A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob

Dunno about the other guys, but when I use them, I use them in a regular
air drill.

They are mainly used for drilling in locations that one cannot fit a
drill motor with a bit on it into but that can be reached through gaps
or holes in the structure, in more or less a sraight line.

More often than not, I will hold the drill motor in one hand and guide
the tip of the drill by holding onto the drill bit (bionic drill
bushing) with my fingertips. Usually there is enough flex in the shank
to allow a slight offset.

They have their uses, and they are indispensable when they are needed,
but if you can't see how they would be used, I'd guess that you have
never needed them.

Hope that helps some.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

I use long drill bits to bore deep holes in wood to make mason bee
houses now that 98% of the native honeybee population in this country
has succumbed to the mites from Africa. - GWE

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob

Trevor Jones wrote:
...
More often than not, I will hold the drill motor in one hand and guide
the tip of the drill by holding onto the drill bit (bionic drill
bushing) with my fingertips. Usually there is enough flex in the shank
to allow a slight offset. ...

Yeah, it was the flex that I was thinking about. Especially with a 3/64
bit 12" long. I can't imagine putting any pressure on that without it
flexing all over the place. That's what I don't understand about how
one uses them. I'd think that you'd need some sort of support/guide to
be able to drill at all. Bob

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob

They sometimes get used when one works on parts which were designed by an
engineer who formerly designed golf courses. Or at least the part where
the hazards were placed.

michael

"Trevor Jones" wrote in message

They have their uses, and they are indispensable when they are needed,
but if you can't see how they would be used, I'd guess that you have
never needed them.

Hope that helps some.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

Damn right, Trevor! My collection of extended length drills is one of my
most indespensible tools. They will get your butt out of a crack over and
over, if you work on much equipment and such. I have some shop made ones
that are 5 feet long, for drilling down from false ceilings through top
plates and internal firestops in walls, in order to fish wires. By the way,
if you ever need an extra deep socket wrench, cut one in half, then weld the
pieces onto a length of appropriate schedule 40 pipe. You can make a 21'
deep socket if you need it this way. This works well on long conveyor roller
jackbolts and such, where the threaded rod extends way past the nut. It's
an old millwright trick.

RJ

--
"Have no one say it, and say it to your shame, that all was well here, until
YOU came."

Mason bee houses?? Tell us more, please.

Bob Swinney
"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I use long drill bits to bore deep holes in wood to make mason bee
houses now that 98% of the native honeybee population in this country
has succumbed to the mites from Africa. - GWE

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob

In article ,
"Robert Swinney" wrote:

Mason bee houses?? Tell us more, please.

Nothing to it:
Take a chunk of lumber. Junk is fine. Drill holes in it. Make the holes
somewhere in the neighborhood of 5/8 inch by an insh or three deep.
DON'T paint it. Place somewhere that mason bees, packer bees, carpenter
bees, or most any of the other solitary bees (Someone who isn't aware of
the distinctions between the umpteen different types of "not honeybee"
bees would probably look at one and say "Bumblebee" if asked what kind
any that I listed was) can get to freely, but is out of the way of peope
and critter traffic. Now ignore it for a while - give it at least a
month, but don't be surprised if you don't see signs of life for several
months, or possibly a year or more. If they're around your area, they'll
find it eventually. When they do, you'll be able to see them showing up
in ones and twos, going about their business.


Bob Swinney
"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I use long drill bits to bore deep holes in wood to make mason bee
houses now that 98% of the native honeybee population in this country
has succumbed to the mites from Africa. - GWE

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob




--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the
subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
See http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html for full details.

Backlash wrote:
"Trevor Jones" wrote in message

They have their uses, and they are indispensable when they are
needed, but if you can't see how they would be used, I'd guess that
you have never needed them.

Hope that helps some.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

Damn right, Trevor! My collection of extended length drills is one of
my most indespensible tools. They will get your butt out of a crack
over and over, if you work on much equipment and such. I have some
shop made ones that are 5 feet long, for drilling down from false
ceilings through top plates and internal firestops in walls, in order
to fish wires.

Greenlee makes some bits like that. It sucks when the bay is full of
fiberglass insulation.

seen the bolt stop on the side of the m16 lower receiver, hold part in
fixture lower drill into bushing and drill hole.
these are for being guided by a drill bushing but allow you to reach
through/ over stuff in your way.

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob

Robert Swinney wrote:
Mason bee houses?? Tell us more, please.

This is a fairly big topic. In addition to my many other hobbies, I'm
also an amateur orchardist. We grow 7 kinds of apples, 4 kinds of pear
and 4 kinds of plum, all of which rely on bees to pollinate. No bees, no
fruit. We don't have many honeybees these days. Our pollination is done
by bumblebees and to a small degree, mason bees. Bumblebees are big
black friendly bees, but they won't work in the rain. Mason bees are
little black friendly bees (real friendly, if you grab one in your hand
there's only about a 1 in 4 chance it will sting you and even if it
does the sting isn't much more than a mosquito's) and they work in all
weather. Mason bees are called that because the females find existing
holes in something, crawl into them carrying pollen, pile up some pollen,
lay an egg right on the pollen, then go find some dirt and water and make
mud, then mud over the hole sealing in the egg lying on its pile of pollen.
Then they repeat going out the hole, so you get an egg every half inch or
so. They are curious critters in that the bee can decide whether to lay
a male or female egg, and they lay the female eggs deeper and the male
eggs farther out. All of the eggs are laid by mid-July, and then the
adult bees die. They are guaranteed not to bug you at your August barbecue!
The egg hatches, and the larvae live on the pollen and then pupate. In
the spring, the juvenile bees hatch and dig their way out. The male bees
get out first and hang around. When the female bees come out they are
instantly siezed by a male who copulates with her, and she immediately has
to go to work because she only has a few weeks to get all her eggs laid.

Many people are afraid of these bees because they see them crawling
around their houses looking for cracks, and they are a little smaller
than regular bees, so people think they're termites. They don't ever
harm people's houses, but most people don't know that. Anyway, guys
like me love 'em. They work in the rainy Pacific Northwest springtimes
pollinating like crazy. It's possible to encourage their population to
increase sixfold each year by building them ideal habitat. I use 4x10"
cutoffs and drill about 6" deep in a hole pattern about 3/4" center-center,
maybe a few dozen or a hundred holes. I hang the block up in the late
winter and the bees do all the rest.

That's the short story. Google will tell you the rest. Whew. - GWE

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

Trevor Jones wrote:
...
More often than not, I will hold the drill motor in one hand and guide
the tip of the drill by holding onto the drill bit (bionic drill
bushing) with my fingertips. Usually there is enough flex in the shank
to allow a slight offset. ...

Yeah, it was the flex that I was thinking about. Especially with a 3/64
bit 12" long. I can't imagine putting any pressure on that without it
flexing all over the place. That's what I don't understand about how
one uses them. I'd think that you'd need some sort of support/guide to
be able to drill at all. Bob

Naw! You just learn really quickly to not dink around trying to use dull
drills.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

Bob Engelhardt wrote in message ...

Yeah, it was the flex that I was thinking about. Especially with a 3/64
bit 12" long. I can't imagine putting any pressure on that without it
flexing all over the place. That's what I don't understand about how
one uses them. I'd think that you'd need some sort of support/guide to
be able to drill at all. Bob

With a little care, I used to bow a 12", # 50 bit through a 45 degree
angle to backdrill and pilot drill some assemblies. Used to really
freak out the newbies in the work area until I showed them how to do
it and how flexible the 50 was. Still freaks the occasional engineer
that is in the area when I have to do it on a repair.

Craig C.

Craig wrote:

With a little care, I used to bow a 12", # 50 bit through a 45 degree
angle ...

I gotta' see this. I'm gonna' get one just to try it. Bob

"jay s" wrote in message
news:SYoHc.51263$Oq2.29711@attbi_s52...
seen the bolt stop on the side of the m16 lower receiver, hold part in
fixture lower drill into bushing and drill hole.
these are for being guided by a drill bushing but allow you to reach
through/ over stuff in your way.

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob


Oh, yes fond memorys, drilling/riveting, wing/aircraft/assemblys.

Usually get a new set of drills from the tool room each week. They
resharpen, throw out the bad ones.

You can try drilling through 5 or six layers of aircraft/aluminum, with an
electric drill. Air drill is much quicker.

There is that clearance problem with that electric drill, corners/etc, it
will mar up the sheet metal. Got plenty of room with an air drill.

Then there is that 5 or seven hole jig, you got to shoot for the riveter
teams, as they be right behind you....

my 2 cents

On 9 Jul 2004 13:11:32 -0700, (Craig) wrote:

Still freaks the occasional engineer
that is in the area when I have to do it on a repair.

A lot of engineers are easily freaked by the realities of field work!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Fri, 09 Jul 2004 16:51:28 -0400, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Craig wrote:

With a little care, I used to bow a 12", # 50 bit through a 45 degree
angle ...

I gotta' see this. I'm gonna' get one just to try it. Bob
I once made a spade bit from a 12" length of bicycle brake cable with
the core silver soldered then shaped with a dremel wheel, didn't work
great, but it did work. The casing provides the bearing and
directional stability.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
On 9 Jul 2004 13:11:32 -0700, (Craig) wrote:

Still freaks the occasional engineer
that is in the area when I have to do it on a repair.

A lot of engineers are easily freaked by the realities of field work!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada


Isn't that the truth. The world of man made items would be a lot different
if the engineers had to build and/or fix the items he designed. I say that
as having both automotive mechanic and an aircraft assembly mechanic
experience.

Lane

I've made bits 20 ft. long...
Once my friend had a water problem in his basement and we drilled a 1"
hole 20 feet down into the ground until the water found a way out...
He never had a problem with water again... Just last month I drilled a
hole between house walls for an electric wire... that bit was 12 ft.
long...

Bob, we use them all the time to run cables in buildings. You just
have to be careful with the pressure and to keep the angle as constant
as you can. I've used them in both 1/2" AC and 18 volt battery
powered drills.

I guess I should point out that the smallest bit I've used is 1/4".
I'm usually working with 1/4-1/2".

--George

On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 17:53:57 -0400, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Trevor Jones wrote:
...
More often than not, I will hold the drill motor in one hand and guide
the tip of the drill by holding onto the drill bit (bionic drill
bushing) with my fingertips. Usually there is enough flex in the shank
to allow a slight offset. ...

Yeah, it was the flex that I was thinking about. Especially with a 3/64
bit 12" long. I can't imagine putting any pressure on that without it
flexing all over the place. That's what I don't understand about how
one uses them. I'd think that you'd need some sort of support/guide to
be able to drill at all. Bob

On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 21:28:21 -0700, Grant Erwin
wrote:

snip
Mason bees are called that because the females find existing
holes in something, crawl into them carrying pollen, pile up some pollen,
lay an egg right on the pollen, then go find some dirt and water and make
mud, then mud over the hole sealing in the egg lying on its pile of pollen.
snip

Came across them when digging the footings for the workshop. The ground was
dry, but what we were digging was wet clay, sometimes very wet. The whole area
was covered with bees mining the wet clay and taking it away, several hundred
in an area of a few square yards. It was very impressive, even if they could
not keep up with the grab lorry for removing the spoil :-)


Mark Rand
RTFM

On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 21:28:21 -0700, Grant Erwin
wrote:

Robert Swinney wrote:
Mason bee houses?? Tell us more, please.

This is a fairly big topic. In addition to my many other hobbies, I'm
also an amateur orchardist. We grow 7 kinds of apples, 4 kinds of pear
and 4 kinds of plum, all of which rely on bees to pollinate. No bees, no
fruit. We don't have many honeybees these days. Our pollination is done
by bumblebees and to a small degree, mason bees. Bumblebees are big
black friendly bees, but they won't work in the rain. Mason bees are
little black friendly bees (real friendly, if you grab one in your hand
there's only about a 1 in 4 chance it will sting you and even if it
does the sting isn't much more than a mosquito's) and they work in all
weather. Mason bees are called that because the females find existing
holes in something, crawl into them carrying pollen, pile up some pollen,
lay an egg right on the pollen, then go find some dirt and water and make
mud, then mud over the hole sealing in the egg lying on its pile of pollen.
Then they repeat going out the hole, so you get an egg every half inch or
so. They are curious critters in that the bee can decide whether to lay
a male or female egg, and they lay the female eggs deeper and the male
eggs farther out. All of the eggs are laid by mid-July, and then the
adult bees die. They are guaranteed not to bug you at your August barbecue!
The egg hatches, and the larvae live on the pollen and then pupate. In
the spring, the juvenile bees hatch and dig their way out. The male bees
get out first and hang around. When the female bees come out they are
instantly siezed by a male who copulates with her, and she immediately has
to go to work because she only has a few weeks to get all her eggs laid.

Many people are afraid of these bees because they see them crawling
around their houses looking for cracks, and they are a little smaller
than regular bees, so people think they're termites. They don't ever
harm people's houses, but most people don't know that. Anyway, guys
like me love 'em. They work in the rainy Pacific Northwest springtimes
pollinating like crazy. It's possible to encourage their population to
increase sixfold each year by building them ideal habitat. I use 4x10"
cutoffs and drill about 6" deep in a hole pattern about 3/4" center-center,
maybe a few dozen or a hundred holes. I hang the block up in the late
winter and the bees do all the rest.

That's the short story. Google will tell you the rest. Whew. - GWE

I'm not an authority on this, but in the alfalfa fields near Walla
Walla, Washington, there were these curious panels mounted on a
two-wheel trailer with a little roof over them. When I asked, people
told me they were bee boards. Later on, I saw a setup for making
them. It amounted to about a hundred ganged drill chucks holding
drill bits approximately 1/4" diameter. Folks could really punch out
the bee nests in a hurry with a machine like that.

I'm told that ordinary honey bees don't like to mess with alfalfa, but
the little alfalfa bees get the job done, just fine.

Orrin

On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 21:47:28 -0600, Brent Muller wrote:

On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 15:12:20 -0400, Bob Engelhardt wrote:

A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob

Just a safety note if you ever use one like we did in a high-speed cnc
mill- at the rpm that a mill is capable of, you can get a big surprise
when that drill reaches the "critical speed" (the speed that matches the
resonance of the drill). One of our guys spun a 1/4 x 12 inchish drill to
10,000 rpm and it promptly became a missile. It fortunately just hit the
side of the machine, but it could have been worse. I was told his face
was rather white
Brent

On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 21:47:28 -0600, Brent Muller wrote:

On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 15:12:20 -0400, Bob Engelhardt wrote:

A recent thread about extra-long drills had a link to aircraft drills.
One was 3/64 x 12" long! That is one long & skinny drill! It's been
bugging me as to how one would use that drill. Is there a special
machine, or some attachment? And, why would anyone need a bit like
that?

TIA,
Bob

Just a safety note if you ever use one like we did in a high-speed cnc
mill- at the rpm that a mill is capable of, you can get a big surprise
when that drill reaches the "critical speed" (the speed that matches the
resonance of the drill). One of our guys spun a 1/4 x 12 inchish drill to
10,000 rpm and it promptly became a missle. It fortunately just hit the
side of the machine, but it could have been worse. I was told his face
was rather white
Brent

Some of us in the Acedemic world agree whole hearedly with that!!! all
I can say is "woking on it"

Lane wrote:
"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...

On 9 Jul 2004 13:11:32 -0700, (Craig) wrote:

Still freaks the occasional engineer

that is in the area when I have to do it on a repair.


A lot of engineers are easily freaked by the realities of field work!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada



Isn't that the truth. The world of man made items would be a lot different
if the engineers had to build and/or fix the items he designed. I say that
as having both automotive mechanic and an aircraft assembly mechanic
experience.

Lane