Am I the only one who can't drill out more then 8-9 holes without breaking the drill bit with these things? For the life of me I can't figure out how to use them well. I know you have to be very careful and not apply very much pressure but dang, if I sneeze while I am drilling they break! Any tips, tricks, or devices that make using these easier? If not are there some that are stronger then others or where is the cheapest place to buy a couple hundred of the!
Think of them as perishable goods. When I buy one I usually buy at least five or six. I get quite a bit out of them in a pin vise, but I have a very steady hand. Still, you are right. If you sneeze or look at them funny - snap!
Make sure the bit is inserted low in the pin vise. You don't want the majority of the bit exposed and sticking out. Also I use beeswax to lubricate the bit every so often, especially if drilling in metal.
The above mentioned tips will help also using a smaller lighter pin vise will help. The larger ones are just too heavy and bulky for #80 bits. Try a Squadron Products 2 3/4" micro pin vise.
I use a spring-loaded pin-vise that has a knurled ring to speed the drilling. Cannot recall its actual name. The key to long life in a pin vise is only put the bit out so far as to //just// exit throught the other side of the material being drilled. I also toss a tiny piece of masking tape on the chuck over the bit to prevent marring my work. When I did my F45 pair from SAR/Kaslo shell kits, I drilled over 200 #80 holes in the pair. I used one bit. I still use that bit. Just be careful, and take your time. I also used an old airbrush needle as a center punch to keep the bit from walking. A light depression is all that's needed to do the trick.
To add my 2 cents worth in. The above points are pretty much what I do as well. Just leave only as much of the bit sticking out of the vise as is needed. Go slow. Try not to wobble when drilling.My pin vise has a wooden knob,that fits in the palm of my hand. Works great at keeping the vise stable. Enjoy, Wolf
Contrarian reporting in. I've had similar results putting them in pin vises and manually drilling. Both my pin vises got so worn they wouldn't hold a #80, so the only thing left was to stick it in the dremel. That was a happy accident. With a speed control to put the RPM's down to low, and putting a drop of LaBelle 108 on the drill when drilling into hard metals - wow, I haven't broken a #80 in months and I used to eat about one a session. So I gave up putting them in the manual pin vise. The slow and steady and powerful dremel seems to do better. I don't get upset over breaking bits, I get upset over breaking bits off when part of it is left in the hole and I have to mutilate the situation to get the broken bit out. That's why lubrication and cleaning the hole out regularly (back out and finger-clean the flutes) is so important. Another tip is to always scribe and punch the hole, I use a steel needle or pin. You don't want that drill walking around at all, that's the easiest way to snap them off. PS - ALWAYS wear eye protection with these, I've had a couple drills shatter and bounce off my safety glasses, this is no joke.
Man, I never thought of using a Dremel, that's great. Mine is hung from a hook and has the chuck at the end of a 3 foot flex shaft which gives much more control...thanks.
I had a buddy of mine turn me on to these.. http://drillcity.stores.yahoo.net/1080redrbi.html They go through plastic like butter. Mark
this site is great great site! wish I knew of this one when I was doing circuit board work. You talk about snapping, with hte carbide units you don't EVEN have to sneeze--just a hint of side load and they are GONE!
I used a small machinist's combination setup at work, but I haven't seen them advertised for many years, and they were expensive, maybe $400 in 1970, so that could be overkill.
