Blacksmithing tools

[N2 Welding]

Heating might areal the temper a little to soften the steel but I would not cut while it is hot. Someone with more experiance should chime in here shortly.

[shortfuse]

Heating tool steel, which drill bits SHOULD be made of... don't know about HF bits, who know??...past about 600*F will remove tempering, heat past cherry red will remove most hardening.

Annealing, which is heating most steels past red, and cooling slowly in ashes or vermiculite, will remove all heat treating. Heating drill bits will certainly not be a good idea! If your bit has turned blue or purple during drilling, you probably have removed some of the original temper and hardness.

[Need Advice]

Heating might areal the temper a little to soften the steel but I would not cut while it is hot. Someone with more experiance should chime in here shortly.

Heating tool steel, which drill bits SHOULD be made of... don't know about HF bits, who know??...past about 600*F will remove tempering, heat past cherry red will remove most hardening.

Annealing, which is heating most steels past red, and cooling slowly in ashes or vermiculite, will remove all heat treating. Heating drill bits will certainly not be a good idea! If your bit has turned blue or purple during drilling, you probably have removed some of the original temper and hardness.

Thanks. I did find a Milwaukee drill bit that got the job done. It was hard drilling through 1 1/2" thick steel with my cordless drill but i got er done.

[N2 Welding]

Usually if I am drilling by hand I will do it in steps of about 1/8” to reduce how hard it is to drill the hole. I just broke the bolt on my dewalt XR drill that holds the chuck to the shaft by drilling out the 5/8” hole on the suitcase weight bracket. Smashed my finger and thumb at the same time. Drilling big holes like that by hand is a real pita. Drill every hole you can with a drill press when possible.

[shortfuse]

Thanks. I did find a Milwaukee drill bit that got the job done. It was hard drilling through 1 1/2" thick steel with my cordless drill but i got er done.

Drilling 1 1/2" steel with a cordless is quite an accomplishment. What mfg. is your cordless drill?

[Need Advice]

Drilling 1 1/2" steel with a cordless is quite an accomplishment. What mfg. is your cordless drill?

Its a Milwaukee M18 Fuel hammer drill with high output batteries. I wouldn't want to use it for that purpose a lot though because my drill got hot.

[whtbaron]

If I'm drilling or grinding a lot, I like to keep 2 or 3 drills or grinders handy to switch them off as they warm up. I find they last a lot longer that way.

[Need Advice]

If I'm drilling or grinding a lot, I like to keep 2 or 3 drills or grinders handy to switch them off as they warm up. I find they last a lot longer that way.

Thats a good idea.

[shortfuse]

Need Advice,

One thing to keep in mind on drilling thick or tough steel is that you can actually work harden the steel during drilling. Metal drilling should be done with plenty of down force and constant drilling speed. If you let up on the pressure or pull out and go back, the steel can actually harden somewhat. You can immediately tell if that's happened when you resume drilling if you're using a good sharp bit. It will seem like it's just stopped making hole...which it has. I've had that happen several times. Of course, when changing bits or drills you have to stop, but you might refrain from going straight back to drilling immediately, let the metal cool off a bit before resuming.

[Need Advice]

Need Advice,

One thing to keep in mind on drilling thick or tough steel is that you can actually work harden the steel during drilling. Metal drilling should be done with plenty of down force and constant drilling speed. If you let up on the pressure or pull out and go back, the steel can actually harden somewhat. You can immediately tell if that's happened when you resume drilling if you're using a good sharp bit. It will seem like it's just stopped making hole...which it has. I've had that happen several times. Of course, when changing bits or drills you have to stop, but you might refrain from goin straight back to drilling immediately, let the metal cool off a bit before resuming.

Thanks for the advice.

[whtbaron]

A slow turning drill will also help your bits last longer. Less heat produced to remove the bits temper and harden the work. My drill press is down around 80 rpm. If you have variable speed, resist the temptation to spin the drill fast and hopefully remove more metal.

[Need Advice]

A slow turning drill will also help your bits last longer. Less heat produced to remove the bits temper and harden the work. My drill press is down around 80 rpm. If you have variable speed, resist the temptation to spin the drill fast and hopefully remove more metal.

The slowest speed on my press is 520.

[shortfuse]

There are some tables out there, Machinery Handbook, etc. that tell what speed, pressure, bit and hole size and so forth to optimize metal drilling. I could never figure the darn things out because it seems they want linear speed, such as inches per minute or something like that, not RPMs. Cornfusing at best. Like whtbaron said, slow is better.

[Need Advice]

There are some tables out there, Machinery Handbook, etc. that tell what speed, pressure, bit and hole size and so forth to optimize metal drilling. I could never figure the darn things out because it seems they want linear speed, such as inches per minute or something like that, not RPMs. Cornfusing at best. Like whtbaron said, slow is better.

One day i'll find an other drill press.

[Lis2323]

One day i'll find an other drill press.

Add a jackshaft to your existing DP to slow it down.






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[Need Advice]

Add a jackshaft to your existing DP to slow it down.


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Thats a good idea but mine isnt powerful enough, it stops when trying to cut with a 1/2 bit. I could just put another motor on it but it has infinitely variable speed which requires a motor with a 4 in shaft which probably isnt easy to find. If i could find one i could try to get one that runs slower that the one that's on it now so i could get the RPM's down, but the motor doesn't have a tag on it and i have no way of knowing how fast it spins. But i think I'll just be on the lookout for a good used drill press and sell this one at the flea market.

[whtbaron]

Most of the motors you will find will likely be in the 1725 or 3450 rpm range.... using the jackshaft like Terry shows will effectively gear your motor down and give you more torque. Mine has 2 drive belts so I was able to get it down just swapping out pulleys and belts. You will be limited by how much room you have for larger pulleys .

[Need Advice]

My drill press has a big 5/8 chuck on it, you would think it could drill with a 1/2 bit but is doesn't. Its a cheap drill press and i got a good deal on it at a discount outlet store, its in new condition so i shouldn't have trouble recovering my money from it when selling it.

[Need Advice]

Most of the motors you will find will likely be in the 1725 or 3450 rpm range.... using the jackshaft like Terry shows will effectively gear your motor down and give you more torque. Mine has 2 drive belts so I was able to get it down just swapping out pulleys and belts. You will be limited by how much room you have for larger pulleys .

More torque and less speed is what i need

[whtbaron]

So if you like the chuck and the press part of it, gearing it down for more power makes sense.

[Meltedmetal]

You could always move the variable speed drive to the jack shaft and drive the jack shaft with another pulley from virtually any motor. Might take some finagling to make it work maybe a belt tightener and the ability to slide the jack shaft but it should be doable. Or see what pops in the market.

[Lis2323]

Here’s another pic of my jackshaft addition. It may help you to visualize a solution for your existing DP




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[Need Advice]

Here’s another pic of my jackshaft addition. It may help you to visualize a solution for your existing DP

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Yes, that pic helps a lot. Its pretty simple.

[Need Advice]

I finished my 3rd pair of nipper tongs today. Now i have 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 in tongs that can hold round or square stock. That might be all i need for that stock. Now i plan on making or buying some box jaw tongs. My second and third pair of tongs came out better than the first. The inside of the jaws are much cleaner. Practice makes perfect.

[Need Advice]

Maybe flat bit tongs would be easier than box jaws to retrieve steel from the forge and turn steel while its in the forge? I have a problem with leaving my tongs holding the steel while its in the forge, it gets my tongs hot. Fumbling around with box jaws might be a hassle.