Drilling hard material
 

I've got some 1095/15n20 damascus steel I'm working on and while it grinds
ok, I'm having trouble drilling it. I used a cobalt drill and a carbide
center cutting end mill and neither one seems to be doing a good job.
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.

Any suggestions?

Drilling hard material
 

are you sure it is damascus?

Bob Swinney
"Todd Rich" wrote in message ...
I've got some 1095/15n20 damascus steel I'm working on and while it grinds
ok, I'm having trouble drilling it. I used a cobalt drill and a carbide
center cutting end mill and neither one seems to be doing a good job.
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.

Any suggestions?

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Drilling hard material
 

On Jul 26, 8:25*am, Todd Rich wrote:
I've got some 1095/15n20 damascus steel I'm working on and while it grinds
ok, I'm having trouble drilling it. *I used a cobalt drill and a carbide
center cutting end mill and neither one seems to be doing a good job. *
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.

Any suggestions?

Are they dulling quickly or just not penetrating the metal? I've had
decent results with a HiRoc drill.

Drilling hard material
 

Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jul 26, 8:25?am, Todd Rich wrote:
I've got some 1095/15n20 damascus steel I'm working on and while it grinds
ok, I'm having trouble drilling it. ?I used a cobalt drill and a carbide
center cutting end mill and neither one seems to be doing a good job. ?
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.

Any suggestions?

Are they dulling quickly or just not penetrating the metal? I've had
decent results with a HiRoc drill.

Just not penetrating. However, I realized after I posted this that even
though the metal gets softer when you heat it up, it doesn't revert to
its pre-hard state until you get it past the critical temperature. I can
drill them now, but it still kind of rough.

I'll check out the HiRoc drills. Thanks!

Drilling hard material
 

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jul 26, 8:25?am, Todd Rich wrote:
I've got some 1095/15n20 damascus steel I'm working on and while it
grinds
ok, I'm having trouble drilling it. ?I used a cobalt drill and a
carbide
center cutting end mill and neither one seems to be doing a good job. ?
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.

Any suggestions?

Are they dulling quickly or just not penetrating the metal? I've had
decent results with a HiRoc drill.

Just not penetrating. However, I realized after I posted this that even
though the metal gets softer when you heat it up, it doesn't revert to
its pre-hard state until you get it past the critical temperature. I can
drill them now, but it still kind of rough.

I'll check out the HiRoc drills. Thanks!

If this works out for your job, you could try the old gunsmith's trick,
which is to chuck a nail with a rounded point in the drill press and heat
the spot with friction. You don't have to get it red -- going through all
the shades of blue will do it. Then you can drill it with a good HSS bit.

Of course, it depends on how thick the material is, and whether you can
tolerate softened edges on the hole.

--
Ed Huntress

Drilling hard material
 

I recently had to drill through some high strength steel (Proto socket
extension)

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Clau...k-Key-0001.jpg

It was a pain in the ass and a regular drill bit was unable to drill
it.

I had to use a carbide end-cutting endmill.
--
Due to extreme spam originating from Google Groups, and their inattention
to spammers, I and many others block all articles originating
from Google Groups. If you want your postings to be seen by
more readers you will need to find a different means of
posting on Usenet.
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Drilling hard material
 

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jul 26, 8:25?am, Todd Rich wrote:
I've got some 1095/15n20 damascus steel I'm working on and while it
grinds
ok, I'm having trouble drilling it. ?I used a cobalt drill and a
carbide
center cutting end mill and neither one seems to be doing a good job.
?
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.

Any suggestions?

Are they dulling quickly or just not penetrating the metal? I've had
decent results with a HiRoc drill.

Just not penetrating. However, I realized after I posted this that even
though the metal gets softer when you heat it up, it doesn't revert to
its pre-hard state until you get it past the critical temperature. I can
drill them now, but it still kind of rough.

I'll check out the HiRoc drills. Thanks!

If this works out for your job, you could try the old gunsmith's trick,
which is to chuck a nail with a rounded point in the drill press and heat
the spot with friction. You don't have to get it red -- going through all
the shades of blue will do it. Then you can drill it with a good HSS bit.

Of course, it depends on how thick the material is, and whether you can
tolerate softened edges on the hole.

--
Ed Huntress


done this will cheap bed frames, protype, etc...

use propane blow torch, just red up the hole for drilling

bed frames...good for pratice, welding

xman

Drilling hard material
 

Ignoramus699 wrote:
I recently had to drill through some high strength steel (Proto socket
extension)


http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Clau...k-Key-0001.jpg

It was a pain in the ass and a regular drill bit was unable to drill
it.

I had to use a carbide end-cutting endmill.

Have a look at the Twisters if you have difficult drilling applications.
They are specifically designed for tough materials.
http://www.maford.com/new.asp


--

John R. Carroll
www.machiningsolution.com

Drilling hard material
 

Buy some solid carbide drills. They work just fine red hot.
Drill small holes and then work up - easier to work it that way.

Martin
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Todd Rich wrote:
Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jul 26, 8:25?am, Todd Rich wrote:
I've got some 1095/15n20 damascus steel I'm working on and while it grinds
ok, I'm having trouble drilling it. ?I used a cobalt drill and a carbide
center cutting end mill and neither one seems to be doing a good job. ?
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.

Any suggestions?

Are they dulling quickly or just not penetrating the metal? I've had
decent results with a HiRoc drill.

Just not penetrating. However, I realized after I posted this that even
though the metal gets softer when you heat it up, it doesn't revert to
its pre-hard state until you get it past the critical temperature. I can
drill them now, but it still kind of rough.

I'll check out the HiRoc drills. Thanks!


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Drilling hard material
 

In article ,
"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote:

Buy some solid carbide drills. They work just fine red hot.
Drill small holes and then work up - easier to work it that way.

I once drilled a 3/8" hole in the end of a large tap with a carbide
drill in my lathe. It was very hard but the carbide worked wonders, it
was a 1-flute straight drill.

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

Drilling hard material
 

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jul 26, 8:25?am, Todd Rich wrote:
(snip)
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.
(snorp)
If this works out for your job, you could try the old gunsmith's trick,
which is to chuck a nail with a rounded point in the drill press and heat
the spot with friction. You don't have to get it red -- going through all
the shades of blue will do it. Then you can drill it with a good HSS bit.

Of course, it depends on how thick the material is, and whether you can
tolerate softened edges on the hole.

--
Ed Huntress

But if I've already taken it up to red hot, and it still won't drill, I
don't think this is going to help much.

Oh, and this is how they turned out:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u90/torin3/seam2.jpg

Drilling hard material
 

Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
Buy some solid carbide drills. They work just fine red hot.
Drill small holes and then work up - easier to work it that way.

It surprised me when the carbide end mill didn't cut, but then again, the
drill may have better edge geometry. Definately considering it, but a
quick anneal got me to where I needed to be. Thanks!

Drilling hard material
 

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Ed Huntress wrote:

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jul 26, 8:25?am, Todd Rich wrote:
(snip)
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.
(snorp)
If this works out for your job, you could try the old gunsmith's trick,
which is to chuck a nail with a rounded point in the drill press and heat
the spot with friction. You don't have to get it red -- going through all
the shades of blue will do it. Then you can drill it with a good HSS bit.

Of course, it depends on how thick the material is, and whether you can
tolerate softened edges on the hole.

--
Ed Huntress

But if I've already taken it up to red hot, and it still won't drill, I
don't think this is going to help much.

If you took them up to red heat and *cooled them slowly*, and it didn't help
much, then your problem is not hard material. The time you should spend
cooling them depends on the alloy. In this case, it depends on the
slower-quenching of the alloys involved. For plain carbon steel, you can
just heat to red heat and let it cool in air, unless it's very thin. But
alloy steels can require a long cooling time.


Oh, and this is how they turned out:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u90/torin3/seam2.jpg

They're interesting, Todd.

--
Ed Huntress

Drilling hard material
 

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
Buy some solid carbide drills. They work just fine red hot.
Drill small holes and then work up - easier to work it that way.

It surprised me when the carbide end mill didn't cut, but then again, the
drill may have better edge geometry. Definately considering it, but a
quick anneal got me to where I needed to be. Thanks!

Now I'm not following you. If heating them to red heat didn't help, what do
you mean by a "quick anneal"?

--
Ed Huntress

Drilling hard material
 

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
Buy some solid carbide drills. They work just fine red hot.
Drill small holes and then work up - easier to work it that way.

It surprised me when the carbide end mill didn't cut, but then again, the
drill may have better edge geometry. Definately considering it, but a
quick anneal got me to where I needed to be. Thanks!

Now I'm not following you. If heating them to red heat didn't help, what do
you mean by a "quick anneal"?

--
Ed Huntress


Red hot is actually a fairly large temperature range. The dull red
temperature I was talking about probably was in the 1100-1200F range.
Glowing, but dull color and not that bright.

By 'quick anneal' I meant that I took it up above the critica/curie point
to where the steel reverted to austenite, and then let it air cool. Quick
meaning air cool, and not putting it something like ashes or vermiculite
to decrease the rate of cooling for a 'full anneal'. Sorry for the bare
bones response, but I'm camping and the laptop is running low on the
battery.

Drilling hard material
 

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Ed Huntress wrote:

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
Buy some solid carbide drills. They work just fine red hot.
Drill small holes and then work up - easier to work it that way.

It surprised me when the carbide end mill didn't cut, but then again,
the
drill may have better edge geometry. Definately considering it, but a
quick anneal got me to where I needed to be. Thanks!

Now I'm not following you. If heating them to red heat didn't help, what
do
you mean by a "quick anneal"?

--
Ed Huntress


Red hot is actually a fairly large temperature range. The dull red
temperature I was talking about probably was in the 1100-1200F range.
Glowing, but dull color and not that bright.

By 'quick anneal' I meant that I took it up above the critica/curie point
to where the steel reverted to austenite, and then let it air cool. Quick
meaning air cool, and not putting it something like ashes or vermiculite
to decrease the rate of cooling for a 'full anneal'. Sorry for the bare
bones response, but I'm camping and the laptop is running low on the
battery.

That's OK, I follow you.

--
Ed Huntress

Drilling hard material
 

What RPM are you running?

Using coolant?

Manual drill press or machine with a feed?

Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.
(800) 871-5022
01.908.542.0244
Automatic / Pneumatic Drills: http://www.AutoDrill.com
Multiple Spindle Drills: http://www.Multi-Drill.com

V8013-R


"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
I've got some 1095/15n20 damascus steel I'm working on and while it grinds
ok, I'm having trouble drilling it. I used a cobalt drill and a carbide
center cutting end mill and neither one seems to be doing a good job.
Even after I took the end I need to drill up to a dull red heat.

Any suggestions?



** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Drilling hard material
 

Joe AutoDrill wrote:
What RPM are you running?

Using coolant?

Manual drill press or machine with a feed?

Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.

I was using 3/16" and slightly smaller bits at about 480RPM, using heavy
pipe thread cutting oil as a coolant/lubricant. Manual drill press.
1/2 (real) hp motor (claims it is a 3/4 hp).
Todd

Drilling hard material
 

"Todd Rich" wrote in message
...
Joe AutoDrill wrote:
What RPM are you running?

Using coolant?

Manual drill press or machine with a feed?

Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.

I was using 3/16" and slightly smaller bits at about 480RPM, using heavy
pipe thread cutting oil as a coolant/lubricant. Manual drill press.
1/2 (real) hp motor (claims it is a 3/4 hp).
Todd

Should have worked fine as long as the thrust was adequate at around 150-200
lbs. maximum and 100 minimum. Just guestimates.

Also, plenty of coolant as the tool can't possibly get red hot if there is
still liquid oil or coolant around it at that speed.
--


Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.
(800) 871-5022
01.908.542.0244
Automatic / Pneumatic Drills: http://www.AutoDrill.com
Multiple Spindle Drills: http://www.Multi-Drill.com

V8013-R



** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **