drilling through hacksaws

[Drains]

Well done Andy for thinking out of the box (now why did'nt I think of that) the rest of us have been to blinkered.

Tin coated cobolt would probably do BUT ask them anway Jimmy.

Aye, except hacksaw blades are hard all the way through. What happens if you snap a hacksaw blade? The whole thing goes, not just the area around the teeth!

Having said that, there is a huge range of qualities of blades. Some may indeed have a soft backing - but they will be cheap ones!

You won't drill a Lenox blade in a hurry, that's for sure.

 

[matt1978]

How accurate do the holes need to be?? If they need to be precision holes, then I guess only drilling will suffice, but if this "Secret" project only requires "a" hole, then could you not get a plasma cutter and just pierce them??

 

[Paul.]

How many are you doing?. could be worth laser, or waterjet cutting for a decent quantity,

 

[HasBean]

If accuracy isn't an issue how about a suitably shaped el cheapo diamond burr in a dremel?

 

[jimmy shoes]

yeah they need to be drilled, students don't usually have money for plasma cutters but maybe one day

 

[jugs]

Aye, except hacksaw blades are hard all the way through. What happens if you snap a hacksaw blade? The whole thing goes, not just the area around the teeth!

Having said that, there is a huge range of qualities of blades. Some may indeed have a soft backing - but they will be cheap ones!

You won't drill a Lenox blade in a hurry, that's for sure.

Si,

Andy was talking about Bimetal Band saw blades I've just put some 7mm holes thro an old Lenox blade using a TiN coated carbide drill @ 250 rpm dry no probs.

 

[Hitch]

Out of curiosity i tried this tonight....

Bi metal blade, i think its an eclipse one, 3mm pilot then an 8mm through. Cordless drill, first two drill bits i picked up. Both were unbranded rubbish, no oil.

Forget the waterjet, plasma, laser.... just drill it!

 

[AndyP]

Out of curiosity i tried this tonight....

Bi metal blade, i think its an eclipse one, 3mm pilot then an 8mm through. Cordless drill, first two drill bits i picked up. Both were unbranded rubbish, no oil.

Forget the waterjet, plasma, laser.... just drill it!

A bi-metal hacksaw blade probably has the same properties as the bandsaw blades that I suggested, ie, soft back and hard teeth.

 

[Drains]

Si,

Andy was talking about Bimetal Band saw blades I've just put some 7mm holes thro an old Lenox blade using a TiN coated carbide drill @ 250 rpm dry no probs.

I consider myself told!!!!

 

[jimmy shoes]

hi guys,

i've had a quick go at drilling through my hacksaw blades with my new 8% cobalt drills and still no luck, on a few instances the drill looks like its dancing on the blade, i assume this could be solved with marking the blade, although i have tried that beforehand and it just put a flat spot on my new the centre punch

is it possible for a already hardened (in the factory) blade to become even more hardened by my attempts at drilling it.

it says on the case for the drills that they can go through titanium, so they should go through easily.

also while drilling, the drill keeps slipping further into the keyless chuck.

anyway any tricks of the trade i should know with drilling?

p.s sorry to keep going on about this, i must be doing your head in

 

[Paul.]

Titanium's not that hard, a commercial grade will be about 30 to 35 rockwell, you can hacksaw it, my guess is that a hacksaw blade is about 50rc, you need some allflex blades or similar, these are only hard on the teeth and not on the back

 

[AndyP]

hi guys,

i've had a quick go at drilling through my hacksaw blades with my new 8% cobalt drills and still no luck, on a few instances the drill looks like its dancing on the blade, i assume this could be solved with marking the blade, although i have tried that beforehand and it just put a flat spot on my new the centre punch

is it possible for a already hardened (in the factory) blade to become even more hardened by my attempts at drilling it.

it says on the case for the drills that they can go through titanium, so they should go through easily.

also while drilling, the drill keeps slipping further into the keyless chuck.

anyway any tricks of the trade i should know with drilling?

p.s sorry to keep going on about this, i must be doing your head in

Use Bi-metal blades rather than all hard ones that should work because only the teeth are hard and the back can be drilled

 

[jugs]

hi guys,

i've had a quick go at drilling through my hacksaw blades with my new 8% cobalt drills and still no luck, on a few instances the drill looks like its dancing on the blade, i assume this could be solved with marking the blade, although i have tried that beforehand and it just put a flat spot on my new the centre punch

is it possible for a already hardened (in the factory) blade to become even more hardened by my attempts at drilling it.

it says on the case for the drills that they can go through titanium, so they should go through easily.

also while drilling, the drill keeps slipping further into the keyless chuck.

anyway any tricks of the trade i should know with drilling?

p.s sorry to keep going on about this, i must be doing your head in

Are these the drills recommended by DRILL SERVICE ?

What advice did they give you ?

How are you drilling the holes ?

What speeds & feed did they recomend ?

What dia are the holes ?

How are you clamping the work ?

 

[jimmy shoes]

This is the set that i bought

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=20324&name=cobalt+drill&user_search=1&sfile=1&jump=0

unfortunately i cant find a drill vice that fits the platform so I'm doing it the DIY way, i bolted down a hefty piece of wood to the platform and clamped the hacksaw to the wood via small G-clamps, the holds will be 3.2mm, but im planning on drilling to that diameter in stages e.g 3.0mm then 3.2mm, I've gone for full speed (think it's 2500)

 

[jugs]

Slightly modified for clarity

Depends on what type of hacksaw blade you are drilling + how many holes.

If they are carbon use a Stub Length Carbide or cobalt drill,

If they are HSS (high speed steel) use Stellite. If you've only got few to do a Stub Length Carbide Drill might just do it.

With all options you need a rigid setup with everything bolted down.
Use stub drills as they are much more rigid than std length drills.

With Stellite you need high speed + high HP, DONT use coolant on Stellite.

For supplys follow English Steve's link, contact them tell them what you want to do they will advise

Jimmy, please phone the guys @ DRILL SERVICE they ARE the experts and will give you all the help you need, it will be quicker & cheaper in the long run ! Axminster are a good bunch but they are wood work tool suppliers.

2500rpm is far too fast, that's the speed for a stellite drill (aprox £25 for 3.2mm & will cut 100s of holes) I would take a rough guess @ 600rpm for Cobalt but expect a lot of broken drills.

Also - Look at Andyp's idea- "Why not drill bandsaw blade instead,"

PS Also try J&L Technical 0800 663355 for recomends.

 

[Hitch]

I drilled mine with an unbranded bit at the bottom of my drill box, using a cordless drill, straight through with a 3mm or so, then an 8mm i think it was.

Slow but steady is the way. for a 3mm hole i reckon about 750-1000rpm.

If its skating, the drill might not be sharpened properly, but more likely you havnt got a centre to start. You could put a couple of turn of tape round it to help, or make a little jig from some mild steel to clamp over in position.

If you have a spare stamp and bit of blade, id happily try it for you.

 

[blastman84]

SO what r the drilled hacksaw blades for then.......????? have you tried this in a pillar drill.......>??

 

[jimmy shoes]

lol it's a surprise, its a hobby project which i have been wanting to do for awhile.

also on some good news i've ordered 2 drill bits from drill-service, i am quite pleased with the price of the small drill bits. they should be delivered tomorrow

 

[blastman84]

You willl have to keep us posted on how your progect is going

 

[English Steve]

Out of interest Jimmy, what drills did they recommend?