An excellent tip, I have done much the same thing myself with a home-made device. I see a few negative comments which are totally uncalled-for, Joe is kind enough to share some good workshop tips, if you don't have a use personally there are plenty who do, don't knock it.
I realise that this is an old post but have to say that I completely agree, Joe is a teaching legend! He has a real knack of keeping it interesting and at the same time getting really useful information across. Big thumbs up for the guy 👍
Thanks very much. I've been in engineering for 50 years and have never seen this trick, not done that much small drilling but enough to know I appreciate your video!
I ordered 10 x 0.3mm microbits! After breaking 6 of them I came across this video and built the adapter. I now have two 0.3 mm holes in my project. Thank you for making this video! Greetings from the Netherlands
As someone else mentioned "There are small chucks that can be bought ready made with a sliding shank and a knurled grip to hold onto so you have feel.". I have one and that certainly has been a life saver - that type does do good in the mill due to its contstruction. Your approach is essentially very similar and a great solution for sure - it is essential to have that 'feel'. I'm sure a good many folks will find that super useful.
My Father used to say, "A day you don't learn something is a wasted day". The man read and studied right to the end. He was amazing in his quest for education.
With small drills like that, I usually buy 3: One to lose on the floor, the second to break, and the third to do the job. I now feel confident enough to buy only two, and hopefully not drop either!
Thank You Joe ! I really do appreciate all the videos you do . I am hobby machinist , I’ve been a Heavy Equipment mechanic for over 40 years I work for Caterpillar Warrencat . I learn something new everyday . Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and wisdom . Looking forward to learning more from your videos. Sincerely, Steve W Black - Anadarko., Oklahoma
Aaah grasshopper, this is not a trick, but rather critical thinking and the ability to think outside the box and find simple solutions to complex problems. It comes easy to some, in a MacGyver kind of way, and others can't see the forest for the trees. Bravo to those of us that can size up and quickly find solutions to confounding problems that stump others. Necessity IS the mother of invention !!!
Thank you Thank you Thank you Joe. I make small brass parts with small holes drilled deep. No matter how light my touch is on the tailstock crank, the "feel" is zero. From your great vidoe I can see how much quicker and easier it will be with the free sliding chuck. Indeed a "light bulb" moment for this amateur!
Absolute Great Video Joe!!!! I'm into Clock Repair and I think You Just solved a huge problem. Some guys hold the bit freehand in a pin vice because they're afraid of snapping it. I can't see how that can give you any kind of close tolerance. Your method eliminates that freehand wobble. Thanks Again!!
One of my old bosses had a sign in the shop that said "If you don't know what lever A is then leaver B". I learned "the feel" from that guy after he stood behind and watched me try to burn a 3/8" drill bit through a stainless plate at high speed and I do mean Glowing Red with all the force I had in me at the time. Talk about work hardening Hahaaa!! Thankfully, "finesse" as he called it or "the feel" as you say is a skill I was capable of acquiring with a little bit of proper coaching. Cool trick man. Rock on Joe, with your 2017 post I somehow missed? Wtf
I see someone else calls that a sensitive chuck. Had mine given to me by an old machinist who retired and passed many great tools to me. That sensitive chuck adapter saved my goose many times over. I never realized till now how expensive that thing is. A treasured tool because a craftsman gave it to me who I highly respected. I bet those who build your design will have no less a tressured tool. Nothing is more frustrating than fighting and breaking tiny drill bits, unless it's a tiny dull center drill, lol... Another great tip Joe and your right feel is everything for doing good work.
Joe, I made the same type of adapter sleeve as you when I was working as a journeyman machinist for a 2 piece D&I sanitary steel food can plant. The D&I bodymakers worked on hydrostatic principles and required small jets made from 1/4 -20 x 1/4 stainless cup point set screws at the various pressure points on the machine. The holes varied in size anywhere from .014 to .036 to control the static and dynamic pressures required at that point. Long story short, the sleeve does a great job of being able to allow you to feel what the drill is doing in the material. I'm 57, and I remember being told when I was a green apprentice about learning to develop" a good feel". Another good video Joe.And I hope the younger guys appreciate these tips because you pay for this experience with your life.
Oh MAN!....you did it again,...I had to stop what I was doing to write this...Sorry for repeating my self mate, but to the likes of me (and I am sure many thousands of others...) this type of generous guidance is so amazingly selfless, and I for one am so grateful for these gems.....I am frustrated that I can't give anything comparable back...Agggh!....Nice one Joe!!!...:-). please keep up this great content; you are some guy:-)
Hi Joe, I'm a freelance engineer working in the medical device space and over the years and out of necessity I've become something of a hack 'machinist'. I took machining classes in college but they were only good enough for me to know the basics of how to operate a lathe and mill. The rest of what I've learned has come from OJT. I've been fortunate to pick up some very useful techniques from machinists at places I've worked, but when I started my own company, I often had to develop my own methods because there was no one around to ask and at the time, youtube had more cat videos than useful content. Since youtube has matured, the world is fortunate to have several content providers who've made the rest of us homeshoppers and hacks into much better 'machinists'. As I've surfed youtube, I've run across a handful of content providers that I've found useful, but your content is top-notch. Your videos stand out because you provide tips and techniques that are clearly driven by a real pro who needs dead-nuts reliable techniques that don't break tools, make setup straightforward and easy, and make money. I admit that you can be a little tough for me to follow the first (or second!) time through, but nothing I can't eventually figure out. Thanks for all the content you provide. I'll be working my way through your catalog of videos to see what new and useful things I can add to my 'toolbox' of techniques.
My business was born out of the need for specialized Knee and Hip instrumentation. I am a former associate knee product development engineer for Zimmer. What field are you in?
@@joepie221 I'm in the minimally invasive space, and over the years I've ended up dealing in vascular, peripheral, neuro and structural heart applications. My belief is that in my niche, it's important to have control over the means of fabrication - it just wouldn't be practical from a cost, timeline, and iteration standpoint to send everything out. And because I'm a freelancer, that means I'm the designer AND the machinist. Somehow a lot of my designs utilize really small holes
Another great video. I just completed a wing rack gear out of .375 square X 7" long aluminum. Cross milling with .061 end mill @ .160 intervals, .100 deep over the 7" length. I didn't have the 'feel' and broke three .061 end mills during the process. That FEEL doesn't come cheap. I will be making one of these for my lathe. Thank you.
I'm a turner,miller but before that worked as an engineers storeman. While I was there I perused a tap and die catologue and saw that as regular stock they could supply a 4 thousandths of an inch (one tenth of a millimetre) tap with 318 teeth per inch. I would have crapped myself if I was told to use one. It's another world.
A mill/drill version of this micro drill does exist. Years ago I made one for our tool room before we found out we could buy one. The micro drill chuck in this video can be upgraded fairly easily. 1. cut a key slot in the shank. 2.drill and tap the outer sleeve, the female part or adapter, on center and near the open end and install 'dog' tip set screw. The dog end set screw is used to drive the chuck but still allow the shank to extend and retract. 3. Cut a small groove for a snap ring about 1/4 inch rom the back of the chuck. this will hold a 'finger ring', basically just a washer, that you hold to control the depth. Here is a store bought adapter that uses a key and slot. Hopefully there is enough info between my quick explanation and the pic to make your own!
You're a life saver Joe. I need to drill some 1.2mm holes in 304 stainless and I've been dreading it until I saw this video. Though I'll be doing it on a mill, your comments below to use a micro drill adapter have shown me the way. Thanks!
Thanks Joe, For an excellent suggestion. Would it also help to put the bit further into the chuck and then gradually draw it out as you progress with the drilling
My Dad used exactly that method for scratch building small scale model compressed air-driven engines, for longer than I can remember. I never saw him break a drill bit in over 50 years. Thanks for highlighting it.
Joe; talking about "feel" on a larger scale, I read an acticle about building the Alcan highway to Alaska. They interviewed this old bulldozer operator who was operating on a very steep slope. When asked how he knew when he thought his Cat was about to tip over he replied "You got to feel it in your ass". The human body is an amazing thing when it comes to our senses.
I would not want to try to replicate the perfection of the human body mechanically. Just think about how much is going on when a pencil rolls off your desk and you catch it before it hits the floor. Good luck with that. On a different note, I had the opportunity to scuba dive inside a ship wreck that was just slightly listing to the left on the bottom. As I swam down the hallway, my eyes wanted to swim parallel to the floor because it looked natural, but my equilibrium told me to swim level to the bottom of the ocean. It was a strange sensation to come to a comfortable position and not get sick from the conflict. Thanks for your comment.
There's showing a trick (new technique), and there's showing how and why it works. Without the how and why, it's just a one off thing, and hit or miss technique. The explanation of why it works makes all the difference. Thanks!
On the subject of Tiny Drills, if your bit is too small for the chuck to clamp down on, spiral wrap the drill shank with fine copper wire then put it in the chuck and snug it down tight. Works in a pinch.👍🏻
Genius!!!. I used to say, "Let the material, and the bit TELL YA WHAT TO DO." My machinist boss just shook his head, incredulous. Yet it worked. Thanks for REPROVING IT!
Some times the guy that becomes the boss is the guy that is taking all the time and not working much , so if that guy gets the boss job then there is no lose in perduction , if a good worker gets moved up perduction will go down and may take 2 or 3 people to replace that good worker .
Super method. Wow, that is a great solution; much appreciate your sharing it. Thank you. Just curious; what's the tolerance between the drill chuck shank and the cylinder holding it? Thanks
Really a super video again Joe!!! I’ve always been super fortunate to have use of Hardinge HLVH SUPER PRECISION lathes.wherever I was employed. Not much of a machine for medium to large parts, but for small to micro parts nothing could compare! The tail stock was a monster to remove from the lathe, but for small hole drilling in most materials I think anyone could be a master machinist in no time. I had one of the precision drill chucks you mentioned and the smallest hole I ever drilled was .005” and only .020” deep in aluminum. Luckily the lathe spindle speed was 3,000 rpm. The surprising thing to me was I actually preferred to drill 304 stainless. Every time when drilling, I’d get the most beautiful two chips coming out of the hole. I was surprised how much force I was putting on the drill without it breaking! Thanks so much Joe for your always interesting machining videos.
I have one of the commercial ones but I like your's as well. Mine is keyed for use on a mill with a free spinning collar to push on. Your design is better on the lathe because you also get feedback on how much bite the bit has. I've snapped several bits on mine. Looks like I'll be making a new tool. Thanks for sharing.
Hey this is something I needed yesterday! I was putting an oil pass on a rifle! I am an gunsmith hobby wise!! Both of my grandfathers were machinist and I learned a lot from my dads father I didn’t get to meet the other!! This is a valuable trade and I have loved it for 40 years!!! Thanks
New here, the micro drill title caught our attention because well we are micro machinists so your 26 thousands just under 6.5 mm for us as watchmakers we do millimeter more often. I hope my micro drill press does not begin to stall out here at 6.5 mm as that is really large for us. Just funin, you are good.
But it is, to all intents and purposes, 0.65mm, so he got his decimal point out by one place. I'm sure that would have become obvious if he ever had to perform the task in reality... At one shop I worked at, a guy converted a dimension wrongly, from metric to the inches he was so much more familiar with, and we ended up with a roomful of aircraft spec light alloy billets, all 5mm, or a little over 3/16" too short for the task... @@joepie221
I use the same technique in a milling machine and lathe to tap small holes. It keeps the tap lined up while allowing you to feel when the chips are building up or bind so you don't snap the fragile small taps. I have never used it to drill small holes on a lathe, but now I will. Thanks.
I've seen and copied a much larger version intended for safely tapping LARGE holes in a lathe, but still with the feel you get by hand. It's based on a long hollow quill which slides on the _outside_ of the tailstock barrel, with a 3/4" Jacobs Superchuck (a keyed, ball bearing chuck which can grip almost like a collet) at the front end. A go-kart wheel bolted to the back end enables the operator to push the tap into engagement and then, using both hands, safely resist the torque of a big tap even in a blind hole. Just keep your thumbs clear of where the spokes will spin if the tap jams or bottoms! It's lapped to a neat fit on the barrel so it slides nicely and permits the tap to self feed. When you reverse out you can speed things up by also spinning the wheel in reverse. Works a treat up to M16 or 5/8-11" in steel, or with serial taps in stainless. Also down to M4.
Sherline has a “sensitive drilling attachment for doing this with THEIR MINIATURE HOBBYIST MILLING MACHINE. (The drill spins, but you feed manually in a similar manner). I think the Sherline unit cost around a hundred bucks....
Looks like a great tool and technique. The idea of rotating the work while holding the drill bit still is great. It solves much of the complication of making a sensitive drilling attachment. Of course it does limit you to drilling holes on parts that can be held in the lathe chuck. I followed a link to this video from a question on the PM board about using a 0.004" drill bit. I have used a 1/64" bit (0.0156") in my Unimat lathe and in the drill press configuration of that machine with NO problems. So 0.026" does not worry me in the least unless it is a cheap, poorly made bit. I have even used a pin vise for drilling 1/32" holes (0.0312") holes in softer materials by hand with no problems. The pin vise allows me to rotate the drill bit using my thumb and forefinger, without moving my hand. That eliminates the movement that other hand held methods will allow and which causes the drill bits to break. The 1/32" and 1/64" bits in my shop are both around 40+ years old and have at least a dozen holes behind each of them. I haven't broken them yet. Now that 0.004" bit does make me pause a bit but I will make a note to get one and try that using this technique some time soon. As an additional note, I would not try this with my SB-9 even though it has very little runout. The Unimat can run at 7,500 and perhaps even 10,000 RPM while the SB is limited to about 3,000.
Thank you very much Joe, bloody life saver, I’m sick of breaking small drills and more sick having to go to the shops and spend the money to keep replacing them, thanks again mate 👌🏼
being a swiss apprentice micromecanician i can understand why you would have some difficulties with drilling that small of a hole with such a lathe so good job but if you take the good machine for the good job you'd have no problem drilling this hole, for example the smallest hole i ever drilled with a lathe was 0.2mm on a schaublin 70 lathe the hole ended up being 0.215mm in diameter but i was in my tolerance so the job was done
Agreed, 1350 RPM is way too slow for the drill bit he's using - but that's probably about as fast as that lathe will spin. At a speed of 50 sfm (recommended for stainless), a .026" drill should be turning around 7500 RPM!
It sounds to me like you are a CNC lathe guy. If the feed isn't perfectly inline with the RPM, this drill wouldn't last a minute at that speed. Obviously my RPM was fine for the process because it works perfectly. Every time.
Bryan rou I have to drill 0.32mm diameter drill. Depth is 12mm.Material is EN31 fully annealed . Can you suggest better way than hand drilling? Vikram mefavkd@hotmail.com
I just used your technique and it worked great. Thanks, I didn't know what I was going to do, my drill was a .040" so bigger than yours but I couldn't have done it without you.
I think "the feel" is different for everyone and mostly gets learned from many many mistakes and remembering what things felt like right before they happened. Ive been a mechanic for 15 years and through all the experience I can tighten a bolt to within a reasonable torque and can tell when a bolts going to snap (usually) long before it does. I definitely agree that kind of thing can't be taught.
As you said, a very old trick, but one of which many today seem unaware..... During WW2 my mother used to make welding tips in a factory in London using a similar method. She got extra wages because her production rate was high and she never broke drills.
Genius! I do work on musical instruments and use these sizes all the time. Do you have any tips regarding small drills straight into the sides of curved steel? Usually working with steel cylinders OD .085, drilling holes at right angles with a .020-.035 drill and reaming after. I would love to hear your thoughts on reducing walk, getting perfectly centered holes, and getting precise distance measurements between holes.
If possible, make a hollow guide that your tube fits into. This guide should have the hole through it the size of your tube, and a cross hole just like you want in your part. The main hole keeps the tube located, and the cross hole "guide hole" keeps the small drill from walking when it hits the actual part.
Joe Pieczynski thanks so much! That is the best method that has ever been suggested to me. We all have basic machining skills, but the practical problem solving stuff can sometimes be elusive. Love your vids, the threading techniques are ace.
Always a pleasure Joe. I could have bet you while you in the office at the beginning of your video, exactly what it was that you showed us here. It is kind of you to share, I recall how selfish 'some' of those crotchety old timers could be back when I was an an apprentice. However in '78, I took a job in a tool room at a stamping company, and I was lucky enough to work for a journeyman that was a lot like you. Thanks.
Nice technique. I was taught to use a pin vice sliding on a drill blank mounted in a Jacobs chuck. As the drills get into the very small sizes (76, 80) it’s even easier to get the feel. Your RPM seemed a little slow to me for Stainless. Having a high speed bench lathe or a Hardinge toolroom lathe makes life easier too. Keep up the great work. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Joe. I bought that lathe and that Mill. Bolt the Bolton lathe and the Grizzly g705 drill Mill. I gave 1700 for both of them. They're like new I'll be doing a video on them, they're still sitting on a pallets, because he had moved and the shipping company put them on pallets before you moved so they are still on pallets in my garage. I'm trying to figure out where to put them. Thank you for all your help in purchasing them.
Very good Idea. I am a hobby machinist. When I was taught lathe work many years ago the instructor emphasised "develop a feel for the procedures you use". I will be using the method you have shown. Thankyou Joe
I've heard that since I was in shop in highschool in the 70's, I don't do much metal work these days, mostly wood, but the "feel" is bang on. You know when something's wrong....specially when using a circular saw through maple plywood with a dull blade....
I know what you mean, my grandpa the clockmaker, and nationwide clock repairman for montgomery wards did all his practically microscopic hole drilling by hand.
@@MatthewHolevinski that is still a standard method. My grandfather and father had contracts with the Railroad until they went to Satalite. I'd like to add we use an abrasive piece of Corundum to shape, harden, and polish high carbon steel 0.002mm/min material displacement on average sized conical pivots for the balance staff on modern Watches creating super hardened mirrored surfaces. The larger size balance pivots on an 18 size Elgin pocket watch are typically between 0.11mm and .014mm. In Jeweled mechanisms (7j-21j) those pivots also glide on a Corundum surface that is also drilled. Corundum is the same composition as Ruby and Sapphire with a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale. Gypsum is a 1 and Diamond is a 10. Ps. It is rare but Diamond jewels have also been used. Naturally Diamond is also the abrasive used in such drilling applications. The drill bit looks like a hair with a double heli and the diamond "slurry" is a fine powder added with oil. I typically only need a 20%mm dia 3.8mm long Tungsten Carbide HHS bit for small brass pivot holes www.mikrontool.com/en/Products/CrazyDrill-Flex/Description I also drill by hand using a "Steaking Tool" to stay perpendicular to the plates.
Love your videos Joe. I tell all the new guys I work with in the directional drilling business you can't teach experience. You showing us all techniques and the why make your videos priceless. Thank you for all you do (even with the Hookem Horns) from an Okie.
This reminds me of the old joke about a drilling competition between the USA and Soviet Russia back before laser drilling was a thing: It goes that the USA sent a drill bit, measure in microns, to their Russian counterparts that was "the smallest possible dill bit in the World". Days later the Russians returned it with a hole drilled through the centre of it along with the bit used still a sliding fit in the hole!
I have a customer I have had to disappoint because the job involved drilling a 2mm hole 170mm deep in steel (for a special firing pin to slide through). Now I have your technique and will build the adapter and try it. It would be a victory for me to be able to do this job. It has bothered me for a year now. Thanks for the super videos you produce, and this one not least!
2 mm is more than 3 times the diameter of this bit. You'll have to give it a try, but it may be too big to do this with? 170 mm is also really deep too. Your typical 2 mm jobber twist drill is not even a quarter that long. It would be quite a feat to get a straight bore that diameter, that depth.
Sinker EDM or some 2mm capillary tube with diamond abrasive glued on the end and trued up. You might have to reapply and true the abrasive several times to get to depth. The key to both of these techniques is they remove the random tangent force that will bend a twist drill off axis.
I made one like that some time ago. I bought one those $150 jobbies, but it had too much runout. I took the chuck off and made a sliding adapter like yours. Works great.
Broke 3 tiny bits before looking. Bring on the names - just want to make TINY holes in 1/4” vintage OAK... Uh oh. Did he say lathe. WELL *P00P* !! I’m talkin hand drill and Wood, so I can put in fine brass nail. darn it.
I use a Amtech R0279 Mini Craft Hand Drill but it doesn't always get positive revues but I have had and used mine for more than ten years. I brake the odd bit still now and then but light pressure and less speed gets the job done and fewer broke A normal hand drill is heavy pushing down on the small bit but the Amtech is plastic with a brass chuck and he did say lathe but I found my self hear by accident too. To make fine holes in wood you could try using a pin push Expo 2mm Pin pusher - ideal for Amati and Peco pins # 75110
Have you tried an Archimedes drill? Gives you much greater control over twist speed & pressure for small jobs. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QUALITY-ARCHIMEDES-PUMP-ACTION-PIN-DRILL-Precision-Model-Pinning-Hand-Tool-/172537853411?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292
Fantastic Joe! I only started fiddling with a mini lathe since I retired and I thank you for posting so many tips, they have helped me learn so much! Keep them coming. With thanks from South Africa.
i drill very small holes in tool steel alot at my job and I just rest my finger on the drill so i can feel it cutting and if it bows at all , say today 12 hole bolt circle thru a2 with a 1/16 drill thru 1.500 of material 12 times 1 drill no breaks ,I have been a tool maker for 40 years and my supervisor who is not a tool maker today tells me not to let him see me doing this again it is a safety hazzard I have been doing this over 30 plus yrs. Broke alot of drills before I found what works and it works for me never an injury .I keep my rpms at between 700 800 and it cuts like butter everyone else is breaking drills running way high rpms and ,like you said no feel..I got angry being told how to do my job by someone that doesn,t know my Job, and this man thinks it,s ok for a toolmaker to try to drill thru steel at 900 rpm,s with a 5/8 drill it was screaming I backed way off waiting for it to grab and shatter the drill sending fragments like bullets thru the air ,,,,wow I was told people have different ways of doing things ,hello yes sir right and wrong. thanks for letting me vent and I hope you answer to this as you said the drill is so small my finger is like leather after 40 yrs. doing this ,would I rest it on a 1/4 drill at 600 700 rpms hell know it would tear my skin off ,,,please reply Sir.
Machining is an art and the appreciation of feedback. Sound, color, smell machine tone changes...everything is a message for those willing to listen. It a shame when a company hires a degree to run a shop where hands are the best tools. Ask your genius boss to demonstrate his preferred technique next time he opens his mouth. Problem solved.
Did something like this when I was working! But smaller! The material was H13 toolsteel, which is a versatile chromium-molybdenum stainless, in this case for use in an injection mould tool for moulding precision medical spray nozzles. The set up was as you saw here, but on a mill with the work piece in a collet in the milling head, and the slide chuck fixed to the table. Two . reasons for this set up, firstly setting and checking concentricity is much easier, and secondly a potential problem with chippings in the hole causing problems, by having the workpiece at the top, they fall out no problem. The drill size was 0.010" and the lubricant was a very cheap one, lick your finger and wipe the drill with it. This was a 128 impression tool we made, so a lot of holes, plus spares. One part was accidentally drilled at 0.008" diameter, we told the customer we'd forgotten to grind that one. This method was also successful at drilling 0.006 diameter for another mould tool. I'm not saying we didn't break drills, of course we did, again various reasons for this, not all drills are equal, drill enough small holes and 'feel' will tell this and you can discard the drill, even so because the drills vary, so does the number of holes you can get before changing, and of course tiredness from concentration and the constant light but firm grip on the drill chuck tells after a while. A useful tip for more than an odd one or two off, rig a dial indicator so that you know the break through point, this is yet another regular source of drill breakage on small holes. In all though a very satisfying process, and I can think of no better way of learning 'feel' .
You can do this with a mill. You need a sensitive drill attachment. It's roughly the same setup, but the drill is spinning and you grab the chuck by a ring that spins on bearings.www.msdiscounttool.com/catalog/product_info.php?csv=gg&products_id=105401&gclid=Cj0KCQjww7HsBRDkARIsAARsIT4gMT3c3RQA5VMN7I1kuGrmW6OWlKt2JMeE8GzT1CvNAgU5r--PNXwaAlbvEALw_wcB
Bob Darli. The only thing I found wrong with the posred website for the attachment is that only in the state of California, the product has material that may cause cancer. All of the other 49 states and the rest of the world can use this product without worry. What can the Californians use?? 😃😃😃
Yes, much better feel by hand. I made a similar slip fit system for hand tapping anything smaller than 10/32 threads. When using your fingers you can really feel that tap binding up and starting to flex. That's when you back out, blow it out, re- oil and go back in for another "peck". Works equally as well on a mill. Good stuff Joe.
When I started as an app. in 1966 ,That spring loaded drill that you explinded in the last of the video is what was used in the Bridgeport and lathe in the shop ..
I have a similar tool made by Rutland that utilizes a Jacobs #0 chuck that closes to 0 on a spring-loaded shaft. I'm in the carburetor business and use it frequently on my miniature Sherline lathe which is smaller than your tailstock. Thank you for your video
So fabulous. I have struggled to make 0.6 mm clearance holes for copper mig welding tips due to breaking drills. The tips are not that expensive to buy, but I have several times needed one when the shops were shut & could not make one. Next time I will try your super useful method. Thank you for sharing!
Springwood Cottage: Forethought and planning has to do with having spare consumables. Kinda like starting a weld fab with only 5 feet of wire left on the spool - just saying... could also drill out your 0.023 or 0.030 tip to 0.045, in a pinch.
Scott Burrous Yes, being organised is best, but as a one man operation I often have to fix things that break in use, often weeks or months between needing to weld, then back to what ever the broken part stopped. Being able to repair tools has often got me going far more quickly than getting new and with welding tips I often burn the wire back into them till I get back to the feel of the welder for the gauge I am at as it's so long between use and on various gauges from car bodies to 3/8 inch.
It is a wasted day when you don't learn something new. Thank you. I must have broken many small drills in my life without realising it was an easy fix.
Maybe a small light pillar drill then use a wooden fork / horseshoe above the chuck to feed it down by hand? You’d have to get the feel of how strong the return spring is though.
Raymond. This isn't for everyone. If you can't use this technique, get over yourself. I personally don't have a lathe and many of us don't. I do however have access to one. My advise to you is to look into the mirror and ask the person you see there, "why don't I have access to a lathe". You might find that your attitude is standing in the way.
reltub20001. erm.............you ok mate? You sound a bit stressed because of the way you completely flew off the handle there and in fact ended up sounding like you are the one whom has the attitude problem. Can’t help but feel you may be over reacting to a throw away comment. It’s not the end of the world. Just a comment on UA-cam. Chill out.
Mope. I am tired of people making the negative comments when they find something that may not work for them. Okay, maybe I'm stressed a bit. I'll work on that.
Reminds me of the japanese "more than a human" show, where an old turnwright drilled a 0.35 mm hole on a normal lathe through a 0.5 mm diameter pencil lead, which was about 50 mm in length. All he said "it is about the feel". My hats off to that guy.
Jaakko Fagerlund check out the Japanese series “Extreme Skill!”, you can find episodes on UA-cam. They have a lot of great episodes, including things like making a 3 mm rope they must be capable of lifting a truck, or machining a top that can spin for as long as possible on a 1 cm pedestal.
An excellent tip, I have done much the same thing myself with a home-made device. I see a few negative comments which are totally uncalled-for, Joe is kind enough to share some good workshop tips, if you don't have a use personally there are plenty who do, don't knock it.
I realise that this is an old post but have to say that I completely agree, Joe is a teaching legend! He has a real knack of keeping it interesting and at the same time getting really useful information across. Big thumbs up for the guy 👍
Hear! Hear!👍
Thanks very much. I've been in engineering for 50 years and have never seen this trick, not done that much small drilling but enough to know I appreciate your video!
I ordered 10 x 0.3mm microbits! After breaking 6 of them I came across this video and built the adapter. I now have two 0.3 mm holes in my project. Thank you for making this video! Greetings from the Netherlands
Glad I could help! Did you break any after making the adapter?
@@joepie221 None what so ever!
@@geordykorte Wow. Even with that adapter 0.3mm is pretty impressive.
As someone else mentioned "There are small chucks that can be bought ready made with a sliding shank and a knurled grip to hold onto so you have feel.". I have one and that certainly has been a life saver - that type does do good in the mill due to its contstruction.
Your approach is essentially very similar and a great solution for sure - it is essential to have that 'feel'. I'm sure a good many folks will find that super useful.
You've helped me meet my goal of learning something new every day.
Thanks
Peter Walker
Thank you for telling me that. Stay tuned.
Thanks Joe.I'm an old guy (72) but still learning,.It never stops until your sucking dirt.,thanks to people like you and the magic of the internet
My Father used to say, "A day you don't learn something is a wasted day". The man read and studied right to the end. He was amazing in his quest for education.
With small drills like that, I usually buy 3: One to lose on the floor, the second to break, and the third to do the job. I now feel confident enough to buy only two, and hopefully not drop either!
Thank You Joe ! I really do appreciate all the videos you do . I am hobby machinist , I’ve been a Heavy Equipment mechanic for over 40 years I work for Caterpillar Warrencat . I learn something new everyday . Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and wisdom . Looking forward to learning more from your videos. Sincerely, Steve W Black - Anadarko., Oklahoma
I thought of this, two seconds after I saw that adapter ... near 80 years old and still learning ... thanks!
All of Joe's tips are obvious once you've seen them. Before? Not so much.
GREAT video, been an "old school" machinist for 50+ years and just learned something new......gonna make that adapter today, love it. Thanks
Joe, great trick.
If you clamp a small V-block on the OD of that female mandrel, you can magnet mount a dial indicator depth.
Aaah grasshopper, this is not a trick, but rather critical thinking and the ability to think outside the box and find simple solutions to complex problems. It comes easy to some, in a MacGyver kind of way, and others can't see the forest for the trees. Bravo to those of us that can size up and quickly find solutions to confounding problems that stump others. Necessity IS the mother of invention !!!
Thank you joe, I needed to make 130 pieces like that out of steel at work.
And this video saved me a lot of bits sweat and tears!
Thank you Thank you Thank you Joe. I make small brass parts with small holes drilled deep. No matter how light my touch is on the tailstock crank, the "feel" is zero. From your great vidoe I can see how much quicker and easier it will be with the free sliding chuck. Indeed a "light bulb" moment for this amateur!
Absolute Great Video Joe!!!! I'm into Clock Repair and I think You Just solved a huge problem. Some guys hold the bit freehand in a pin vice because they're afraid of snapping it. I can't see how that can give you any kind of close tolerance. Your method eliminates that freehand wobble. Thanks Again!!
The theory can be applied many ways. It gives great feedback for small holes. You'll like it.
One of my old bosses had a sign in the shop that said "If you don't know what lever A is then leaver B". I learned "the feel" from that guy after he stood behind and watched me try to burn a 3/8" drill bit through a stainless plate at high speed and I do mean Glowing Red with all the force I had in me at the time. Talk about work hardening Hahaaa!! Thankfully, "finesse" as he called it or "the feel" as you say is a skill I was capable of acquiring with a little bit of proper coaching. Cool trick man. Rock on Joe, with your 2017 post I somehow missed? Wtf
I see someone else calls that a sensitive chuck. Had mine given to me by an old machinist who retired and passed many great tools to me. That sensitive chuck adapter saved my goose many times over. I never realized till now how expensive that thing is. A treasured tool because a craftsman gave it to me who I highly respected. I bet those who build your design will have no less a tressured tool. Nothing is more frustrating than fighting and breaking tiny drill bits, unless it's a tiny dull center drill, lol... Another great tip Joe and your right feel is everything for doing good work.
Joe I made the tool to drill .040 holes in 2 orifice I made of brass. It worked great. 👍🏻. Thanks!
Nice work!
Joe, I made the same type of adapter sleeve as you when I was working as a journeyman machinist for a 2 piece D&I sanitary steel food can plant. The D&I bodymakers worked on hydrostatic principles and required small jets made from 1/4 -20 x 1/4 stainless cup point set screws at the various pressure points on the machine. The holes varied in size anywhere from .014 to .036 to control the static and dynamic pressures required at that point. Long story short, the sleeve does a great job of being able to allow you to feel what the drill is doing in the material. I'm 57, and I remember being told when I was a green apprentice about learning to develop" a good feel". Another good video Joe.And I hope the younger guys appreciate these tips because you pay for this experience with your life.
Very true. Thanks for the comment.
That is genius ! But now damn it, its 10:30 at night and I have to go to the shop to make this and play with it !!
Brother, I watched this 4 times because I love the ingenuity. Awesome.
Oh MAN!....you did it again,...I had to stop what I was doing to write this...Sorry for repeating my self mate, but to the likes of me (and I am sure many thousands of others...) this type of generous guidance is so amazingly selfless, and I for one am so grateful for these gems.....I am frustrated that I can't give anything comparable back...Agggh!....Nice one Joe!!!...:-). please keep up this great content; you are some guy:-)
Thank you Sir.
Really excellent technique. I have broken many small bits, doing it the wrong way, as you explained. Thanks again
Hi Joe, I'm a freelance engineer working in the medical device space and over the years and out of necessity I've become something of a hack 'machinist'. I took machining classes in college but they were only good enough for me to know the basics of how to operate a lathe and mill. The rest of what I've learned has come from OJT. I've been fortunate to pick up some very useful techniques from machinists at places I've worked, but when I started my own company, I often had to develop my own methods because there was no one around to ask and at the time, youtube had more cat videos than useful content. Since youtube has matured, the world is fortunate to have several content providers who've made the rest of us homeshoppers and hacks into much better 'machinists'. As I've surfed youtube, I've run across a handful of content providers that I've found useful, but your content is top-notch. Your videos stand out because you provide tips and techniques that are clearly driven by a real pro who needs dead-nuts reliable techniques that don't break tools, make setup straightforward and easy, and make money. I admit that you can be a little tough for me to follow the first (or second!) time through, but nothing I can't eventually figure out. Thanks for all the content you provide. I'll be working my way through your catalog of videos to see what new and useful things I can add to my 'toolbox' of techniques.
My business was born out of the need for specialized Knee and Hip instrumentation. I am a former associate knee product development engineer for Zimmer. What field are you in?
@@joepie221 I'm in the minimally invasive space, and over the years I've ended up dealing in vascular, peripheral, neuro and structural heart applications. My belief is that in my niche, it's important to have control over the means of fabrication - it just wouldn't be practical from a cost, timeline, and iteration standpoint to send everything out. And because I'm a freelancer, that means I'm the designer AND the machinist. Somehow a lot of my designs utilize really small holes
Joe, simple yet brilliant. Thank you sir.
Another great video. I just completed a wing rack gear out of .375 square X 7" long aluminum. Cross milling with .061 end mill @ .160 intervals, .100 deep over the 7" length. I didn't have the 'feel' and broke three .061 end mills during the process. That FEEL doesn't come cheap. I will be making one of these for my lathe. Thank you.
I'm a turner,miller but before that worked as an engineers storeman. While I was there I perused a tap and die catologue and saw that as regular stock they could supply a 4 thousandths of an inch (one tenth of a millimetre) tap with 318 teeth per inch. I would have crapped myself if I was told to use one. It's another world.
A mill/drill version of this micro drill does exist. Years ago I made one for our tool room before we found out we could buy one. The micro drill chuck in this video can be upgraded fairly easily. 1. cut a key slot in the shank. 2.drill and tap the outer sleeve, the female part or adapter, on center and near the open end and install 'dog' tip set screw. The dog end set screw is used to drive the chuck but still allow the shank to extend and retract. 3. Cut a small groove for a snap ring about 1/4 inch rom the back of the chuck. this will hold a 'finger ring', basically just a washer, that you hold to control the depth. Here is a store bought adapter that uses a key and slot. Hopefully there is enough info between my quick explanation and the pic to make your own!
As I have commented before, the keyed mill versions of this concept will not allow you to let go and have the chuck spin if the drill starts to bind.
Awesome, I always have that problem of breaking the tiny brill. Thank you.
You're a life saver Joe. I need to drill some 1.2mm holes in 304 stainless and I've been dreading it until I saw this video. Though I'll be doing it on a mill, your comments below to use a micro drill adapter have shown me the way. Thanks!
Thanks Joe,
For an excellent suggestion. Would it also help to put the bit further into the chuck and then gradually draw it out as you progress with the drilling
Absolutely
My Dad used exactly that method for scratch building small scale model compressed air-driven engines, for longer than I can remember. I never saw him break a drill bit in over 50 years. Thanks for highlighting it.
Joe; talking about "feel" on a larger scale, I read an acticle about building the Alcan highway to Alaska. They interviewed this old bulldozer operator who was operating on a very steep slope. When asked how he knew when he thought his Cat was about to tip over he replied "You got to feel it in your ass". The human body is an amazing thing when it comes to our senses.
I would not want to try to replicate the perfection of the human body mechanically. Just think about how much is going on when a pencil rolls off your desk and you catch it before it hits the floor. Good luck with that. On a different note, I had the opportunity to scuba dive inside a ship wreck that was just slightly listing to the left on the bottom. As I swam down the hallway, my eyes wanted to swim parallel to the floor because it looked natural, but my equilibrium told me to swim level to the bottom of the ocean. It was a strange sensation to come to a comfortable position and not get sick from the conflict. Thanks for your comment.
There's showing a trick (new technique), and there's showing how and why it works. Without the how and why, it's just a one off thing, and hit or miss technique. The explanation of why it works makes all the difference. Thanks!
i like the theory part as well. it helps drive home the practical part of the demonstration. Thanks for the comment.
On the subject of Tiny Drills, if your bit is too small for the chuck to clamp down on, spiral wrap the drill shank with fine copper wire then put it in the chuck and snug it down tight. Works in a pinch.👍🏻
I like that idea. Thanks.
Genius!!!. I used to say, "Let the material, and the bit TELL YA WHAT TO DO." My machinist boss just shook his head, incredulous. Yet it worked. Thanks for REPROVING IT!
The boss isn't always the smartest guy in the shop.
Some times the guy that becomes the boss is the guy that is taking all the time and not working much , so if that guy gets the boss job then there is no lose in perduction , if a good worker gets moved up perduction will go down and may take 2 or 3 people to replace that good worker .
@@kennethnevel3263 unfortunately.
They should be let go,in my opinion.
Super method. Wow, that is a great solution; much appreciate your sharing it. Thank you.
Just curious; what's the tolerance between the drill chuck shank and the cylinder holding it? Thanks
About .0005". Close enough that the air hole in the arbor is a must or it won't go in.
Really a super video again Joe!!! I’ve always been super fortunate to have use of Hardinge HLVH SUPER PRECISION lathes.wherever I was employed. Not much of a machine for medium to large parts, but for small to micro parts nothing could compare! The tail stock was a monster to remove from the lathe, but for small hole drilling in most materials I think anyone could be a master machinist in no time. I had one of the precision drill chucks you mentioned and the smallest hole I ever drilled was .005” and only .020” deep in aluminum. Luckily the lathe spindle speed was 3,000 rpm. The surprising thing to me was I actually preferred to drill 304 stainless. Every time when drilling, I’d get the most beautiful two chips coming out of the hole. I was surprised how much force I was putting on the drill without it breaking! Thanks so much Joe for your always interesting machining videos.
How clever is that? - Brilliant trick. Thank you for sharing...
You'll like it once you try it. Great tool feedback.
I have one of the commercial ones but I like your's as well. Mine is keyed for use on a mill with a free spinning collar to push on. Your design is better on the lathe because you also get feedback on how much bite the bit has. I've snapped several bits on mine. Looks like I'll be making a new tool. Thanks for sharing.
...."...all I got"...this is excellent!!!
Hey this is something I needed yesterday! I was putting an oil pass on a rifle! I am an gunsmith hobby wise!! Both of my grandfathers were machinist and I learned a lot from my dads father I didn’t get to meet the other!! This is a valuable trade and I have loved it for 40 years!!! Thanks
New here, the micro drill title caught our attention because well we are micro machinists so your 26 thousands just under 6.5 mm for us as watchmakers we do millimeter more often. I hope my micro drill press does not begin to stall out here at 6.5 mm as that is really large for us. Just funin, you are good.
To correct you, 26 thousands is not just under 6.5mm. Its about 3/4 of 1mm. .026, not .260
@@joepie221 Thank you that is what I get for trying to convert inches to my mm's, thank you for correcting me.
@@ActiveAtom You aren't the first...nor the last.
But it is, to all intents and purposes, 0.65mm, so he got his decimal point out by one place. I'm sure that would have become obvious if he ever had to perform the task in reality... At one shop I worked at, a guy converted a dimension wrongly, from metric to the inches he was so much more familiar with, and we ended up with a roomful of aircraft spec light alloy billets, all 5mm, or a little over 3/16" too short for the task... @@joepie221
I use the same technique in a milling machine and lathe to tap small holes. It keeps the tap lined up while allowing you to feel when the chips are building up or bind so you don't snap the fragile small taps. I have never used it to drill small holes on a lathe, but now I will. Thanks.
You'll like the feedback and sensitivity.
I've seen and copied a much larger version intended for safely tapping LARGE holes in a lathe, but still with the feel you get by hand. It's based on a long hollow quill which slides on the _outside_ of the tailstock barrel, with a 3/4" Jacobs Superchuck (a keyed, ball bearing chuck which can grip almost like a collet) at the front end.
A go-kart wheel bolted to the back end enables the operator to push the tap into engagement and then, using both hands, safely resist the torque of a big tap even in a blind hole.
Just keep your thumbs clear of where the spokes will spin if the tap jams or bottoms!
It's lapped to a neat fit on the barrel so it slides nicely and permits the tap to self feed. When you reverse out you can speed things up by also spinning the wheel in reverse.
Works a treat up to M16 or 5/8-11" in steel, or with serial taps in stainless. Also down to M4.
Sherline has a “sensitive drilling attachment for doing this with THEIR MINIATURE HOBBYIST MILLING MACHINE. (The drill spins, but you feed manually in a similar manner). I think the Sherline unit cost around a hundred bucks....
Looks like a great tool and technique. The idea of rotating the work while holding the drill bit still is great. It solves much of the complication of making a sensitive drilling attachment. Of course it does limit you to drilling holes on parts that can be held in the lathe chuck.
I followed a link to this video from a question on the PM board about using a 0.004" drill bit. I have used a 1/64" bit (0.0156") in my Unimat lathe and in the drill press configuration of that machine with NO problems. So 0.026" does not worry me in the least unless it is a cheap, poorly made bit. I have even used a pin vise for drilling 1/32" holes (0.0312") holes in softer materials by hand with no problems. The pin vise allows me to rotate the drill bit using my thumb and forefinger, without moving my hand. That eliminates the movement that other hand held methods will allow and which causes the drill bits to break. The 1/32" and 1/64" bits in my shop are both around 40+ years old and have at least a dozen holes behind each of them. I haven't broken them yet. Now that 0.004" bit does make me pause a bit but I will make a note to get one and try that using this technique some time soon.
As an additional note, I would not try this with my SB-9 even though it has very little runout. The Unimat can run at 7,500 and perhaps even 10,000 RPM while the SB is limited to about 3,000.
I always buy cobalt micro drill bits. They work good in a pin vice also
You're the best. Cut to the chase and explain it out in a way another mechanic can understand. Best to you and your's for the Holiday Season.
Thank you. Have a great Holiday season as well.
Not in a million years would I have thought of that!
Thank you very much Joe, bloody life saver, I’m sick of breaking small drills and more sick having to go to the shops and spend the money to keep replacing them, thanks again mate 👌🏼
I didn't remember watching .
My only complaint is I can't leave a 2nd LIKE ;)
I appreciate that.
Thank you, from the UK. So many micro drills I've broken over the years, and had no idea about this setup!
So, if you can't afford a lathe you can't drill tiny holes, is that it? Brilliant idea though. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Joe. I trained as a machinist yet have never been shown this. You’re up there with the best mate and I appreciate your time. Cheers mate.
You're absolutely right about the 'feel' of the drilling/cutting. Once you've lost the feel, you've lost your drill bit!
When I was in the Air Force in the early 80's my shop chief taught me how to do this. Great to see it's making the rounds again!
Maybe I taught him how to do it. ya never know.
being a swiss apprentice micromecanician i can understand why you would have some difficulties with drilling that small of a hole with such a lathe so good job but if you take the good machine for the good job you'd have no problem drilling this hole, for example the smallest hole i ever drilled with a lathe was 0.2mm on a schaublin 70 lathe the hole ended up being 0.215mm in diameter but i was in my tolerance so the job was done
Agreed, 1350 RPM is way too slow for the drill bit he's using - but that's probably about as fast as that lathe will spin. At a speed of 50 sfm (recommended for stainless), a .026" drill should be turning around 7500 RPM!
It sounds to me like you are a CNC lathe guy. If the feed isn't perfectly inline with the RPM, this drill wouldn't last a minute at that speed. Obviously my RPM was fine for the process because it works perfectly. Every time.
I also see you are a ST subscriber. Ask DB to do this at 7500 rpm by hand and get back to me.
Bryan rou
I have to drill 0.32mm diameter drill. Depth is 12mm.Material is EN31 fully annealed .
Can you suggest better way than hand drilling?
Vikram
mefavkd@hotmail.com
I just used your technique and it worked great. Thanks, I didn't know what I was going to do, my drill was a .040" so bigger than yours but I couldn't have done it without you.
Glad it helped!
Great video. Can you tell me what material the drill was made of, seemed to have no problem cutting
Most of my small drill are Cobalt.
I think "the feel" is different for everyone and mostly gets learned from many many mistakes and remembering what things felt like right before they happened. Ive been a mechanic for 15 years and through all the experience I can tighten a bolt to within a reasonable torque and can tell when a bolts going to snap (usually) long before it does. I definitely agree that kind of thing can't be taught.
Nice trick. I work with stainless every day. Sure does test my patience
Yes it does!
As you said, a very old trick, but one of which many today seem unaware..... During WW2 my mother used to make welding tips in a factory in London using a similar method. She got extra wages because her production rate was high and she never broke drills.
Genius! I do work on musical instruments and use these sizes all the time. Do you have any tips regarding small drills straight into the sides of curved steel? Usually working with steel cylinders OD .085, drilling holes at right angles with a .020-.035 drill and reaming after. I would love to hear your thoughts on reducing walk, getting perfectly centered holes, and getting precise distance measurements between holes.
If possible, make a hollow guide that your tube fits into. This guide should have the hole through it the size of your tube, and a cross hole just like you want in your part. The main hole keeps the tube located, and the cross hole "guide hole" keeps the small drill from walking when it hits the actual part.
Joe Pieczynski thanks so much! That is the best method that has ever been suggested to me. We all have basic machining skills, but the practical problem solving stuff can sometimes be elusive. Love your vids, the threading techniques are ace.
Thanks as a 71 year old newbie what a pleasure watching your Chanel.
Genious method! Thanks
Always a pleasure Joe. I could have bet you while you in the office at the beginning of your video, exactly what it was that you showed us here. It is kind of you to share, I recall how selfish 'some' of those crotchety old timers could be back when I was an an apprentice. However in '78, I took a job in a tool room at a stamping company, and I was lucky enough to work for a journeyman that was a lot like you. Thanks.
I looked up to the guy that trained me. Chet Z. a fellow Pollock from NJ.
Stick a small digital caliper along the adapter and have a accurate depth gauge.
Nice technique. I was taught to use a pin vice sliding on a drill blank mounted in a Jacobs chuck. As the drills get into the very small sizes (76, 80) it’s even easier to get the feel. Your RPM seemed a little slow to me for Stainless. Having a high speed bench lathe or a Hardinge toolroom lathe makes life easier too.
Keep up the great work. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure.
Mmm, What about drilling a .5mm hole 3" long on brass rod..What type of bit would you use?
I'd use several and start from both sides. Finish with a reamer if possible.
Thank you Joe. I bought that lathe and that Mill. Bolt the Bolton lathe and the Grizzly g705 drill Mill. I gave 1700 for both of them. They're like new I'll be doing a video on them, they're still sitting on a pallets, because he had moved and the shipping company put them on pallets before you moved so they are still on pallets in my garage. I'm trying to figure out where to put them. Thank you for all your help in purchasing them.
That is clever, I don’t have a lathe for metal. but still interesting.
Very good Idea. I am a hobby machinist. When I was taught lathe work many years ago the instructor emphasised "develop a feel for the procedures you use". I will be using the method you have shown. Thankyou Joe
I've heard that since I was in shop in highschool in the 70's, I don't do much metal work these days, mostly wood, but the "feel" is bang on. You know when something's wrong....specially when using a circular saw through maple plywood with a dull blade....
Cool, never seen that before
Amazing simplicity to a scary drilling operation. I know this will be of great help to me in the future. One of the best videos I've seen.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Personally, i liked Star Wars more, but this was a good video.
I'm a Watchmaker. That drill bit is fairly large to me.
www.testntools.co.nz/desic-tungsten-micro-drill-bits-0.3mm-3.1mm-5-pack.html
I know what you mean, my grandpa the clockmaker, and nationwide clock repairman for montgomery wards did all his practically microscopic hole drilling by hand.
@@MatthewHolevinski that is still a standard method. My grandfather and father had contracts with the Railroad until they went to Satalite. I'd like to add we use an abrasive piece of Corundum to shape, harden, and polish high carbon steel 0.002mm/min material displacement on average sized conical pivots for the balance staff on modern Watches creating super hardened mirrored surfaces. The larger size balance pivots on an 18 size Elgin pocket watch are typically between 0.11mm and .014mm. In Jeweled mechanisms (7j-21j) those pivots also glide on a Corundum surface that is also drilled. Corundum is the same composition as Ruby and Sapphire with a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale. Gypsum is a 1 and Diamond is a 10. Ps. It is rare but Diamond jewels have also been used. Naturally Diamond is also the abrasive used in such drilling applications. The drill bit looks like a hair with a double heli and the diamond "slurry" is a fine powder added with oil. I typically only need a 20%mm dia 3.8mm long Tungsten Carbide HHS bit for small brass pivot holes www.mikrontool.com/en/Products/CrazyDrill-Flex/Description I also drill by hand using a "Steaking Tool" to stay perpendicular to the plates.
Love your videos Joe. I tell all the new guys I work with in the directional drilling business you can't teach experience. You showing us all techniques and the why make your videos priceless. Thank you for all you do (even with the Hookem Horns) from an Okie.
This reminds me of the old joke about a drilling competition between the USA and Soviet Russia back before laser drilling was a thing:
It goes that the USA sent a drill bit, measure in microns, to their Russian counterparts that was "the smallest possible dill bit in the World".
Days later the Russians returned it with a hole drilled through the centre of it along with the bit used still a sliding fit in the hole!
A story exists that Germany did that with Japan .
All ways something new on your channel keep them coming Joe.
Brilliant!!
I have a customer I have had to disappoint because the job involved drilling a 2mm hole 170mm deep in steel (for a special firing pin to slide through). Now I have your technique and will build the adapter and try it. It would be a victory for me to be able to do this job. It has bothered me for a year now. Thanks for the super videos you produce, and this one not least!
2 mm is more than 3 times the diameter of this bit. You'll have to give it a try, but it may be too big to do this with? 170 mm is also really deep too. Your typical 2 mm jobber twist drill is not even a quarter that long. It would be quite a feat to get a straight bore that diameter, that depth.
Sinker EDM or some 2mm capillary tube with diamond abrasive glued on the end and trued up. You might have to reapply and true the abrasive several times to get to depth. The key to both of these techniques is they remove the random tangent force that will bend a twist drill off axis.
So, you used digital control for the drill... :-)
James I had to think on this one. HaHa!
I made one like that some time ago. I bought one those $150 jobbies, but it had too much runout. I took the chuck off and made a sliding adapter like yours. Works great.
Broke 3 tiny bits before looking. Bring on the names - just want to make TINY holes in 1/4” vintage OAK...
Uh oh. Did he say lathe.
WELL *P00P* !! I’m talkin hand drill and Wood, so I can put in fine brass nail.
darn it.
I use a Amtech R0279 Mini Craft Hand Drill but it doesn't always get positive revues but I have had and used mine for more than ten years. I brake the odd bit still now and then but light pressure and less speed gets the job done and fewer broke A normal hand drill is heavy pushing down on the small bit but the Amtech is plastic with a brass chuck and he did say lathe but I found my self hear by accident too. To make fine holes in wood you could try using a pin push Expo 2mm Pin pusher - ideal for Amati and Peco pins # 75110
Have you tried an Archimedes drill?
Gives you much greater control over twist speed & pressure for small jobs.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QUALITY-ARCHIMEDES-PUMP-ACTION-PIN-DRILL-Precision-Model-Pinning-Hand-Tool-/172537853411?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292
I have put a drill bit in a pin vice and drilled it by hand. It takes forever but it might work for you.
The double chuck, Mr. Norris would be proud! Gotta say I've broken a couple of these tiny bits, cool setup and good way to get the "feel" back.
Thanks Chubbza5. Always good to know you're watching.
So, the secret to not break your little drill bits is to buy a lathe...
Fantastic Joe! I only started fiddling with a mini lathe since I retired and I thank you for posting so many tips, they have helped me learn so much! Keep them coming. With thanks from South Africa.
i drill very small holes in tool steel alot at my job and I just rest my finger on the drill so i can feel it cutting and if it bows at all , say today 12 hole bolt circle thru a2 with a 1/16 drill thru 1.500 of material 12 times 1 drill no breaks ,I have been a tool maker for 40 years and my supervisor who is not a tool maker today tells me not to let him see me doing this again it is a safety hazzard I have been doing this over 30 plus yrs. Broke alot of drills before I found what works and it works for me never an injury .I keep my rpms at between 700 800 and it cuts like butter everyone else is breaking drills running way high rpms and ,like you said no feel..I got angry being told how to do my job by someone that doesn,t know my Job, and this man thinks it,s ok for a toolmaker to try to drill thru steel at 900 rpm,s with a 5/8 drill it was screaming I backed way off waiting for it to grab and shatter the drill sending fragments like bullets thru the air ,,,,wow I was told people have different ways of doing things ,hello yes sir right and wrong. thanks for letting me vent and I hope you answer to this as you said the drill is so small my finger is like leather after 40 yrs. doing this ,would I rest it on a 1/4 drill at 600 700 rpms hell know it would tear my skin off ,,,please reply Sir.
Machining is an art and the appreciation of feedback. Sound, color, smell machine tone changes...everything is a message for those willing to listen. It a shame when a company hires a degree to run a shop where hands are the best tools. Ask your genius boss to demonstrate his preferred technique next time he opens his mouth. Problem solved.
Did something like this when I was working! But smaller! The material was H13 toolsteel, which is a versatile chromium-molybdenum stainless, in this case for use in an injection mould tool for moulding precision medical spray nozzles. The set up was as you saw here, but on a mill with the work piece in a collet in the milling head, and the slide chuck fixed to the table. Two . reasons for this set up, firstly setting and checking concentricity is much easier, and secondly a potential problem with chippings in the hole causing problems, by having the workpiece at the top, they fall out no problem. The drill size was 0.010" and the lubricant was a very cheap one, lick your finger and wipe the drill with it. This was a 128 impression tool we made, so a lot of holes, plus spares. One part was accidentally drilled at 0.008" diameter, we told the customer we'd forgotten to grind that one. This method was also successful at drilling 0.006 diameter for another mould tool. I'm not saying we didn't break drills, of course we did, again various reasons for this, not all drills are equal, drill enough small holes and 'feel' will tell this and you can discard the drill, even so because the drills vary, so does the number of holes you can get before changing, and of course tiredness from concentration and the constant light but firm grip on the drill chuck tells after a while. A useful tip for more than an odd one or two off, rig a dial indicator so that you know the break through point, this is yet another regular source of drill breakage on small holes. In all though a very satisfying process, and I can think of no better way of learning 'feel' .
You can do this with a mill. You need a sensitive drill attachment. It's roughly the same setup, but the drill is spinning and you grab the chuck by a ring that spins on bearings.www.msdiscounttool.com/catalog/product_info.php?csv=gg&products_id=105401&gclid=Cj0KCQjww7HsBRDkARIsAARsIT4gMT3c3RQA5VMN7I1kuGrmW6OWlKt2JMeE8GzT1CvNAgU5r--PNXwaAlbvEALw_wcB
Bob Darli. The only thing I found wrong with the posred website for the attachment is that only in the state of California, the product has material that may cause cancer. All of the other 49 states and the rest of the world can use this product without worry. What can the Californians use?? 😃😃😃
Yes, much better feel by hand. I made a similar slip fit system for hand tapping anything smaller than 10/32 threads. When using your fingers you can really feel that tap binding up and starting to flex. That's when you back out, blow it out, re- oil and go back in for another "peck". Works equally as well on a mill. Good stuff Joe.
This video is 10 times longer than it needs to be.
Maybe not, some people still don't get it!
When I started as an app. in 1966 ,That spring loaded drill that you explinded in the last of the video is what was used in the Bridgeport and lathe in the shop ..
"feel"=trigger time...nothing replaces time in the seat
Thats a fact.
I have a similar tool made by Rutland that utilizes a Jacobs #0 chuck that closes to 0 on a spring-loaded shaft. I'm in the carburetor business and use it frequently on my miniature Sherline lathe which is smaller than your tailstock. Thank you for your video
Too bad we don't all have lathes !
Very cool! Great tip Joe. Thanks for pointing out the air bleed hole in the adapter.
I guarantee that twist bit didnt come from harbor freight
You would be correct.
No😂😂
@@joepie221 what maker of drills do you use?
So fabulous. I have struggled to make 0.6 mm clearance holes for copper mig welding tips due to breaking drills. The tips are not that expensive to buy, but I have several times needed one when the shops were shut & could not make one. Next time I will try your super useful method. Thank you for sharing!
Springwood Cottage: Forethought and planning has to do with having spare consumables. Kinda like starting a weld fab with only 5 feet of wire left on the spool - just saying...
could also drill out your 0.023 or 0.030 tip to 0.045, in a pinch.
Scott Burrous Yes, being organised is best, but as a one man operation I often have to fix things that break in use, often weeks or months between needing to weld, then back to what ever the broken part stopped. Being able to repair tools has often got me going far more quickly than getting new and with welding tips I often burn the wire back into them till I get back to the feel of the welder for the gauge I am at as it's so long between use and on various gauges from car bodies to 3/8 inch.
Excellent tip!
I wonder if mosquitoes find this pornographic? ;-)
It is a wasted day when you don't learn something new. Thank you. I must have broken many small drills in my life without realising it was an easy fix.
so, in order to save my small (0.2mm - 1mm) drills all I need to do is buy a lathe. EXCELLENT...…………………… ??
Simple right?
Maybe a small light pillar drill then use a wooden fork / horseshoe above the chuck to feed it down by hand? You’d have to get the feel of how strong the return spring is though.
Raymond. This isn't for everyone. If you can't use this technique, get over yourself. I personally don't have a lathe and many of us don't. I do however have access to one. My advise to you is to look into the mirror and ask the person you see there, "why don't I have access to a lathe". You might find that your attitude is standing in the way.
reltub20001. erm.............you ok mate? You sound a bit stressed because of the way you completely flew off the handle there and in fact ended up sounding like you are the one whom has the attitude problem.
Can’t help but feel you may be over reacting to a throw away comment. It’s not the end of the world. Just a comment on UA-cam. Chill out.
Mope. I am tired of people making the negative comments when they find something that may not work for them. Okay, maybe I'm stressed a bit. I'll work on that.
Reminds me of the japanese "more than a human" show, where an old turnwright drilled a 0.35 mm hole on a normal lathe through a 0.5 mm diameter pencil lead, which was about 50 mm in length. All he said "it is about the feel". My hats off to that guy.
Jaakko Fagerlund check out the Japanese series “Extreme Skill!”, you can find episodes on UA-cam. They have a lot of great episodes, including things like making a 3 mm rope they must be capable of lifting a truck, or machining a top that can spin for as long as possible on a 1 cm pedestal.