A question for Todd Huges

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Todd Hughes

>Not quite sure what you mean by a "Gun Drill"...Is this a long drill bit like maybe would be used to drill out a rifle barrel? If so I have bought long [like 2 ft.] drill bits in well stocked hardware stores where they are sold to be used in making of lamps apparently. I used them to drill the handles out on pipe tomahawks I made. If that what you are talking about?....Todd

Re: A question for Todd Huges

Michael Recchione

>Jorge, I'm not Todd, but I just went through the same search process for the same purpose (I think), i.e. to make the initial bore for whistles, flutes and recorders. I wound up buying the 5/16 lamp auger from Packard (see the link). I've tried it on a couple of scrap pieces and it works very well.

If you're out to make bagpipe chanters, you might need something narrower. I'm signed up for the on-line recorder making course which is due to start in February at MIMF, and the baroque soprano that I'll be making also has a bore that will be very close for the 5/16. But this is just at the bell end (it's a conical bore), so that section, which is very short, can be done without a long drill. For most of the instruments I looked at, 5/16" is fine for the initial bore.

If you're determined to get a gun drill, I found some by doing a google search. These are WAY more expensive than lamp augers, but they're commercially available new. You might also consider making a D-auger, which seems pretty easy to do.

HTH,

Mike

are these what you're looking for?  *LINK*

Bruce, a MN Galoot

>


BELL HANGER DRILL BITS

Re: ???

Jorge Castaneda

>Hi Todd,

I mean a drill used to make the bore in a rifle, somewhere read that they excel at self centering, so that would be good for the proyect in mind.

Thanks

Jorge

Re: A question for Todd Huges

Jorge Castaneda

>michael,

I just signed for the very same couse, I saw your name in the questions and answers. So you are ahead of me in the search, can you say where you found the gun drills? I wonder it it is just the shape of the tip or there is more to them.

I have bell hangers drills, lamp auger and also from my shipbilding days an auger that could be made into a barefoot auger by grinding away the screw at the tip, which prevents drifting.

If you are happy with the job the lamp auger do, I am happy too.

Than you

Jorge

Re: are these what you're looking for?

Jorge Castaneda

>Bruce,

I have one of those already

Thank you

Jorge

Re: ???

ThomD

>There isn't anything all that special about them, they use no side cutting flutes, and use oil pressure to remove the chips. You have to indicate the barrel in a steady rest and jaw chuck, then use one of those stubby center drills to start a hole, then you feed in the end cutting drill. It's a pretty slow process, which is expected in metal. You would have to withdraw the bit a lot to clear the chips. I've heard of people using these, so it must work.

Also, since a shell auger is actually designed to do what you want, it might be an idea.

http://www.crownhandtools.ltd.uk/products/shellauger.asp

Wood working lathes really aren't set up for accurate drilling, which creates the impression there is something special about the tooling that makes all the difference, when it can just as easily be the lousy accuracy and layout of the machine. Some time spent on set-up would probably help quite a bit.

Duh! I left out the link this morning *LINK*

Michael Recchione

>I think the price is so high on the gun drills because they're intended for drilling through metal. It's great that you signed up for the course! It'll be nice to know someone.

Yes, the lamp auger worked fine on scrap. I went a little more than half way from each end, and the two holes met with no problem. It also insured that the blank stayed perfectly centered. I used my Delta Midi lathe with a Nova Midi chuck and the hollow center that came with the lathe, and it worked very well.

I think this is straying off topic for the hand tool forum, though. Feel free to email me if you want to talk about this some more.

It sounds like you're pretty well set up with lamp augers, etc. Here's a link to the drillmasters site for the gun drills.

- Mike


drillmasters price list

Re: ??? *LINK*

Michael Recchione

>This Crown Shell Auger is exactly the "lamp auger" that I got from Packard Woodworks. It works very well. I don't think precision boring is such an issue here. The idea is to get the initial hole for the bore made, smaller than the final diameter. The blank is then re-centered around the bore using cone centers (or mandrels or whatever). I've had good luck getting the initial hole pretty well centered in the rough blank by going in from both sides - that way, you know that the top and bottom of the bore are centered on the blank, and this lamp auger drills straight enough so that the holes meet in the center of the blank.

After this intial bore is done (which is really a pilot hole, sort of), the bore is then reamed close to final dimension - by hand with shop-built custom reamers, made specifically for that particular instrument. After doing the windway and fipple, the finger holes are then drilled and the process of iterative voicing begins.


packard woodworks lamp auger

Thanks Michael!

Jorge Castaneda

>You bet I will be emailing you...

Jorge

Re: ???

Jorge Castaneda

>Thom,

Very interesting to find out how things work, it sure would be slow.

Thanks for the info and the link, yes shell auger would do the job.

Thanks Jorge