Thank you! I was looking at #57. Glad to hear I don't need to go so small. Did you do a smaller pilot hole or just a one shot? How does the #54 do with pure vg? How does it compare to the hole in an oem bf cyclone?
The BF experiment
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Thank you! I was looking at #57. Glad to hear I don't need to go so small. Did you do a smaller pilot hole or just a one shot? How does the #54 do with pure vg? How does it compare to the hole in an oem bf cyclone?
Cool .... let me know after you do a batch someday. The fact that it came out center is exactly the thing ...
I did forget to mention 3K is much scarier if your not used to power tools
Its much easier to be patient at a higher RPM and let the bit do the work. Even though you think your just a patient and gentle at 700 it just might be your doing a little more work than the bit. The more work you do with your handle arm the more the bit can wander .... super critical with deep depths and tiny bits.
One of my first jobs when my shop was just me .... a junior in HS ....... Drilling an 1/8 tie wire hole through the head of 5/8-18 X 2" GRADE 8 bolts ....... 3000 of them. It was a rush job for crane re-build. Did it in 5 days and over 200 bits ..... what a ....., but it payed awesome. Especially when you 16-17. I actually found the bits were breaking more on the up stroke so I discovered using my smallest tapmatic which reverses the drill on the up stroke saved me a bunch .... I was really cooking by the end of those 5 days.
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the only pure vg I use is the Monkey's NEMP. I'm more used to something like 60-70%VG. So, obviously, 100% requires a bit more thorough and attentive squonking; but it works fine. Put another way (for reference), a #53 bit will not fit in Rob's 510 pos. bore. Darkzero uses a #53, IIRC; but I'd call it bigger than standard. I usually just do a one-shot sizing. If I only have one fresh #54 bit and I've got a handful to drill, I might toast a couple of #55 bits to get the bulk of the material removed and then go back with the 54 to size up. But it's not necessary.
Cool .... let me know after you do a batch someday. The fact that it came out center is exactly the thing ...
I did forget to mention 3K is much scarier if your not used to power tools
Its much easier to be patient at a higher RPM and let the bit do the work. Even though you think your just a patient and gentle at 700 it just might be your doing a little more work than the bit. The more work you do with your handle arm the more the bit can wander .... super critical with deep depths and tiny bits.
One of my first jobs when my shop was just me .... a junior in HS ....... Drilling an 1/8 tie wire hole through the head of 5/8-18 X 2" GRADE 8 bolts ....... 3000 of them. It was a rush job for crane re-build. Did it in 5 days and over 200 bits ..... what a ....., but it payed awesome. Especially when you 16-17. I actually found the bits were breaking more on the up stroke so I discovered using my smallest tapmatic which reverses the drill on the up stroke saved me a bunch .... I was really cooking by the end of those 5 days.
Very true on the handle press/wander thing. Probably why folks tend to go real gentle in the bottom 1/8" of the hole. I definitely feel like, once I get a feel for the higher speed, it will allow me much more control and precision.
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I bf'd Buckethead's Atomic this weekend...I'm pretty good at them now (5th or 6th? lost track)...I did everything the same except as per what I've been reading here I cranked the drill press speed up to according to the pulley chart around 2800 rpm...it's a little startling at first (I was like others, 600 - 700 rpm) but as Big Hitter noted, there's a lot less effort required and when getting the initial hole started off my punch mark was a lot easier, either I just got lucky and aced it or the wander drops right off at the higher rpms. It also gives a cleaner hole...
Nice work Quigsworth I'm loving my BF Atomic
Did you put 1 or 2 holes in the pin on the deck?
I found with the 3/64 bit I used on my Atomic I was able to put 2 one on each side
there not as pretty as yours but they work
Did you put 1 or 2 holes in the pin on the deck?
I found with the 3/64 bit I used on my Atomic I was able to put 2 one on each side
there not as pretty as yours but they work
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Nice work Quigsworth I'm loving my BF Atomic
Did you put 1 or 2 holes in the pin on the deck?
I found with the 3/64 bit I used on my Atomic I was able to put 2 one on each side
there not as pretty as yours but they work
If it works that's all that matters
...I've just had a lot of practice bf'ing RDA's...I drill down through the center of the pin first, then I scribe the pin at the deck then press it out, then I use the scribe mark as the center point for the horizontal hole that's drilled right through to the other side (so ya, a hole on each side)...I keep meaning to pick up a drill press vice, that horizontal hole can be tough to line up and make pretty...it's just every time I'm at Harbour Freight I get puppy brain...
I just use one of these. I leave the pin in the atty, file a line into it with a feather file, clamp it into this at an angle ~5-10° from sideways . . .
I do this because this is what I have around; not because it's the best way . . . .
If the centerpost starts spinning while I'm drilling, I pop it out and clamp that into the Jorgenson.
I do this because this is what I have around; not because it's the best way . . . .
If the centerpost starts spinning while I'm drilling, I pop it out and clamp that into the Jorgenson.
My first bf modded atty was a squid, drilled by hand in a bench vise-easy cuz it's brass. Next was an igo-w, not as easy by hand, but it works. Two atomics on the way. Wish I had a drill press at home, the one at work runs out about .010"
My first bf modded atty was a squid, drilled by hand in a bench vise-easy cuz it's brass. Next was an igo-w, not as easy by hand, but it works. Two atomics on the way. Wish I had a drill press at home, the one at work runs out about .010"
My dad gave me my General International bench top drill press for my 15th birthday...I'm 48 yrs old and I still use it, it's like an old friend
Two of 3 drippers drill attempts yesterday work just fine! One ate 2 bits in its SS center post. Another bit busted in an air hole but that one didn't decommission the dripper. Time to buy 1/16 bits in bulk!
The little one fits nicely inside a REO drip well.
The little one fits nicely inside a REO drip well.
I get the mindset when you're looking at the drill bit rack at the local hardware store... "I'm just gonna break it so get lots of the cheap ones..."
When you're drilling SS and if you plan on doing more bf'ing, it may be worth going to an actual industrial supply shop and talk to the counter guys, I found a good one outside Bellingham Wa., they brought in some #56 cobalt bits for a customer who changed his mind, I bought all 20...they've been my go-to bits for bf'ing a while now. I still break them but they really do make a difference over the standard hardware store gear.
I have 12 each #53 and #54 on the way cobalt. Not cheap but a lot cheaper than $5 a piece the local guy is charging for regular high speed steel. 3 atomics just showed up, two more VA Cyclone tf AFC's coming tomorrow plus the three tf cyclones I already had. Woohoo. Weekend project time.
Chicago Latrobe 550 Cobalt Steel Jobber Length Drill Bit, Gold Oxide Coated, Round Shank, 135 Degree Split Point, Wire Size #53 (Pack of 12): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
Chicago Latrobe 550 Cobalt Steel Jobber Length Drill Bit, Gold Oxide Coated, Round Shank, 135 Degree Split Point, Wire Size #53 (Pack of 12): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
My dad gave me my General International bench top drill press for my 15th birthday...I'm 48 yrs old and I still use it, it's like an old friend
I'm 46 and I still have tools my Dad gave me from the same time frame. Love it!
I cheat I program the machine and pay one of my guys to load center posts all day
Here is a great vice for holding center posts love these little tool maker vices
32545 - 50mm Toolmaker Vise w/ Screw
32545 - 50mm Toolmaker Vise w/ Screw
It's a squonk pad ... makes juicing easier. That one is from a piece of theraband cut in half.
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