wrote:
If you are using a handheld drill and not getting any chips out, your next
best bet would be to (borrow one if you don't have one) use a benchtop
drill
press set up on blocks, at the correct angle so the quill downfeed would be
constant and steady.

My box-store Ryobi ~10" benchtop could be set up in place, and definitely
has enough power to drill those screws out.

A quality cobalt drill or masonry carbide (and a good cutting lubricant)
should cut the screws with a steady, constant feed, which is often
difficult
to do with a handheld drill.


wrote in message
I have a big drill press but I don't see any way this is happening.
the "piece" I'm working on is 4' long, the axle is 3' wide. The whole
assembly weighs over 200#. The set screw is at about a 45 degree
angle.

I'm using a 1/2" drill at slow speed. I'm able to really lean into it
so I think the pressure is there, at least as much as should be put on
1/8 and 3/16 bits.


I understood the size/scale of the workpiece when it was described as a
garden tractor.

My suggestion was to take a manageable size drill press to the tractor, and
mounting/supporting it in a way that it could feed a drill steadily into the
screw at the proper angle.

The same could also be accomplished with a Cole drill and some metal parts
and clamps.
Benchtop drill presses are generally more common than Cole drills. You
could, possibly, borrow either type.

With either method, the drill feed could be from the top, bottom or
sideways, whichever is more convenient.
The mechanical advantage of a steady quill feed will create chips.

--
WB
..........