http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91510
Don't drill. Punch, instead.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Doug White" wrote in message
...
The shooting club I belong to uses aluminum clips to hold
cardboard
target backers to wooden target frames. The clips are made
from soft
aluminum roll flashing, and are held to the frames by a pair
of aluminum
nails. Over time, the frames & clips get shot up, and we
have to keep
building new frames & making more clips. I've made some
jigs to help
mass produce the clips. Part of the process is to drill a
stack of the
blanks to make holes for the nails. The jig I made has two
3/32" steel
drill bushings for this purpose.

The problem is the drilling. Roll flashing is typical soft
aluminum, and
wants to stick to the drill & stick to itself. It also
wants to fuse
together rather than cut. I'd like to just be able to zip
through a
stack of 10 or more blanks, but if I'm in the least bit
impatient, I end
up welding the stack together at the holes. I also end up
with stringy
chips stuck in the drill flutes. To minimize mess, I'm
doing this dry,
with no cutting lube. It slows things down considerably if
I have to
keep peeling chips out of the drill flutes, and pry all the
blanks apart
at the end of the drilling process.

I started with some fast twist bits from McMaster Carr, on
the theory
that they would pull the chips out better. They have a
bright finish,
and I'm not convinced that they are any better than normal
drill bits.

Rumor has it that black oxide finished will help prevent the
chips
sticking to the drill bit. I'm wondering if there is
anything else
special I should look for. Split points might be helpful,
but I'm not
sure anyone bothers for drill bits this small.

Ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. I don't mind
spending a few
bucks on fancy drill bits if it will speed up the process
considerably.

Thanks!

Doug White