I am wanting to make some very long hex shank drill bits for a wood
working project that I am working on. I am having to drill into very
tight areas that I can't get my drill into. I have some long aircraft
drills that I want to add a hex shank to. I figured to save some time
I could drill out a hex coupling nut but the problem is that the
smallest one that I could find is 5/16 across flats. Is there anyone
out that sells smaller coupler nuts?

I also thought about annealing a hex key and drilling that out.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

wrote:
I am wanting to make some very long hex shank drill bits for a wood
working project that I am working on. I am having to drill into very
tight areas that I can't get my drill into. I have some long aircraft
drills that I want to add a hex shank to. I figured to save some time
I could drill out a hex coupling nut but the problem is that the
smallest one that I could find is 5/16 across flats. Is there anyone
out that sells smaller coupler nuts?

I also thought about annealing a hex key and drilling that out.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Search for "standoff", a common electronics item, hope this link works:
http://www.the-hdb-store.com/servlet/the-FASTENERS-cln-STANDOFFS/Categories

MikeB

On Sep 12, 9:11*am, " wrote:
I am wanting to make some very long hex shank drill bits for a wood
working project that I am working on. *I am having to drill into very
tight areas that I can't get my drill into. *I have some long aircraft
drills that I want to add a hex shank to. *I figured to save some time
I could drill out a hex coupling nut but the problem is that the
smallest one that I could find is 5/16 across flats. *Is there anyone
out that sells smaller coupler nuts?

I also thought about annealing a hex key and drilling that out.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. *Thanks

How do you plan to attach the bit firmly enough into the hex coupler?
Some of the makers of hex shank drill bits haven't quite figured that
out yet. I made a narrow extension holder out of a hex-head bolt which
has enough metal in the head to hold a setscrew.

A small drill chuck on a hex stem that might work. You can make your
own drill bits out of 3' long drill rod by grinding a cone for the
point and then grinding a flat on one side that reaches the center.
Looking from the end the drill bit is D shaped. You have to remove it
frequently to clear chips.

On Sep 12, 11:38*am, Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Sep 12, 9:11*am, " wrote:

I am wanting to make some very long hex shank drill bits for a wood
working project that I am working on. *I am having to drill into very
tight areas that I can't get my drill into. *I have some long aircraft
drills that I want to add a hex shank to. *I figured to save some time
I could drill out a hex coupling nut but the problem is that the
smallest one that I could find is 5/16 across flats. *Is there anyone
out that sells smaller coupler nuts?

I also thought about annealing a hex key and drilling that out.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. *Thanks

How do you plan to attach the bit firmly enough into the hex coupler?
Some of the makers of hex shank drill bits haven't quite figured that
out yet. I made a narrow extension holder out of a hex-head bolt which
has enough metal in the head to hold a setscrew.

A small drill chuck on a hex stem that might work. You can make your
own drill bits out of 3' long drill rod by grinding a cone for the
point and then grinding a flat on one side that reaches the center.
Looking from the end the drill bit is D shaped. You have to remove it
frequently to clear chips.

I am thinking about trying to use either a good CA (super glue) that I
purchased at the last NAMES convention or maybe some loctite. I could
try to use solder but I am worried about messing up the temper of the
drill bit. Since the drill bit is 8" long I could keep the other end
cool by placing it in a glass of water. I read in an old book that
using a patato would work for tasks like this. Another thought is
that if the bit is HSS and almost everthing is these days, it wouldn't
matter if the drill bit got up to soldering temperatures anyway. Is
this true?

I also want to use one of those new mini drill drivers shuch as the
Bosch PS20-2A at http://www.boschtools.com/Products/T...px?pid=PS20-2A

On Sep 12, 11:33*am, " wrote:
On Sep 12, 11:38*am, Jim Wilkins wrote:





On Sep 12, 9:11*am, " wrote:

I am wanting to make some very long hex shank drill bits for a wood
working project that I am working on. *I am having to drill into very
tight areas that I can't get my drill into. *I have some long aircraft
drills that I want to add a hex shank to. *I figured to save some time
I could drill out a hex coupling nut but the problem is that the
smallest one that I could find is 5/16 across flats. *Is there anyone
out that sells smaller coupler nuts?

I also thought about annealing a hex key and drilling that out.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. *Thanks

How do you plan to attach the bit firmly enough into the hex coupler?
Some of the makers of hex shank drill bits haven't quite figured that
out yet. I made a narrow extension holder out of a hex-head bolt which
has enough metal in the head to hold a setscrew.

A small drill chuck on a hex stem that might work. You can make your
own drill bits out of 3' long drill rod by grinding a cone for the
point and then grinding a flat on one side that reaches the center.
Looking from the end the drill bit is D shaped. You have to remove it
frequently to clear chips.

I am thinking about trying to use either a good CA (super glue) that I
purchased at the last NAMES convention or maybe some loctite. *I could
try to use solder but I am worried about messing up the temper of the
drill bit. *Since the drill bit is 8" long I could keep the other end
cool by placing it in a glass of water. *I read in an old book that
using a patato would work for tasks like this. *Another thought is
that if the bit is HSS and almost everthing is these days, it wouldn't
matter if the drill bit got up to soldering temperatures anyway. *Is
this true?

I also want to use one of those new mini drill drivers shuch as the
Bosch PS20-2A athttp://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.asp...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You've got a couple of problems here. If you don't have a lathe,
getting a centered hole in your hex stock is going to be a problem.
Adhesives aren't going to cut it, you're going to need to at least
silver braze your drill shank. Unless you're using carbon steel bits,
there's no "temper" to be lost with HSS, brazing shouldn't be a
problem. Since it's wood you're drilling, you may be able to grind a
small flat on the drill shank and use a set screw. Or just get a hex-
shank 3-jaw drill chuck and dump all that other stuff. The local True
Value has at least three sizes here.

What you show is a screwdriver, not a drill. It may be able to drill,
but it's going to take a loooong time.

For tight spots, I use either a right angle air drill like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=2439
or a angle head electric drill:
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/b...gle-Drill.html

There are chink copies that cost less. You do get what you pay for
there.

Stan

On Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:11:20 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I am wanting to make some very long hex shank drill bits for a wood
working project that I am working on. I am having to drill into very
tight areas that I can't get my drill into. I have some long aircraft
drills that I want to add a hex shank to. I figured to save some time
I could drill out a hex coupling nut but the problem is that the
smallest one that I could find is 5/16 across flats. Is there anyone
out that sells smaller coupler nuts?

I also thought about annealing a hex key and drilling that out.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


The latest technologies are to shrink the holder onto the cutting
tools. Mind you, that may mean an r-f inductive heater. The shank
can stand to lose a bit of it's temper, so for simple things or small
guys like me, a combination of heat-shrink and silver solder works
well, but may require a bit (no pun intended) of practice.

Take care.

Brian Lawson.

I mentioned a bolt with a setscrew in the head to hold drill bits.
This is what it was used in;

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97055

The screw and short 1/8" drill bit replaced the belt drum to drill pop
rivet holes in a -very- tight space under a car. It needs 80 - 100 PSI
to get enough torque to drill steel.

wrote:
I am wanting to make some very long hex shank drill bits for a wood
working project that I am working on. I am having to drill into very
tight areas that I can't get my drill into. I have some long aircraft
drills that I want to add a hex shank to. I figured to save some time
I could drill out a hex coupling nut but the problem is that the
smallest one that I could find is 5/16 across flats. Is there anyone
out that sells smaller coupler nuts?

I also thought about annealing a hex key and drilling that out.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

If you are drilling wood, you can get bits in 24" to 6 foot
lengths. At work we use the ones that drill a 3/8" hole.

Do a web search for "Laborsaving Devices" company or their
product "Spear-Zit"" or use this link:

http://www.lsdinc.com/content/product_details/24

Electronic shops carry them, as do some borg stores. If you
are in the south, try W. B. Allen in New Orleans:

https://www.wmballen.com/contactus.cfm


technomaNge
--
Obama - raises taxes and kills babies.
Sarah Palin - raises babies and kills taxes.

On 2008-09-12, wrote:

[ ... ]

I am thinking about trying to use either a good CA (super glue) that I
purchased at the last NAMES convention or maybe some loctite. I could
try to use solder but I am worried about messing up the temper of the
drill bit. Since the drill bit is 8" long I could keep the other end
cool by placing it in a glass of water. I read in an old book that
using a patato would work for tasks like this. Another thought is
that if the bit is HSS and almost everthing is these days, it wouldn't
matter if the drill bit got up to soldering temperatures anyway. Is
this true?

If it is HSS (which is very likely), it also is likely to have
mild steel as the shank -- easier to grip in a drill chuck than a
hardened and ground surface like HSS.

Note that the standoffs which someone suggested come in three
choices of material.

Aluminum
Nylon
Brass

of those three -- I would consider brass to be the one to choose --
though an annealed hex key would work well. Use brazing, not soft
solder to get a good grip with hex key steel. If using the brass hex
standoffs use the lowest melting point hard (silver) solder you can
find, otherwise you will be working close to the melting point of the
brass.

You can also buy from aircraft maker's supply places drill bits
with brazed on ends which are a square or hex section threaded 1/4-28
(IIRC) to screw into shanks for air powered drill motors.

I also want to use one of those new mini drill drivers shuch as the
Bosch PS20-2A at http://www.boschtools.com/Products/T...px?pid=PS20-2A

That looks cute. :-)

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On Sep 12, 8:11*am, " wrote:
I am wanting to make some very long hex shank drill bits for a wood
working project that I am working on. *I am having to drill into very
tight areas that I can't get my drill into. *I have some long aircraft
drills that I want to add a hex shank to. *I figured to save some time
I could drill out a hex coupling nut but the problem is that the
smallest one that I could find is 5/16 across flats. *Is there anyone
out that sells smaller coupler nuts?

I also thought about annealing a hex key and drilling that out.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. *Thanks

McMaster Carr -- www.mcmaster.com carries steel "hex stock". See item
#'s 6512K12 and 6606K11. Six foot lengths are under $6 each. (Not
sure what shipping costs.)