1/16"drill bit life

[T*O*F]

I guess I didn't know it was such a complicated operation.

It's not.......until your bit snaps just as it's exiting the lug and leaves a stub inside with no way to grab it and you can't push it thru because you've only drilled halfway thru.  Now how ya gonna git it out?  For those who don't have the patience to do it my way, this dilemma will tax your patience to its limits as you try to extract it without boogering up your fancy stock.

I used to fire guys who continually broke bolts.  I paid them to fix cars, not waste hours trying to extract their mistakes and end up ruining an expensive part which I couldn't charge the customer for.

[SingleMalt]

Well this last post literally blows my advice right out of the water.  With such contradictory information, it looks like you'll have to use trial and error and learn by doing it yourself.

You're exactly right, Taylor.  I found a way that works for me and I stick to it.  And, 1/16. 3/32, #21, and #29 drill bits go first.  I just go to Grainger and buy a dozen at a time.  When it dulls, toss it.

[JCKelly]

In my admittedly limited experience, I find that straight bits last a lot longer than those even slightly bowed.

American drill bits tend to be straight.

Chinese, at least the smaller sizes, may not be straight.
They bend during heat treat.
HSS bits are heated above 2050F to harden them.

But surely you all know that Chinese tool bits are best used for land fill.

 

[moleeyes36]

.........Alloy steels are hard on drills too but they probably not used for barrel lugs either......... 

I adopted Mike Brooks' method shown in his tutorial of making the barrel lugs out of sheet brass.  I anneal them before installing and have no trouble drilling them.  A lot of good information in Mike's tutorial.

Mole Eyes

[oldtravler61]

   I use a hand drill... Not powered...do like Taylor does...little at a time...When I contact the lug...stop...Take barrel out..finish drilling the metal...Mark depth from too of barrel...drill other side...slow but it works real well...for me...

[flehto]

Like Taylor, I too drill straight through  and don't snap drills doing so. The spindle speed w/ the 1/16 bits is 1500 RPM and HSS bits won't anneal at the temp generated by drilling. I too also make the bbl lugs and RR pipes out of brass which shouldn't cause any problems.

During my tool and diemaker apprenticeship , learning how to sharpen drill bits was a req'd skill....even the smaller bits. You were given 3 complete sets of drills....fractional, lettered and numbered and if you made too many trips to the tool crib for drills, the attendant told the boss who then paid a visit. The tool steels we worked w/  were oil and air hardening and the  air hardening tool steels w/ a high chrome content could readily dull a HSS drill bit in a hurry if abused. Seeing most of the drilling when building MLers is brass and soft steel,  my drills don't need sharpening that often, but it's a handy skill when needed.

Judging from all the posts concerning mislocated holes, broken drills and other problems, , drilling is complicated......for some.....Fred