Halcohead
Stainless
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2005
- Location
- Bay Area, Ca
Hey all,
I'm sure removing a broken drill bit is something they teach you in tradeschool quite early, and I'm sure it's a topic that's been beaten to death on this board, but I still thought I'd ask:
I was drilling 6061-T6 1/2" aluminum plate yesterday, in a stack, so the cut was 1" in depth. I was using a crappy 1/8" drillbit with a bad temper in the tip and a drill chuck with lots of runout. Well, as one can predict, the bit broke, and now I have a vital hole jammed with drill bit remnants.
Here's my problem: I don't have the money, patience, or material to make another replacement part for the one holding the broken bit (part of being a high school student and a HSM). I can't put the hole in another spot. I can't heat the piece up enough to kill the temper of the fragment of the bit, because the'll kill the vital temper of the aluminum. I tried punching out the fragments with a nail set. it worked on one, and on the other I now have a hardened fragment of nail set stuck in the aluminum aswell. I tried soaking the piece in boiling water so as to heat it so it'd expand and I could remove the parts witha center punch. No dice.
Any suggestions? And what other techniques are out there for bit removal? I've already tried my strongest neodymium magnets, by the way.
I'm sure removing a broken drill bit is something they teach you in tradeschool quite early, and I'm sure it's a topic that's been beaten to death on this board, but I still thought I'd ask:
I was drilling 6061-T6 1/2" aluminum plate yesterday, in a stack, so the cut was 1" in depth. I was using a crappy 1/8" drillbit with a bad temper in the tip and a drill chuck with lots of runout. Well, as one can predict, the bit broke, and now I have a vital hole jammed with drill bit remnants.
Here's my problem: I don't have the money, patience, or material to make another replacement part for the one holding the broken bit (part of being a high school student and a HSM). I can't put the hole in another spot. I can't heat the piece up enough to kill the temper of the fragment of the bit, because the'll kill the vital temper of the aluminum. I tried punching out the fragments with a nail set. it worked on one, and on the other I now have a hardened fragment of nail set stuck in the aluminum aswell. I tried soaking the piece in boiling water so as to heat it so it'd expand and I could remove the parts witha center punch. No dice.
Any suggestions? And what other techniques are out there for bit removal? I've already tried my strongest neodymium magnets, by the way.