Drilling holes in 1095

Arundel · Post by **Arundel** » Tue Jun 25, 2002 5:40 pm

I build scale armor from 24g 1095 strip and so I need to drill many many holes.

The problem I have is that I havn't been able to find a drill bit that will do more than 10-20 holes before it requires constant resharpening. The metal is allowed to air cool after I form the scales in a simple swage that I've built so its not like I'm trying to drill hardened steel.

I've tried Ti coated bits as well as tungsten cobalt alloy and both kinds stop cutting almost immediatly.

So does anybody know of a better drill bit for this purpose?

Sasha · Post by **Sasha** » Tue Jun 25, 2002 5:54 pm

You do not want a drill, you want a punch.

A roper-whitney will be your best friend.
Trust me.

Failing that...have you ever heard of sharpening drill bits form time to time?
And not going too fast?
And using a cutting compound or just a couple of drops of oil?
And marking your holes with a square centre punch so the drill bit has some corners to bite onto?

Also, consider a small drill press instead of a handheld drill. Bits blunt faster if they are used at funny angles and stuff. A drillpress goes straight down vertically everytime.

But my suggestion is to get a whitney punch.

Sasha

Krag · Post by **Krag** » Tue Jun 25, 2002 6:30 pm

I usually can drill a couple hundred holes in annealed 1/4" 1095 before the bit is trashed. Go slow and use a cutting fluid (thin oil or water). I use cobalt bits.

For 24 ga, I would punch like the above post mentioned, though.

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Krag von Berghen
KragAxe Armoury

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Arundel · Post by **Arundel** » Tue Jun 25, 2002 7:39 pm

I do all of the above things. I still have to sharpen the bit after every few holes.

Its frustrating beacuse the drill bit cuts perfectly for the first 20 or so holes and then it suddenly refuses to even start a hole.

Mabey I need to drill even slower then I have been.

I didn't know that punches worked on high-carbon steels, I'll look into it. Any site recomendations for buying one?

Captain Jamie · Post by **Captain Jamie** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 11:50 am

Air cooling may still be too fast. Try sicking a set in a pot of sand while still hot and see if the lengthened cooling brings down the hardness.
Yes you want a punch. Try the Roper-Whitney site. They will sell the no. 5jr and the punches and dies on the site. You may want to pop for the table mount so that punching all those holes goes faster.

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Captain Jamie-a marvellous valorous gentleman, that is certain
Failure is the price of knowledge

Dwarlock · Post by **Dwarlock** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 1:28 pm

like everyone else i think a punch would be best for you, however.....

if you reapy want to drill, I recomend Hand-bits

they're expensive, but come with a lifetime warranty, and i've yet to find somthing they won't drill.

I had a project that i was making out of some fully hardened stainless (i forget the alloy) and I'd been melting and destroying all sorts of bits without even mannaging to drill one hole.

Then I remembered this guy selling drill bits at the state fair, and how he claimed they'd drill anything...

well after melting many a expensive drill bit, I brought a piece of my steel to him, expecting that his bits would melt and die like the rest....

didn't happen, he handed me back my steel with about 12 holes neatly drilled through it.

they're pricy (bout $100 for a full set)
but they work

my drill bit box has this 800 # on it for ordering

1-800-252-1330

mrks · Post by **mrks** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 1:29 pm

Hi
try ebay ebay.com search for whitney punch

I recently got a rw 7 /12 for $50

US $36.00 First bid US $20.00
Quantity 1 # of bids 8 bid history
Time left 17 mins, 1 secs
Location Pasadena,Md
Country/Region United States /Baltimore
Started Jun-19-02 11:43:28 PDT mail this auction to a friend

I have four and punch titanium all the time. I did break a rw number 7 punching .063 al6-4v Ti but that was my fault. should have used the rw16 but dont like the long arm.

mrks
tiarmour.com

Krag · Post by **Krag** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 4:19 pm

Check the tip of your bit for "hangers". Little bits of metal chips that wil stick to the end of your bit. When you pull it down to drill a hole, the chip prevents the bit from cutting, builds up heat and softens the tip...thus no more cutting! Stainless is the worst for this since it is more plastic that carbon steel...but any material will do it.

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Krag von Berghen
KragAxe Armoury

Member's Pics

Melee · Post by **Melee** » Sat Jun 29, 2002 7:21 pm

In my basic woods class my teacher found a very smart and cheap way to drill things. He just used nails, but he did somthing specail to the tip, i think he hammer the tip a liitle. Any way i thoght that might help.

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