and
we then have a full drill set for iron and brass.I remember many years ago
being advised by old timers to build up a set of worn drills for brass
Its cheaper but may take you 50yrs or so

 

[Brookesy]

I haven't got 50 years... I do have lots of worn drill bits, but not in the sizes I need. Ironic.

 

[goldstar31]

I haven't got 50 years... I do have lots of worn drill bits, but not in the sizes I need. Ironic.

If you recall, I and others suggested Sparey and the Amateurs Lathe.

Dated though he is, he deals with the grabbing problem but goes on further to suggest what were the classic 'spade drills' which swere in common usage before we got pretty things in grey and red boxes full of the wrong sizes

This is where an old fart suggests making a drill out of silver steel/drill rod-- and sticks the red hot end into nothing more than the humble potato.:hDe:

The other way was to stick the red hot t ip in a sword into one's slave:wall:


All in one book or other:fan:

Norm

 

[Brookesy]

Ah yes it's this ancient wisdom I seek. There's nothing more satisfying than making something useful to use in making something interesting. Sparey is definitely on the list. One of Tubal Cain's books came in the mail today and I can't put it down.

 

[wesley]

Grrrrrrrrrrr the drill bits that l have got rid off,will save now and go through the junk box

 

[bazmak]

To speed things up a bit rather than wait 50yrs
As you need a drill for brass then use your existing one and buy a new
one to replace it. Also go thru your drills and buy new ones where needed
the worn ones go into the brass set.I have a couple of drill bit stands
and ordered a new revolving one from China,when it didnt arrived i
complained and was sent a replacement along with a few other items
A few months later the original package arrived so i used the spare for worn
brass drills.As i was taught as a child,waste not want not

 

[Brookesy]

Sometimes you get lucky. I have a tendency to buy things in 2's... which annoys my better half immensely... but I also have a tendency to lose track of things in the shed. So far 6 drill bits have received 'the treatment'.

 

[bazmak]

I also went thru my drill box.The spare set for brass i just mixed and matched
1 to 6mm in o.1 increments contain both imperial,metric,no etc Just mike them up Near enough to +/- 2 thou. Also use them for general drilling and save the best set for the more accurate work. Also started building up 6 to 10mm in 4 thou increments again mix and match

 

[tornitore45]

Through the years (many) I have accumulated at least 5 set of fractional to 1/2" and Wire #, only one set of Letters and a sparse array of metric.
A double row of fractional sit in a shop made index to be modified as required.
One row has zero rake for brass and the other has a 180* front for counter-boring when a flat bottom is called for.

You never throw away HS steel, it can always be ground into that special cutting tool you need for a one shot job. Back in the old country when HEX bit were not to be found, my best screwdriver bit for the drill was ground from a 10mm drill.

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Guys,

I can only agree with the comments made in this thread. Over the years I have made many drills for various purposes, made from bits of steel, broken drills, cutters and even more recently carbide.

I recently made "John Moran's" 4 - 6 Facet drill grinder, http://www.gadgetbuilder.com/DrillSharp.html#Facet4. I should have made this years ago, It makes putting a new cutting edge on a drill bit a breeze, but more than that it enables you to easily put a cutting edge on almost anything that you can put in the chuck. More importantly you can easily adjust the grinder so that by choosing the rake and cutting angle, a tool can be made to suit the material that you need to cut.

 

[tornitore45]

Baron, is there a set of drawings for sharpener you posted? Could not find them on the link.