Tool school, please

[Lavaca5]

I want to drill out the air holes on my RBAs. At this point, I just want to make existing holes bigger, but I may need / want to drill new holes someday, so I'd like to have whatever I need to accomplish that. I have - or rather, I have access to - a Dremel and a drill, but I need an attachment that will hold a 1/16" drill bit. I've just spent an hour on Amazon looking at various drill-related bits and bobs, and I have only the vaguest notion of what I'm looking at or what I'm looking for. This looks pretty relevant:

Mini Drill Chuck 1/8" Shank For Micro Drill Bits - Amazon.com

Or do I need this?

Dremel 4485 Quick Change Collet Nut Kit - Amazon.com

Or do I need both? If I'm not planning on drilling through anything thicker than a top cap, do I need a diamond-tip or other special kind of drill bit?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

[nahoku]

What kind of rba's are you drilling? Most Chinese built rba's like AGA-T's, IGO-L's, RSST's, and the like, will drill quite easily with standard steel drill bits. You don't need any kind of special drill bits.

If you have a 3/8" drill handy and some steel bits, just give it a try first before buying something new. One thing though, don't just jump to a 1/16" hole... start off smaller and enlarge the hole if the draw is still too tight for you.

 

[Lavaca5]

I have a couple of RSSTs, a couple of AGA-T+'s and a couple of Igo-Ls. What do you mean by 3/8" drill? I have a "standard" Dremel and cordless drill, but I don't have a chuck or collet or whatever it is I need to hold a drill bit that small - that's what I'm looking for. I agree about the size of the hole - I said 1/16", but 3/64" is actually what I had in mind to start with.

 

[nahoku]

The fraction 3/8" refers to the size limit your drill can handle. It should state the size on the label somewhere. If you had a 1/2" drill, then you can use larger bits than on a 3/8" drill. Read the label.

Who make's the cordless you have? If it's a 3/8", it should handle small bits. Of course it all depends on the jaws of the chuck.

If you're going to use your dremel, personally, I would go with this rather than the one in your first link... Dremel 4486 MultiPro Keyless Chuck - Amazon.com

Or you could go with the collet set you linked. It would work fine too.

 

[Lavaca5]

Great - thank you.

 

[pdib]

drilling fresh holes in stainless steel: the dremel spins too fast. it will overheat your drill bit instantly (drilling, not just spinning) and dull your bit. slow rpms are your friend when drilling metal. also good is a coolant/lubricant/cutting fluid (totally worth the $2-3). I use "Rapid Tap".

enlarging holes, almost anything will do

 

[WattWick]

For thin caps, you can do well with just a round thin file and/or a rolled up piece of sandpaper. If you already got those, that is. If you want to buy something, get a drill and some lube.

 

[Jeremy Evans]

The micro drill bits you linked to are tiny, way to small for any atty in my opinion

I just buy the regular drill bits from lowes, use them in my dewalt 18v drill all the time zero issues, if you need something smaller then get them with a collet and you can use them. 1.6mm is probably the smallest I would go with any single airholed atty. For duals maybe smaller but even 1.6mm in a dual setup is still fine not too airy or anything like that.

Also I agree with Pdib, dremels even on the slowest setting are wayyyy to fast for drilling metal

 

[WattWick]

If you have screwdrivers or hex drivers with detachable handles, chances are your drill bits will fit those. We're mainly talking about drilling out something a mm or two thick, so nearly anything goes.

 

[pdib]

Hey! Its Wattwick, the snake charmer!

 

[Lavaca5]

Thanks, folks. I have learned much. I do have a drill that I can use in lieu of the dremel, and I really like the hex driver idea. Worst case scenario, I'll ask my brother-in-law to do it -- he's sort of a tool.

 

[havok333]

I bought a cheepy dremel-look-a-like and the included drill bit pretty well ground down trying to enlarge an AGA-T2 cap hole. Had the speed set to next-to-lowest setting too. Gotta get better tools around this house!