Broken drill

[Michigan Flinter]

   Tonight I was drilling a hole to pin my trigger gaurd to the stock when it broke just through the tab and flush with the stock surface. what are your suggestions to fix this problem? It is a no. 51 drill and the wood is maple if that helps.  I hate to just leave it that way but I don't want to screw up the wood and hate to dig it out and have to plug the hole but that looks like what I will have to do.  Thanks for your responces on this subject.

[tallbear]

Michigan
Make a mini hole saw by using a three cornered file to cut saw teeth on a small piece of tubing.An alumium arrow works great.Chuck it in your drill and cut aroung the bit,carefully remove the wood inside the hole around the bit until you can grab it with needle nose plyers and remove piece of bit.whitttle a round plug out of matching wood and glue it in place.By the time you stain the gun the plug will all but disapear.

Mitch

[smylee grouch]

I had a problem almost exactly like that, and I marked oppesit side of stock where I aproximated the pin would come out. I then used my drill fixture that I bought from a member of this forum and drilled from other side and was able to get very close to the pin. I then drove pin out and redrilled with a slightly larger bit.  Good luck whichever way you do it.    Smylee

[Eric Krewson]

I had the same thing happen a couple weeks ago but when I tried to drill from the opposite direction I compounded my problem by breaking off another drill. No way to get the bits out without destroying the trigger guard from the outside with a dremel cut off wheel so I am leaving everything in place and proceeding with my build.

 

[Michigan Flinter]

thanks tallbear I will try your suggestion I appreciate it very much.

[draken]

There is an article in the September/October Muzzleloader entitled "Fixing Nature's Flaws".
The section about making wooden plugs will work very well for you, providing you have access
to a 1/4 inch leather hole punch.  Chuck it up in your drill press and use it to cut out the wood around the broken drill, and to cut a plug from a matching piece of wood.

I think you'll find it works surprisingly well.

[BJH]

Get some bass tubing from K&S that will just fit over the bit. File teeth in to the end of the tube. You make it a mini hole saw. Drill this down around the broken drill bit. Grab it with needle nose pliers and wiggle/twist the opposite direction it entered. In English counter clock wise. Then make another hole saw from a larger dia tube and make a plug. Simple and dang near invisible. A good donor site is under the side plate.

[AJ/OH]

Have you tried something like a tap extractor?  Look at Peterson Manufacturing under the Safe and Vault, they have twist drive extractors.

http://www.peterson-international.com/safeandvault.html

AJ

[Bernard]

You guys have a lot of trouble breaking drills. You need to try another technique to drill these small holes.
Brass is very temperamental and though relatively soft tends to grab drills designed for drilling steel and these small drills are too difficult to modify so I would suggest you make your set up to drill the pin hole and drill in 'till the drill touches the trigger guard enough to make a good mark. withdraw the drill, remove the trigger guard then complete the hole through the wood. remove the gunstock from your set up on the drill press and then drill the hole from the mark on the trigger guard through the guard. If the drill breaks at this point it's easy to remove from the brass part. Set up and repeat for the rear pin. I know this won't help those of you that have a broken drill in your stock but it may help in future projects.

[Paul Griffith]

Back in the winter I removed a broke drill identical to the deal you have. What I did was position the gun so I could plunge a carbide endmill thru the wood inside the lock mortise & cut the drill & the tang on the gaurd.  The little hole in the wood was plugged & the tang patched up.

Also I agree with Bernard that you mark the brass & remove it & finish the hole on a drill press or hand drill with the piece out of the gun.

[smshea]

What Mitch said! I use brake line tubing, concept is the same.

[Black Hand]

You guys have a lot of trouble breaking drills. You need to try another technique to drill these small holes.
Brass is very temperamental and though relatively soft tends to grab drills designed for drilling steel and these small drills are too difficult to modify so I would suggest you make your set up to drill the pin hole and drill in 'till the drill touches the trigger guard enough to make a good mark. withdraw the drill, remove the trigger guard then complete the hole through the wood. remove the gunstock from your set up on the drill press and then drill the hole from the mark on the trigger guard through the guard. If the drill breaks at this point it's easy to remove from the brass part. Set up and repeat for the rear pin. I know this won't help those of you that have a broken drill in your stock but it may help in future projects.

Ditto!  I use this technique for all holes that receive a pin, except that I use an electric hand drill.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

You guys have a lot of trouble breaking drills. You need to try another technique to drill these small holes.
Brass is very temperamental and though relatively soft tends to grab drills designed for drilling steel and these small drills are too difficult to modify so I would suggest you make your set up to drill the pin hole and drill in 'till the drill touches the trigger guard enough to make a good mark. withdraw the drill, remove the trigger guard then complete the hole through the wood. remove the gunstock from your set up on the drill press and then drill the hole from the mark on the trigger guard through the guard. If the drill breaks at this point it's easy to remove from the brass part. Set up and repeat for the rear pin. I know this won't help those of you that have a broken drill in your stock but it may help in future projects.

Ditto!  I use this technique for all holes that receive a pin, except that I use an electric hand drill.

I do the same.... took a while to learn the lesson..oh, and I use an eggbeater hand powered drill....What used to terrorize me is now simple as pie!!

[Eric Krewson]

My goof up was a steel trigger guard, two of the lugs drilled like butter the middle one must have been made from a melted ball bearing that didn't get mixed in very well.

[J.Cundiff]

You guys have a lot of trouble breaking drills. You need to try another technique to drill these small holes.
Brass is very temperamental and though relatively soft tends to grab drills designed for drilling steel and these small drills are too difficult to modify so I would suggest you make your set up to drill the pin hole and drill in 'till the drill touches the trigger guard enough to make a good mark. withdraw the drill, remove the trigger guard then complete the hole through the wood. remove the gunstock from your set up on the drill press and then drill the hole from the mark on the trigger guard through the guard. If the drill breaks at this point it's easy to remove from the brass part. Set up and repeat for the rear pin. I know this won't help those of you that have a broken drill in your stock but it may help in future projects.

This is how I do it as well.

[Acer Saccharum]

a drill won't grab in brass if you stone some flats on the cutting edges:



It's a pain to grind it back for cutting steel, because so much drill has to be ground back, so just save it for brass.