Drilling in angel

Hello, I need to drill a 1.5mm in diameter hole in a angle through a steel tube, like this (cut through) Imgur: The magic of the Internet

I have a drill press to do this with, I just wounder if you got any suggestion on what’s the best way to do this accurately and without breaking the bit?

Drilldept said:

Hello, I need to drill a 1.5mm in diameter hole in a angle through a steel tube, like this (cut through) Imgur: The magic of the Internet

I have a drill press to do this with, I just wounder if you got any suggestion on what’s the best way to do this accurately and without breaking the bit?

Click to expand...

You will need an end mill to create a flat surface for the drill to start. Set the part in a vice in the position to drill the hole. Use an end mill in the chuck to plunge into the angled surface until the flat being created is as large as your drill diameter. Change to the drill and make the hole.

Rickyb said:

You will need an end mill to create a flat surface for the drill to start. Set the part in a vice in the position to drill the hole. Use an end mill in the chuck to plunge into the angled surface until the flat being created is as large as your drill diameter. Change to the drill and make the hole.

Click to expand...

Quite right, all he'd need. If he had to also drill the opposite wall, that's a whole new ball game and I wouldn't envy him the challenge.

yeah and it needs to be a two flute centre cutting endmill.....i.e. slot drill. then spot drill it, then drill....very easy to break on the exit as well as the drill is cutting on half the hole. With just a drill press, can you take a different approach to what you're making? (doesn't exactly look like a customer drawing )

Everyone knows you can't drill through an angel.
Angle hole so flat start needed, endmill in a drill press which is also eek and poke lightly to get your flat.
It is also done with a guide bushing and fancy tip but that makes no sense for a small run.
As said be careful at exit depth as it will bite.
Bob

back when cable rails were trending I angle drilled pipe with a drill bit. Make the point more pencil tapered, center punch about 1/32 towards the angle of hole. Go super slow on start (which might be entire hole depending on wall thickness. If you have to thru drill... avoid seam at all cost, drill top hole with short bit, bottom hole with longer bit. Go slow, your hole will be oversized slightly. End mills do work better.

CarbideBob said:

Everyone knows you can't drill through an angel.

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Sure you can. It's how they bolt on the wings.

About 10 years ago, George died. He was the husband of my mother's lifelong friend, Joanne. Another lady-friend of Joanne's decided to memorialize George by creating a large framed needlepoint work of art. It is very well done; lots of clouds in many subtle shades, flowers, and several heavenly-looking angels with wings and harps. In the center of it all is an inscription, also hand-stitched. It now sits front and center in Joanne's hallway as you enter the front door of her house.

The inscription? "God Bless George, he sleeps now with the Angles"

You didn't mention the machine your attempting this with, we can only go by your past history:
"QT 4340 chromoly steel. I was using a bench drillpress. "

So, please, post some more information

If you are making 1-5 pieces or so, do what others said and get a protractor, 2-3 flute centercutting endmill, spot until full diameter, don't move anything, spot with a center drill, then drill to size.

If you are making more than 5 or 10 pieces or you expect it to be needed again in the future, it would be worthwhile IMO to make up a jig with a drill bushing, like this-
McMaster-Carr

That would allow you to attach the jig then go straight to your drill bit without the endmill and spot drill.

I used to make stainless cable stair railing stanchions out of square tube. Lots of angle drilling. Any method that took too long was out. In the end I used short solid carbide drills and a Bridgeport with a slewed over head. Drill one side, flip and offset, drill the other side.

After awhile I farmed out the drilling. That guy suggested I use staggered short slots instead of angled holes. I never did, but thought it was a good idea.

metalmagpie

You have not mentioned:

The material to be drilled
The OD and ID of the tubing or wall thickness if square/rectangular
The length of the tubing
Where along the length of the tubing you must drill
The angle of the hole
How many holes must be drilled

All of this along with the size and quality of the drill press affects whether or not this is doable. If the DP is a small lightweight bench model there may not be room to hold the tubing at the correct angle and if it is a home shop type DP it might not be rigid enough to keep the small end mill from breaking.

If it were me, I would make some kind of simple jig to guide the bit into the tube, perhaps even one mostly made of wood. I have built simple wooden jigs many times for drilling steel items on the DP. Years ago I added new mounting hole locations on the guide bars for a Delta table saw fence using a wooden jig and a good quality step drill. I installed a T-nut to allow bolting through the existing hole which was mounted at the desired spacing from the spindle center. The work was done on an 8" DP and came out fine. I did use a spotting bit first.

Another option if your DP won't do it is a Dremel type rotary tool and a carbide burr guided by a hole in a (even of hardwood) block. This works by guiding the larger shank portion of the bit (such as the ones below) so there are no cutting edges touching the block.

HOZLY Titanium Coat Carbide 1.5mm Endmills CNC Rotary Burrs Set Corn Milling Cutter PCB Router Bits Pack of 10 - - Amazon.com

Buying more than one is a good idea as you are more likely to break them when not using a milling machine.

Scottl said:

You have not mentioned:

The material to be drilled
The OD and ID of the tubing or wall thickness if square/rectangular
The length of the tubing
Where along the length of the tubing you must drill
The angle of the hole
How many holes must be drilled

All of this along with the size and quality of the drill press affects whether or not this is doable. If the DP is a small lightweight bench model there may not be room to hold the tubing at the correct angle and if it is a home shop type DP it might not be rigid enough

Click to expand...

I suspect this is the same part from the other soap opera "as the drill bit broke"

One would think with a name like drilldept one would specialize in...….drilling?

I would take it somewhere where your hole is their goal.

Perhaps someone's already mentioned it....If your drill press has a chuck held to the spindle by taper, be prepared for the chuck to fall off when using an end mill.

Any job that loads the tool only on one side when it's rotating is likely to do so...

If you can figure out how to drill through an angel you can probably figure out how many can dance on the head of a pin.