Home

Stop-Motion-Works
About | FAQ | Gallery | Library | Links | Store | Contact

News

 

 

DRILLING METAL BALLS
 

5

***
***

6 I forgot to photograph this step, but after center punching the balls, you must insert into the drill press chuck, a "Center Drill Bit" which is a special, double ended, short & stubby drill that enables you to deepen the previously made center punch marks. See photo of what a center drill looks like. Doing this will define & slightly deepen the previous center punch marks so that when you proceed to drill the balls (in step 7), the drill bit tip will accurately "go on center" and will not drift. So, after you "center drill" the punch marks on balls, remove center drill bit from the drill press chuck and then insert your regular drill bit and proceed to drill balls as shown in next step.  

***

7

***
***

8

***
***

9

***
***

10

***

Just some additional points: Not shown in photos .....I always wear Safety Glasses and a Glove on my left hand that is firmly holding the vise as I drill the balls ...... my right hand is pushing down on the drill press lever handle. Again,I drill at slowest speed ....... I do not drill the holes in balls in one continuous motion but I prefer to drill in Stop and Go spurts. This allows me to release the metal spirals & bits building up in hole (I blow them out), and I add a little more cutting lubricant. On the right front edge of the drill press table, I secure a C-clamp to act as a stop, for safety, in case the drill bit gets stuck in the hole and this stop prevents the vise from spinning. Also, one needs to always firmly tighten the ball holder jig very securely in the drill press vise. If it is not tight & secure, the balls will move as the flats are being filed down, center-punched, etc.

A few essential basic tools / equipment: A Drill Press is absolutely ESSENTIAL, then get yourself a decently designed Drill Press Vise and a Dial Measuring Caliper. There are many other tools (hacksaws, metal files, etc) which would be too lengthy for this tutorial. I have a few sizes of drill presses and I like to use the Table-Top models because they are more portable. Table-top drill presses come in size designations of 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch & 14 inch, and they have from 5 to 12 speeds (number of speeds not critical). The drill press pictured in this ball drilling demonstration, is a 10" model and has an Easy-to-Set Depth Stop feature with a single screw (many drill presses now have them). Some older drill press designs or the smaller 8 inch models have a difficult depth stop set-up. Just look at the photo of my drill press.....the depth stop is built into the pull-down handle on the right side. Drill presses are available at hardware stores. A Drill Press has so many other uses for general do-it-yourselfing. Even having a Milling machine, I find the drill press more versatile and I seem to use more often and it supplements other machining equipment. Drill presses are sooo affordable, and so, don't be cheap.

The other item is the Drill Press Vise. One can spend up to $ 100.00 (USA) for a nicely polished & hardened vise, but I have drill press vises that cost only about $ 20.00.. It's somewhat rough in appearance and the steel is not hardened but the basic design is reasonably good. The jaws do not lift the clamped work; however, one must always constantly check & tighten the sliding jaw tension, to minimized jaw lift (there is an adjustment bolt underneath vise). Here is a tool supplier in the USA, Enco Company. I do not think they have an online catalog, but will mail a hardcopy printed catalog. I do not know if they handle international or overseas orders. If you are curious, the model number of the drill press vise that I used is # 426-8005. Here .... Ball Drilling Jig .... is another way to clamp/hold balls for drilling but it involves some work in modifying the vise and it would then be dedicated for hole drilling. So in other words, more than one vise is helpful in production work.


< Back

***

----Search

 

Site Map-----

 


 



Stop Motion Works & StopMoWorks © 2000 - 23