Drilling 2mm Brass Rod

[spill50]

Hi all,

 

It's been a while but I'm finally returning to my first build the Thermopylae. I'm just at the point where I'm building all the items for the deck and it requires some pretty intricate work.

 

I need to drill 0.8mm and 1mm holes in 2mm brass rod for the davits. Does anyone have any advice on the best/easiest way of doing this?

 

I don't have a metalworking lathe or mill so I'm looking for a "low tech" way of doing it.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[mtaylor]

Do you have a drill press?  Kind of small to be doing by hand.   If so, use a small file and flatten the side a bit where the drill will enter.  Also a very small punch or nail and a hammer to put a small "dent".  Then drill the hole.  Just make sure work piece is securely mounted.

 

You might be able to do this without a drill press but I've never been able to.  Maybe some others have a better method.

[spill50]

Thanks Mark,

 

Yes, I do have a large drill press it's pretty old and I got it second hand so not sure it is accurate enough to drill a 0.8mm hole without breaking the bit. I've only used it for woodwork.

 

I guess I will only find out if I try it  Thanks for the advice though, I think the small dent will be the key to stop the bit wandering.

[druxey]

Also, soften the brass first!

[spill50]

25 minutes ago, druxey said:

Also, soften the brass first!

Interesting, never even came to mind but obvious when you think about it. I need to bend it after drilling so softening it should hopefully make that easier as well.

Thanks. I best go get myself a blow torch 🔥

[No Idea]

Some good advice there but can I add that when I do this type of work I hold the piece in a very small vee block. It holds the brass very centrally and makes the job that little bit easier. I also use cobalt tipped drills when drilling brass. They go through without any bother even when the brass is hard. 

[wefalck]

Cross-drilling round stock acurately is always a challenge. One way of doing it, is using a kind of jig: a piece of hard wood (or better metal) is first drilled with the diameter of your work piece, then a second hole is drilled at 90° to this with the diameter of the hole to be drilled and exactly into the centre - careful marking out and drill-press with a vice helps. This jig will help to exactly centre the drill with little chance to wander off. Neverthells, a small punch-mark or filing a flat will prevent the material to be drilled from rotating. A luxury and more permanent version of this would involve some kind of clamping device for the material to drilled, such as a set-screw for instance.

 

I am not so sure that I would soften the brass, as soft brass normally requires special drilss with a steeper fluting and different cutting geometry so that it doesn't hook.

[michael mott]

Do you have any pin vices that will hold the 2mm rod? the pin vice can be held in a larger vice that needs to be clamped to the drill press table so that the vice is secure and wont move. also in your large drill press it would be useful to have a smaller pin chuck to hold the small drill bit, unless of course it is one of those bits with a larger shank either 1/8th or 3/32. Whatever method you choose you will need to spend a bit of time setting up and testing your set up.

 

Michael