I Hate Drilling Pin Holes, HATE IT, HATE IT ,HATE IT!!!

[Mike Brooks]

I just get everything measured up, punch a spot where I want the hole and take my trusty B&D , close one eye, hold my tongue just right and drill them through...I rarely miss. What really *#)*^! me off is in the last three months all the $#@* ASS CHINESE drill bits snap off 1/2 way through the tab, even in BRASS! We are truly screwed as a nation if we don't even have a source for 1/16 drill bits... Freakin' Chinese.....    

[Jim Filipski]

I just get everything measured up, punch a spot where I want the hole and take my trusty B&D , close one eye, hold my tongue just right and drill them through...I rarely miss. What really *#)*^! me off is in the last three months all the $#@* ASS CHINESE drill bits snap off 1/2 way through the tab, even in BRASS! We are truly screwed as a nation if we don't even have a source for 1/16 drill bits... Freakin' Chinese.....    

Someone bought me, as a gif,t a #ed set 0 to 60 Chinese bits Look good in the metal index box. Nitride coated & all. Well they are use once & throw away if you use them on any metal.
I have just used them for wood but it didn't take long for them to wander because of them bending
Jim

[Vivian Oblivion]

 T-60 super cut bits are the answer. They are expensive (the small ones are about $4-5 each individually) but you get what you pay for. One $5 bit that works is a bargain compared to a 115 bit set for $10 that doesn't. T-60's can be found here http://www.boschlightsandmore.com/products_drilling_accessories.htm but you may be able to find them somewhere in the States cheaper. Be prepared, if you buy one to try, you'll be buying a set later.

[Dphariss]

T-60 super cut bits are the answer. They are expensive (the small ones are about $4-5 each individually) but you get what you pay for. One $5 bit that works is a bargain compared to a 115 bit set for $10 that doesn't. T-60's can be found here http://www.boschlightsandmore.com/products_drilling_accessories.htm but you may be able to find them somewhere in the States cheaper. Be prepared, if you buy one to try, you'll be buying a set later.

Better grade drills are the way to go for gun work.
I buy all my precision drills and such from MSC. They have hundreds of styles/coatings/alloys of drill bits in fractional, number, letter and metric diameters. All price ranges. I get my order in 2 days in most cases in Montana.

Special surface treatments can help in drilling 4140, 0-1 and even 1060-1095 since the feed rate can be increased and this reduces the chance of the material hardening as its drilled and eating the drill.
For me its a one stop place for drills, reamers, taps, dies, cutters etc.

Dan

[lew wetzel]

dave rase ,your little jig with its indian head wrench just made me do a jig.....absolutely great...will be saving that pic and makinmg one soon....

[WadePatton]

No need for everybody to post the same stuff over again, but had to search this up from all the ref. to Mr. Rase's guide (yes the one with dead photo links) found in a current thread.  Lotsa good stuff here.

[Acer Saccharum]

Well, I have a jig, and I still manage to miss the lugs!

[Rich]

I use the method described in Recreating the American Longrifle. I put a fence on the drill press table then 1) put the barrel against the fence and adjust them so the drill bit goes through the pipe tab where you want it to. 2) put a mark on the barrel and the fence so that you can reposition the barrel in the same place once it's back in the stock. 3) put the barrel in the stock 4) put the whole thing back on the drill press table with the barrel positioned where it was in the first step. 5) drill your hole making sure that the barrel is square to the fence.

I usually do this when the stock is square. If your doing it later on, put some tape on the exit side of the stock to help prevent a splinter coming out.

[Bernard]

George.
Don't try to drill all the way through from one side.
Just drill in til you hit the pipe or lug enough to mark it. Then remove the pipe or barrel and drill the hole through it. replace it and drill a bit deeper from the same side then finish the hole by drilling from the opposite side. the entry and exit holes will be where you want them and the pin will fit as it should.
Note: This is easier when done when the stock is still square. To do it on a pre carve you would want to have a drill guide jig like the ons described here.

[David Rase]

Here is a picture new of the drill fixture I make.

I have better than a hundred of these fixtures in the hands of contemporary gunmakers.
David

[WadePatton]

Thanks David! 

[flehto]

My drillpress has a reinforced sheet of 3/4" X 2' x 4' plywood bolted to the table. The bbl/stock assembly is clamped in an accurate vise w/ the top bbl flat against the permanent jaw. The vise is at the breech end and a parallel is midway towards the muzzle. At each pin location, 2 parallel clamps are used and the 1/16 drill picks up the center punch and the hole is drilled through. A length of music wire is pushed into the hole and the clamps are moved to the next pin location etc., until all the holes are drilled. This same procedure is also used for the RR pipes. For drilling a precarve w/ curved sides, a small flat is chiseled , center punched  and drilled. The flat is removed while shaping. Have found that this procedure is  fast and accurate and all the holes are drilled in one setup. ....even w/ webs of 3/32"-1/8".. Lock bolts are also drilled this way.....Fred

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

George.
Don't try to drill all the way through from one side.
Just drill in til you hit the pipe or lug enough to mark it. Then remove the pipe or barrel and drill the hole through it. replace it and drill a bit deeper from the same side then finish the hole by drilling from the opposite side. the entry and exit holes will be where you want them and the pin will fit as it should.
Note: This is easier when done when the stock is still square. To do it on a pre carve you would want to have a drill guide jig like the ons described here.

This works best for me too. But I also prefer to drill pin holes while the stock is still square too. Stopping when you hit metal  then drilling through the metal, replacing the part and continue drilling to the other side stops the drill from walking on the metal part so the hole on the other side stays on target.