John wrote:
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
Grumps wrote:
Hi
I need to drill 1.5 - 2.0mm diameter holes to a depth of about 8mm
in very soft alloys / lead.
Using a small model maker's drill of unknown rpm only seems to get
to about 2mm easily. The workpiece warms up (actually, quite hot)
and it seems that drilling stops.
Is there a technique for drilling this type of material? High rpm or
slow?
Ta.


pull the drill and swarf out and try again.

The soft swarf clogs it,.

Lubrication and a low drill speed works best.

From my apprentice days I seem to recall that Turpentine was the
recommended lubricant for lead. Paraffin would also probably work - I
always used that for machining aluminium.

Thanks.
What do you call low speed (in rpm) for a 2mm bit?