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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 01-14-2014, 06:53 PM
Kevster Kevster is offline
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Location: Plano Texas
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Drill bit sizes?

What size bit should I get to drill pin holes?

If I use a 1/4 cobalt bit to drill my pin holes it's just to tight.

So, what bits should I order for.

1/8
3/32
5/32
1/4

I know they are #'s but what are they? I'm getting tired of drilling holes twice.

Thanks
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  #2  
Old 01-14-2014, 07:12 PM
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Seemus7 Seemus7 is offline
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You might find this handy.
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File Type: jpg Capture.JPG (201.6 KB, 74 views)


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  #3  
Old 01-14-2014, 07:17 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Gather round, children, and listen up: if you do not yet own a drill chart go get one. Many places give them away for free but even if you buy one its hard to spend more than $3 so there's no excuse for not having one. I have one on my shop wall as big as a movie poster and a small laminated one right here next to the computer which I will use to answer Kev's question.

With the chart you can see the size in decimal of every drill that exists so, for example, Kev could look at a 1/8 drill and see that is.125 in decimal, he wants a clearance size hole for his pins so lets look for something about 5 thou larger than that. We see that a #30 drill is .1285 so that's 3.5 thou over and thats good enough. If you insist on the full 5 thou over then we see that a 3.3mm drill is .1299 and that's 4.99 thou so there you go. If you get really rabid about a specialty size MSC will sell you a drill sized by HALF a thou in any size you want.

These charts also show drill sizes for tapping holes of any reasonable size we would need. Get one of these charts and learn to luv it! It's also a good idea to own a dial caliper, while we're on the subject of drill sizes. Not all of your pin stock is nominal (that means a 1/8 pin might actually be .128 if you measured it). If it isn't then your usual #30 won't give you clearance. So, you measure with the dial caliper and then get a drill that will clear whatever you measured. Get a standard dial caliper in either 4" or 6" capacity - just a simple mechanical one, no digital. These can be had for under $15, or $20 if you get a really nice one. I have a $150 Starrett and an $11 Chinese one and they both read the same on the small stuff we work with so there's no excuse for not having these tools.

3/32 .0938 #40 (loose fit) #41 (close fit)
5/32 .1562 #21
1/4 .2500 F (.2570) 6.5mm (.2559)


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  #4  
Old 01-14-2014, 07:24 PM
Kevster Kevster is offline
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Thanks gentlemen, I do own a caliper and I use it regularily, I can drill the steel and the pin slides right through, in the wood not so much.

Thanks for the chart fellas!
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  #5  
Old 01-14-2014, 08:19 PM
Kevster Kevster is offline
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I just looked on jantz's site and they are out of stock on some of the bits I need, Do y'all have any other recommendations on where I can look?
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  #6  
Old 01-14-2014, 08:40 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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MSC or Enco. An MSC printed catalog is a thing of beauty and a wonder to behold.....not to mention a terrific education in all subjects related to what you are talking about in this thread. Nobody but a machinist supply will have all these weird little drills we are talking about here...


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  #7  
Old 01-14-2014, 09:35 PM
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Icho Icho is offline
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Quote:
, I can drill the steel and the pin slides right through, in the wood not so much.
I find the same thing happens to me. The wood "stretches" around the drill bit a couple thousands of an inch wheras the steel actually gets cut to size. I kind of like that it does that because I roll a piece of sand paper real tight so it just fits the drilled hole in the handle material and kind of hone it out by hand so that I get the fit I want. it may be extra work but it makes me feel better
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  #8  
Old 01-15-2014, 06:24 AM
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check your drillpress some have a chart on them
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  #9  
Old 01-18-2014, 09:12 PM
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Something that worked for me...after the holes are drilled and heat treatment done. My 1/8" holes were just too tight for mosaic pins to go in. There was no way I was going to be able to enlarge the hole that tiny amount with a drill bit.

I used a diamond coated die grinder bit to enlarge holes a smidgen. I set the bit in the chuck on the drill press and worked it in a circular motion a few times around and the pins slipped through.




Where there's a will there's a way. Perhaps not the best way though.



Dan
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  #10  
Old 01-18-2014, 11:22 PM
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I'm surprised at this thread. The easiest solution - taught to me a long time ago by an old knifemaker - is to drill the hole and then gently sand down the pin until it fits.

Pin stock is never perfectly sized throughout it's length. You want it to fit tightly, but there's a practical limit to that. Sand-to-fit makes it work.


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  #11  
Old 01-19-2014, 05:34 AM
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Jack,

Yes this is great advice. With regular brass stock a spin on the slack belt would be fine. Even better if you do this before you cut them to length.

In my case the wall of the mosaic pin was so thin I could risk disfiguring it and yes, they were already cut to about an inch long. It was much easier to enlarge the holes.

Dan
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  #12  
Old 01-19-2014, 05:51 AM
Kevster Kevster is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasJack View Post
I'm surprised at this thread. The easiest solution - taught to me a long time ago by an old knifemaker - is to drill the hole and then gently sand down the pin until it fits.

Pin stock is never perfectly sized throughout it's length. You want it to fit tightly, but there's a practical limit to that. Sand-to-fit makes it work.
That is a good idea, especially if you put the pins in a drill press and sand them, but drilling the hole 1 time is the easiest solution.
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  #13  
Old 02-18-2014, 09:12 PM
Shi_Fu_Elusive Shi_Fu_Elusive is offline
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Quick qustion, on MSC site it shows holemaking drill bits in several categories that include Jobber Length, Screw Machine Length, Taper Length, etc.

Which is the correct category for me to buy?

Thanks!
-Scott
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  #14  
Old 02-18-2014, 09:31 PM
argel55 argel55 is offline
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3/32 # 40
1/8 #30
1/4 f drill
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  #15  
Old 02-18-2014, 09:52 PM
Shi_Fu_Elusive Shi_Fu_Elusive is offline
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Thanks for the reply Argel55!

So the categories are not important? (i.e. Jobber Length, Screw Machine Length, Taper Length, etc.)

-Scott
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advice, brass, diamond, digital, drill, education, grinder, handle, handle material, heat, heat treatment, hone, knifemaker, material, mosaic, movie, pins, press, sand, simple, steel, supply, tiny, tools, wood


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