Author Topic: Drill bits Unlimited and the drill press  (Read 5811 times)

Offline lcarroll

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 8547
Re: Drill bits Unlimited and the drill press
« Reply #15 on: May 17, 2018, 11:40:16 PM »
HI everyone,
    In one build I've managed to snap three .35mm bits despite trying to be careful.  I seem to have a problem with any bit under .5mm.
Three? You snapped three? I do have a mass grave of killed drill bits under 0.5 mm behind my house hidden under the trees -- but don't tell it to anybody!
Borsos

   I accumulate the casualties in a small metal tin; some are useful as "reamers" if you use the progressively larger bit approach to drilling. Ultimately they end up in the recycled metal bin and my contribution rate is higher then I'll freely admit! Like Gaz I buy them in packs of 50 for the most used sizes to keep the overall cost reasonable. I'd estimate an attrition rate of about 8 to 10 bits per Build (dropping them is usually fatal as well!) which I tolerate as a normal expense of modelling.
Cheers,
Lance

Offline RLWP

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1494
  • Bodger
Re: Drill bits Unlimited and the drill press
« Reply #16 on: May 18, 2018, 05:19:11 AM »
HI everyone,
    In one build I've managed to snap three .35mm bits despite trying to be careful.  I seem to have a problem with any bit under .5mm.
Three? You snapped three? I do have a mass grave of killed drill bits under 0.5 mm behind my house hidden under the trees -- but don't tell it to anybody!
Borsos

When a friend of mine was an apprentice toolmaker, if a job went wrong the workpiece was secretly dropped down a well in the yard of the factory

He reckoned some time in the future archaeologists would find this and use it to show the reason for the collapse of our civilisation. Everything they made was wrong

Richard


   I accumulate the casualties in a small metal tin; some are useful as "reamers" if you use the progressively larger bit approach to drilling. Ultimately they end up in the recycled metal bin and my contribution rate is higher then I'll freely admit! Like Gaz I buy them in packs of 50 for the most used sizes to keep the overall cost reasonable. I'd estimate an attrition rate of about 8 to 10 bits per Build (dropping them is usually fatal as well!) which I tolerate as a normal expense of modelling.
Cheers,
Lance
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline Manni

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1768
    • Der Militärmodellbauer
Re: Drill bits Unlimited and the drill press
« Reply #17 on: May 18, 2018, 02:23:09 PM »
Nice to hear that it happens to most of you, too. I always thought, that I am a bit clumsy/dumb when it comes to drilling. ;D
Bye,
Manni
"Ich hab' da mal was vorbereitet.": Jean Pütz
"Warum noch mehr Bausätze?!?": meine Frau

Offline Dave in Dubai

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 520
  • Beyond the blue horizon
Re: Drill bits Unlimited and the drill press
« Reply #18 on: June 22, 2018, 10:18:02 PM »
Yeup a process of trial and error has resulted in breaking most drill bits, at some point, when you get to about 0.3 mm and under.

I have a couple of sets of tiny drill bits raging from 0.2 mm all the way up to 1.6 mm....20 drill bits per set.

A couple of people have mentioned pilot holes- especially for the tiniest of drills.

On applications such as drilling out contol lead fairings and control horn ends, to accept monofilament rigging, I begin by using a very sharp needle to start the centre of the hole, then the drill will automatically find it’s path through the workpiece.
Working with good magnification is essential to getting an accurate starting hole.

Only the lightest of pressure is needed with ultra small drills.

Hope this helps?

Offline GazzaS

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1193
Re: Drill bits Unlimited and the drill press
« Reply #19 on: June 24, 2018, 04:34:32 PM »
Thanks Dave!
There are only two states to be in:  Queensland and blotto.

Offline BillB

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 16
Re: Drill bits Unlimited and the drill press
« Reply #20 on: July 14, 2019, 03:44:32 PM »
A drill press, or milling machine, is very useful, but the main thing they do is keep the drill aligned - if you use a pin vice by hand, any twitch will snap a drill. Likewise, a power tool has no 'feel', the other killer. Solution, use a pin vice by hand; but put the pin vice in a drill press or equivalent to keep it aligned - but loose in the chuck, powered by hand.  The drill press chuck will prevent hand twitches from snapping drills, and your feel will reduce the breakage from jamming.  Of course since you're only using the drill press for alignment, you can cobble up something out of wood or whatever to avoid shelling out for the machine; just a hole to loosely fit the shank of the pin vice is all you need.
Of, course breaking those teeny drills is inevitable, but you can have some fun lowering the attrition.
- Bill