Drilling holes i Baltic Birch

[OCtoolguy]

9 hours ago, Rolf said:

5/64 brad point, I have never seen one that small. 

My normal drill bit is a #69 or 70 for my ornaments. .028 dia just enough for the blade.

I was trying to imagine the grinding tools that would be needed to create that tiny brad point drill bit. And how many of them would you have to sell to ever recoup your investment?

 

[heppnerguy]

I set my down feed on my drill press so that the bit only is make a small dent in the plank under my project. Using the smallest bit you have, will also help with the tear out. When you are boring fairly deep into your plank below the wood you are making the pattern from, then the tear out starts. keeping the bit from penetrating into the plank really seems to help me

Dick

heppnerguy

[Scrappile]

16 hours ago, octoolguy said:

I was trying to imagine the grinding tools that would be needed to create that tiny brad point drill bit. And how many of them would you have to sell to ever recoup your investment?

 

I went back and looked at the brad point bits, the good ones I have, and I do have a 5/64.  It is a tiny fella.....  I save these bits for when I need a very precise, clean hole.  For the little holes in patterns to stick the blade through I now buy from D and D.  They are the best I have found, in that they have very little wobble, (they are straight).  They are a "Mascot" brand. 

[scrollingforsanity]

I use a #58 and #60 for my ornaments. Mostly the #60. I got 10 of them off ebay a couple years ago for $12.00.  I can't remember the brand at the moment but they were excellent. Went to buy some more recently and they were like $35.00. Guess I should have bought more when I had the chance.

grizz

[BadBob]

I make toys mostly, so my method is geared more toward larger holes around 1/4-inch and upward. I have a sets of very high-quality brad point and forstner bits, but I use a lot of twist drills. With the fractional, letter, and number size bits, I can get precisely the size hole I need.

Use a Quality Sharp Bit. Dull bits do not cut; they tear.

Use the correct speed for the bit you are using. It seems like most people never change the speed on their drill press. It makes a difference. Smaller the bit, the faster you spin it.

Drill slowly. Most people tend to force the bit through the wood, which causes the bit to clog and not clear the chips and increases tear-out. If your bit is clogging and not clearing the chips, you are probably drilling to fast, or the bit is dull.

Do not drill completely through. Set the depth stop or table, so just the point of the bit peeks through. Setting the depth is easier with good brad point bits because the point is longer than the cutters, but you can do it with twist drills. When using a twist drill bit, I adjust the depth stop to where it just touches the backer board.

Now, turn the wood over and finish drilling from the backside, letting the bit find its way. Do this slow and careful.

You will sometimes get a piece of wood that you can't drill a smooth hole into, no matter how careful you are or how sharp your bits are.  I learned the hard way, making toys, to drill all the holes first if possible.

 

[amazingkevin]

I hate wasting wood on just cutting holes. If I put the hole far from the edge of the line to follow  I,m ok  with tear outs!!!