USS Constitution by JSGerson - Model Shipways Kit No. MS2040

[JSGerson]

Another quick update on brass drilling. Yes, the new bits drilled through the brass...until they didn't.  If you look back, I made a diagram of how I was going to the drill brass blocks. Basically, each block requires two holes, some passing all the way through the block, and others only halfway. Each block required two set ups on the drill press. I was lucky if my new drill bits lasted two blocks before they quickly dulled up or broke. On moment they were drilling, the next they weren't. One didn't even drill from the start. I actually bought bits from three sources, my original bits from either Model Expo or Micro-Mark, a full set from AliExpress, and two Gyros #75 packages and one Gyros #67 each containing 12 bits/pkg. The AliExpress #67 bit broke immediately upon touching the brass and the #75 went dull. The Gyros went dull after a couple of holes. I was using a light touch, not  jamming the drill into the brass.

 

After all this, I don't have much to show for my efforts, just two cleanly drilled brass blocks. So I will admit defeat and go to plan B, Styrene plastic. The drill bits cut through in seconds, and cutting the blocks off from the bar requires just a sharp knife instead of a fine tooth saw or cutting disk. Hopefully, the brass painted blocks will blend in with all the brass rod that make up the canopies. 

[vossiewulf]

Try professional jeweler's bits, they are of much higher quality than anything MicroMark sells, and unfortunately the price reflects that. That said, scroll down where there are Swiss Tungsten Vanadium sets for $49 and I saw a cobalt steel set for $59, https://www.ottofrei.com/collections/burs-drills?pf_t_types=types%3AAll+Drills

 

It's always painful to buy something like a nice set of drills but you get drills that actually work and work for a veery long time, so the investment is worth it.

[GGibson]

1 hour ago, JSGerson said:

The AliExpress #67 bit broke immediately upon touching the brass and the #75 went dull. The Gyros went dull after a couple of holes. I was using a light touch, not  jamming the drill into the brass.

 

 

Well, crap!  Hate to hear that!  And I just bought their 0.2-1.1mm package.  Granted, they were only $5.57 for the package (maybe that was an indication of quality?!?), but sorry to hear they won't work for the intended purpose.  Did the RPM speed have an effect on that, Jon?  Could you slow down the drill speed and they'd do better?

 

I've got a bunch of the Gyros, as well, and have found that they are great for the pin vise, but the bits do wander when I put them in the Proxxon drill press.  Well, like I said at the outset... crap!

 

EDIT:  I've saved vossiewulf's link to my "favorites" just in case... 🤷‍♂️🤣

Edited Friday at 10:31 PM by GGibson

[mtbediz]

3 hours ago, JSGerson said:

The AliExpress #67 bit broke immediately upon touching the brass and the #75 went dull. The Gyros went dull after a couple of holes. I was using a light touch, not  jamming the drill into the brass.

I'm sorry the drill bits didn't work, Jon. I have used them to drill brass sheets with a maximum thickness of 0.8 mm and they worked well, but I have never worked with thicknesses above this.

[JSGerson]

I really don't know where the problem lies, my technique, proper type of tools, quality of tools, or my skills. The one thing I couldn't try was a slower drill speed. My old Dremel drill press can only accept my one speed plug-in Dremel drill and not my cordless variable speed Dremel. I think it will work out OK with using Styrene for this one component.

 

Jon

[Der Alte Rentner]

Jon,  I spent some time today checking other build logs, one of which was XKen's.  I noticed that the drills he uses seem to be very short, or have very little of the cutting end protruding from chucks.  This might be a technique that would resist your drill bits breaking.  He doesn't discuss it, but I suspect he shortened the cutting end of the drill bits and hand sharpened them.  

 

E.G.

 

That last one might have been an outlier..

[Der Alte Rentner]

Going back and forth between builds, trying to firmly grasp construction details of cheek knees, trailboard, and head rails, I was impressed by your work in this area.  I will go so far as to say that IMHO you eclipsed XKen in managing the curve at the tail end of the trailboard, where he cut it short. 

 

Boy of boy, am I dreading this step..